CUT-DM Follow-up – Cut down on carbs in the diabetes diet – Follow-up

Type 2-diabetes (T2D) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality by approximately 2-4-fold and is associated with severe morbidity and socio-economic challenges. Dairy products can be part of a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that could have a positive impact on diabetes as well as help solve a societal problem. The CUT-DM Follow-up project is a follow-up study for trial participants who participated in a one-year intervention during the Meal Box Study. This follow-up study will determine whether participants can, with dietary guidance, maintain the metabolic benefits of carbohydrate restriction achieved during the Meal Box Study. 

By: Anne Lau Heckmann

Recently, carbohydrate reduction in the dietary treatment of T2D is being increasingly recognized as an option to achieve improvements in glucose control. Still, long-term effects of dietary counseling are debated as the effectiveness of dietary carbohydrate reduction seems to diminish with time, most likely due to lack of dietary adherence. The lack of evidence on sustained long-term beneficial effects of carbohydrate-reduction may be the limiting factor for changing diabetes dietary recommendations in Denmark. 

During the first Meal Box Study, participants allocated to either a carbohydrate-reduced high-protein (CRHP) diet or a conventional diabetes (CD) diet had meal kits delivered weekly and received monthly dietetic counselling. The CRHP and CD diet include dairy products with important nutrients, contributing to a versatile and sustainable diet, making dairy products a significant component in this dietary treatment. 

The hypothesis is that both groups will show a significant improvement in several metabolic factors crucial for the outcomes of T2D. The CUT-DM Follow-up study aims to demonstrate whether trial participants can maintain the achieved results from the Meal Box Study and uncover the differences in the effects between a CRHP diet and a CD diet. The follow-up period will be one year, and participants will buy and prepare their own food during this period. Both groups will receive ongoing dietary guidance. The hypothesis is that participants who continue with a CRHP diet will have a greater effect than those following a CD diet, and that both diets can be sustained with dietary support. The study will clarify whether a CRHP diet intervention with one year of meal kits and subsequent one year of dietary guidance is a possible treatment regimen for patients with T2D.