Fat Matters for Type 1 Diabetes

Fatty foods tend to increase blood sugars for people with type 1 diabetes, according to a new study published by the American Diabetes Association. Studying type 1 diabetes patients at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, researchers provided 48-hours’ worth of meals with identical carbohydrate and protein content but varying in fat content (10 grams vs. 60 grams). The high-fat meals required an average of 42 percent more insulin in order to bring blood sugar under control.

Although people with diabetes focus on the carbohydrate content of their meals, research has shown that reducing fat, rather than carbohydrate, can improve type 2 diabetes. The new study extends this finding to type 1 diabetes. The authors suggest that nutrition education and counseling for people with type 1 diabetes should look beyond the current carbohydrate-based methods.