ARE WE ACHIEVING THE DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIABETIC-PATIENTS - AN AUDIT OF DIETARY ADVICE TO DIABETIC-PATIENTS

An audit of the nutritional intake,of people with diabetes treated eit her with insulin or oral hypoglycaemic agents, who had never been taug ht carbohydrate exchanges was undertaken. A total of 63 diabetic patie nts completed a 7-day food diary using household measures. Results ind icated that 70% achieved the dietary recommendations for fat intake an d 30% the recommendations for carbohydrate intake. The majority of the subjects also achieved the dietary recommendations for both non-milk extrinsic sugars and cholesterol, but they were less successful at mee ting the recommendations for non-starch polysaccharides and protein. T he standards used were the British Diabetic Association Recommendation s (1992) and The Dietary Reference Values (1991). These results compar e favourably with other studies both of people with diabetes and the g eneral population.