High—Monounsaturated Fat Diet for Diabetic Patients: Is it time to change the current dietary recommendations?

The study by Rasmussen et al. (1) and studies by Campbell et al. (2, this issue) and Lerman-Garber et al. (3, this issue) report on the beneficial effects of high-monounsamrated fat diets in comparison with high-carbohydrate diets in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellims (N1DDM). The study by Rasmussen et al. (1) reported improvement of glycemie control and lowering of blood pressure (BP) with a high-monounsaturated fat diet. Campbell et al. (2) describe practical ways to prescribe a high-monounsaturated fat diet to NIDDM patients for use at home and report improvement in glycemie control and plasma triglyceride levels. Lerman-Garber et al. (3) report lowering of plasma triglyceride levels with an avocado-based high-monounsaturated fat diet. These data generally confirm the results of previous studies (4-9) and further support the use of high-monounsaturated fat diets in diabetic patients.