The LoBAG Diet and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Thirty-eight adult men and women with DM2 will be recruited from the University of Minnesota and surrounding communities, and will be randomized to treatment with the LoBAG diet or a control diet. Following a consent and screening visit, there will be 5 additional study visits over a 12-week diet intervention period. Instruction in the assigned diet will be provided by a research dietitian at the beginning of the 12-week period, and reinforced at subsequent visits throughout the study. Participants will be asked to purchase food, prepare food, and consume the assigned diet in their own homes. They will be asked to keep activity level constant and to continue medications for diabetes (metformin or no medication) without change during the intervention. The primary outcome, HgbA1c, and secondary outcome measures will be assessed at baseline and following diet intervention. Study visits will occur at baseline (visits 1 and 2), week 1 (visit 3), week 6 (visit 4), week 9 (visit 5) and week 12 (final study visit). In addition to scheduled study visits the research team will contact participants every other week by telephone to address any issues that arise, with the purpose of increasing compliance and retention. Participants will be contacted once in weeks 9-12 for a 24-hour diet recall collected by the Nutrition Coordinating Center at the University of Minnesota. Study procedures will conclude after the 12-week diet intervention period and collection of all outcome measures.

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years of age or older
• Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus
• Hemoglobin A1c of 7.0-9.5%
• Taking no medications for diabetes or taking metformin

Exclusion criteria

• Type 1 diabetes mellitus
• Treatment with insulin
• BMI < 27 kg/m^2
• Change in weight of more than 5 pounds in the prior 3 months
• Estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) < 60 ml/minute/1.73 m^2
• Urine albumin > 300 mg/g creatinine
• Anemia
• Pregnancy or immediate plans to become pregnant
• Current breast feeding
• Use of antibiotics in the 3 month period prior to study enrollment
• Dietary restriction(s) that would preclude consumption of the study diets
• Inability or unwillingness to prepare meals
• Presence of any disease which would make adherence to the study protocol difficult