Almond-based low carb diet improves nocturnal glycaemic control in T2D

In patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), following an almond-based low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) helps optimize nighttime time-in-range metrics, according to a study.

The study included 33 hospitalized adults with T2D (mean age 57.45 years, 45.5 percent male, mean BMI 24.63 kg/m², mean diabetes duration 7.55 years). These patients were randomly assigned to undergo a low-fat diet (LFD; n=18) or LCD with almonds (n=15) for 12 weeks.

All participants wore continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for 2 weeks before and after completing the 12-week intervention. Primary CGM metrics included time in range (TIR), time in tight range (TITR), time above range (TAR), and time below range (TBR).

Compared with the LFD group, the LCD with almonds group had significantly higher nighttime TIR (98.51 percent vs 91.67 percent; p<0.01) and TITR (94.14 percent vs 77.58 percent; p<0.05).

Furthermore, the LCD with almonds group had significantly lower nighttime TAR (0.00 percent vs 1.39 percent; p<0.01), high blood glucose index (0.15 vs 0.98; p<0.05), and standard deviation (15.57 vs 23.62 mg/dL; p<0.05) compared with the LFD group.

In multivariable regression models, LCD with almonds was independently associated with improvements in nocturnal TIR (p=0.010) and TITR (p=0.016).

The findings indicate that incorporating almonds into an LCD may improve nighttime glucose stability and reduce nocturnal hyperglycaemia, according to researchers.