Diabetes educators, patients must collaborate on individualized medical nutrition therapy

Hope wrote this perspectives piece that appears at the end of an article that Alison Evert was quoted in, and based on their program at AADE17:

Nutrition researchers and diabetes health care providers have and continue to collectively spend an inordinate amount of time, energy and dollars in search of the one ideal diet for people with diabetes. Blend into the mix the misinformation and confusing advice people hear and see across multiple media channels. As Evert points out, nutrition is, like all sciences, evolving, and the reality is that to date there is no single eating plan right for all people with diabetes, regardless of type, and unlikely ever to be. This is based on our current evidence base. What we know about people’s eating habits and food choices, and what we’ve learned through research, are critical components to helping people achieve and maintain a healthier weight and eating habits to result in improved clinical outcomes. While it is easy for diabetes clinicians to throw up their hands and say that people don’t adhere to “diets,” it is critical to review the evidence base that demonstrates nutrition therapy can be clinically successful and cost-effective if implemented correctly. To implement nutrition therapy effectively means using evidence-based recommendations and an individualized approach based on that client’s current food choices, eating habits, willingness to make changes, and more. Last, but definitely not least, to effectively implement diabetes nutrition therapy, patients must work with a health care provider with diabetes expertise or other knowledgeable counselor on a frequent and regular basis. Unfortunately, today this rarely occurs due to lack of referral and or adequate reimbursement for services. This is how real and positive changes in food choices, eating habits, weight and diabetes care can and do happen.