The Joint Committee of the Korean Diabetes Association, the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity, and the Korean Society of Hypertension announced a consensus statement on carbohydrate-restricted diets and intermittent fasting, representing an emerging and popular dietary pattern. In this statement, we recommend moderately-low-carbohydrate or low-carbohydrate diets, not a very-low-carbohydrate diet, for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. These diets can be considered a dietary regimen to improve glycemic control and reduce body weight in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This review provides the detailed results of a meta-analysis and systematic literature review on the potential harms and benefits of carbohydrate-restricted diets in patients with diabetes. We expect that this review will help experts and patients by fostering an in-depth understanding and appropriate application of carbohydrate-restricted diets in the comprehensive management of diabetes.
Keywords: Blood glucose; Diabetes mellitus; Diet, reducing; Dietary carbohydrates; Glycemic control; Weight loss.