Flexible diets for diabetes care.

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The nutritional aspect of diabetes treatment is often the most difficult component of care for the patient and the health professional. The demands imposed by major alter ations in lifestyle, the artificiality of therapeutic eating pro grams, and the lack of available and proven counseling are possible causes of poor patient compliance. "Diets" may also be socially stigmatic to patients with diabetes. While advances have been made in many areas of nutrition and diabetes, there has been relatively little change in the traditional nutritional counseling methods, intended to lead to an understanding and adherence to a sound nutritional program. The evolving definition of the general goals of nutri tional therapy and the lack of success with traditional ap proaches to nutritional care of diabetes have recently stimu lated the search for alternate nutritional regimens. These programs have been called "flexible diets. " They all base food selection upon the quality of food content rather than food group as in the exchange diet. Indiuidual counseling is important and is directed primarily to modify present eat ing habits rather than radical changes. The continued de velopment of flexible diets may be an exciting area of nutri tional development in the future.