Dietary Management of Indian Vegetarian Diabetics

It was widely believed that the most diet" with carbohydrate comprising 60 important principle of the diabetic diet percent of the total energy (Table 1). was to restrict carbohydrate intake. This When our patients subsisted on this principle was also followed in India diet for periods up to 10 years, we found through the 1950s. The typical diabetic that, contrary to existing beliefs, the cardiet of India in 1955 was similar to the bohydrate tolerance did not worsen. In conventional (carbohydrate-restricted) fact, control of diabetes was better. In diabetic diet used in Western countries most patients, the requirement of oral and that recommended by the American antidiabetes drugs was low16. Diabetes Association? This carbohyHowever, the protein content of this drate-restricted diet provided about 33 diet was considered insufficient. In order percent of energy from carbohydrate, 50 to provide a more balanced diet, we inpercent from fat and 17 percent from creased the protein content of the diet protein. by adding vegetable proteins The diet of an average Indian is like bengal gram, green gram and black cereal-based and consequently rich in gram17. In India, even though many carbohydrate which constitutes approxipeople use non-vegetarian foods, the mately 80 percent of the total calories8. average intake of the non-vegetarian As early as 1958, Viswanathan noted items is restricted to one or two meals in that a marked reduction in the carbohya week. The amount of protein derived drate content of Ute diet of diabetic pafrom animal sources is hence meagre tients resulted in drastic changes in the and this was the reason why we added usual diet pattern which could not be vegetable proteins in the form of pulses adhered to by the patients for long and legumes. The amino-acid profiles of periods of time. In order to achieve betproteins of cereals and pulses are such tel' compliance, diabetic patients were as to complement each other in a maninstructed to follow their usual food patner expected to ensure desired protein tern with reduction in the total caloric inqualityB. Thus the diet became a High take, but were prohibited the use of free Carbohydrate High Protein Diet? sugar and sweets. This resulted in a diet About this time there was growing which we termed the "high carbohydrate interest in the subject of dietary fibre. In