Introduction
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing rapidly in many countries (1 - 3).

As there is currently no cure for diabetes, all measures that could contribute to prevention or treatment of the metabolic disturbances that precede or characterize the disease should be exploited.

The important role of nutritional modifications in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes is now well recognized (4 - 7).

Most persons with type 2 diabetes are overweight and/or insulin-resistant. Many of them also have dyslipidemia and hypertension, both of which are frequently present before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed.

Nutritional intervention should therefore be started early enough to achieve the benefits that can be expected from medical nutritional treatment.

This section describes the potential of nutritional measures to prevent or treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications.

These measures are based on the best available evidence derived from scientific literature and clinical experience from expert groups (8 - 11).

Monika Toeller
German Diabetes Research Center, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Jim I. Mann
Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

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