1983 Volume 141 Issue Suppl Pages 671-676
A comparative study, using a crossover design, was carried out on 260-well controlled diabetic out- patients to investigate the metabolic effects of the A (50% cal carbohydrate, 30% cal fat, and 20% cal protein) and the B-diets (Study I), since the adherence of diabetic patients to the A-diet is very poor, and uncontrolled diabetes ensues. In Indonesian rural areas traditional medicines are still widely preserved ; onion and green beans represent two of the frequent ones. Being faced with such facts, two separate randomized crossover studies were performed on 20 cooperative diabetic outpatients each; paired t-test was used for statistical analysis. Half of the patients were assigned to the B-diet (68% cal carbohydrate, 20% cal fat, 12% cal protein) plus 3×20g fresh onion per day (Study II), or plus 3×200g green beans per day (Study III) in the first week, and the B-diet only in the second week; the other half was assigned the other way around. Well and poorly controlled diabetics were used as experimental patients of Study II and Study III, respectively. Study I demonstrated that the B-diet showed potent hypocholesterolemic effect (31.75mg%, p<0.001), maintained diabetic state, and did not raise the fasting serum triglyceride level. Study II resulted in sinificant decrease in blood sugar level (4.37mg%, p<0.05) in the onion treated group, however, no blood lipid levels-changes occured during both diets. Study III showed significant falls in blood sugar (33.08mg%, p<0.01), cholesterol (6.83mg%, p <0.05) and triglyceride (8.10mg%, p<0.05) levels during green bean diet. In conclusion, the consumptions of onion and green beans as adjuncts to the B-diet may be beneficial to the dietary treatment for diabetics. As pre-study serum levels of cholesterol and triglyceride of Study II and III were quitely normal, the hypothesis was advanced that capsuled onion extract (in higher dose) and green beans might show apparent clinical results in hyperlipidemic patients. If such is the case, this finding may be of real value in the therapeutical implication attempting to prevent or minimize diabetic an-giopathies.
