Insight into Glucose Metabolism May Lead to Personalized Nutrition

Macronutrients in our diet include proteins, carbohydrates and fats. It is often said that calories and not macronutrient combinations are what lead to weight loss. So, if you want to lose weight, you need to lower your calorie intake. And changing the macronutrient combination or content will not lead to weight loss. Indeed, with some qualifications, the above statements are probably true, in general. However, one study has indicated that fasting glucose and fasting insulin concentrations, combined with specific macronutrient compositions, may be good predictors of weight loss. Further, different concentrations can lead to different amounts of weight loss.

The participants in the study were randomized to an ad libitum low carbohydrate diet or low-fat diet where the calorie intake was 1200 hundred to 1800 calories per day. The study lasted 24 months. At the end of the study period, participants who had prediabetes and high fasting insulin lost more weight on the low-fat diet than on the low-carbohydrate diet, while participants who had prediabetes and low fasting insulin lost more weight on the low-carbohydrate diet than on the low-fat diet.  

The investigators concluded that “Fasting plasma glucose and insulin are strong predictors of the weight loss response to diets with different macronutrient composition and might be a useful approach for personalized weight management.”

We think these findings are important. The indications are that by gaining insight into a prediabetic patient's fasting glucose and fasting insulin concentrations, a practitioner can better personalize the patient’s diet.

And if the patient's diet can be personalized in a way that enables the patient to lose weight, the weight loss will likely have other benefits, such as resolving a person’s prediabetes, and lowering the risks for conditions associated with prediabetes. These conditions include type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart problems. Practitioners should attempt to embrace personalized medicine when it can be of use to patients.

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