Introduction: Nutritional factors are associated with diabetes development and control. In addition to carbohydrate excess, other dietary contributions are decreased magnesium and fiber intake. Magnesium deficiency is related to beta cell dysfunction. Decreased dietary fiber intake is implicated in poor glycemic control. The intake of both fiber and magnesium among those with diabetes is not well known. This study provides objective data on the diet content of adults with diabetes in our area of Roanoke, VA where an estimated 11.6 % of the population has diabetes.

Methods: 33 adult volunteers with diabetes recorded their food intake over 24 hours via access to the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour (ASA24®) dietary assessment tool. Macro and micronutrient intakes were calculated with reference intakes provided by RDA guidelines. The lowest reference intake was used to calculate pooled comparison for all ages by gender. P-values were calculated using one-sample t tests comparing sample averages with reference values. Logistic Regressions were used to evaluate the effect of age and sex on outcome.

Results: The nutritional content of our participants with diabetes did not meet RDA guidelines with no significant age or sex differences between groups. Total calories were 2314 for men and 1862 for women. Carbohydrate intake exceeded the ADA recommended amount in 83 % of men (218g/d) and 67 % of women (196g/d) (p<0.01) . In addition, 83% of men and 76% of women did not meet recommended magnesium intake, averaging 314 ± 166 mg/d for men (p<0.05) and 264 ± 83 mg/d for women (p<0.01) . Finally, 100% of men and 90% of women did not meet reference fiber intake, averaging ± 9 g/d for men (p<0.01) and 14 ± 7 g/d for women. (p<0.01) .

Conclusion: In addition to excessive carbohydrates, magnesium and fiber intake were significantly deficient among our population of patients with diabetes. These results may help to tailor diet interventions in future investigations for more directed nutrition approaches to improve glycemic control.

Disclosure

K. Mustafa: None. K. Jones: None.

Funding

Carilion Clinic RAPDiabetes Nutrition Study IRB 21-1307

© 2022 by the American Diabetes Association
2022
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