Impact of Glycemic Index-Based Nutrition Education on Blood Glucose Control Among Persons Living with Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Blood glucose management is a critical aspect of diabetes care in which diet, and nutrition play important roles. The Glycemic Index (GI) of food measures how much, and how quickly a food can raise blood glucose levels, using it in meal planning can improve diabetes, control, and physician knowledge of GI of common foodstuff can enhance diabetes management. There is paucity of data on the state of knowledge of physicians on GI of foodstuff. This study is a narrative review of the impact of Glycaemic Index-based nutrition education on blood glucose control in patients living with diabetes mellitus. Literature search conducted to retrieve evidence from electronic databases revealed that low GI diets demonstrated significant decrease in HbA1c compared to control diets, nutrition therapy involving low GI foods significantly improved biochemical indices , while nutrition education on low GI foods improved dietary intake, knowledge, and empowerment for diabetes management in adults, improved glycemic control, was associated with fewer episodes of hyperglycemia, and enhanced quality of life among children with T1DM. A doctor’s knowledge of the glycemic indices of common foodstuff can improve a physician’s clinical practice by positively impacting blood glucose control in diabetic patients, and education on low-GI diets can lead to a decrease in HbA1c.