Revisión y comparación de las recomendaciones dietéticas basadas en la evidencia en el paciente diabético establecidas por las principales sociedades científicas internacionales

Abstract

Nutritional handling of the diabetic patient goes beyond being the mere provision of nutrients, but rather it is the basis of his/her general treatment to such an extent that the international scientific societies have decided to call it “nutritional medical treatment” (NMT) to give it the emphasis it deserves. However, a consensus has still not quite been reached and established on NMT, in such a way that the scientific societies’ recommendations have been changing in these last few years in light of the application of the evidence-based medicine revision methodology. In this article, the main dietary recommendations based on evidence from different international societies are reviewed and compared. In this sense, most societies recommend the provision of carbohydrates to be personalized, without indicating a specific amount. The fat content is well-established, and a maximum intake of 7% of the total calorie count in the form of saturated fats and less than 200 mg/day of cholesterol are recommended. The recommended protein intake is what has changed least over the years and is established at 15%-20% of the total calorie count. The effectiveness of the action of fibre on the improvement of the lipid and glycide metabolism is controversial, and even more so considering the low consumption of fibre in the Spanish population.