What Applies Regardless of Subtype
Reviewed by CDE Mehandi Sharma · Updated
Even where diet has little effect on your glucose, some eating advice still applies — because it is aimed at things other than blood sugar.
Cardiovascular health. Blood pressure and cholesterol matter regardless of subtype, and they respond to eating patterns. This is particularly relevant for Indians, who develop cardiovascular disease at lower body weights and waist sizes than Europeans, with India using its own thresholds — overweight from a BMI of 23, and abdominal obesity from 90 cm in men and 80 cm in women.
Weight and abdominal fat. Worth attention for general health, and for a specific reason here: Type 2 diabetes can develop alongside a monogenic subtype. Someone with GCK-MODY who gains substantial weight may acquire insulin resistance on top, which does respond to diet — and which would change the picture.
General quality of the diet. Enough vegetables, adequate protein, whole pulses and dals rather than heavily refined carbohydrate, and not relying on sugary drinks. This is ordinary healthy eating rather than diabetic eating.
Not smoking sits above all of the above in terms of return.
The useful distinction to hold onto: advice aimed at your glucose depends on your subtype, and advice aimed at your heart does not.