I was speaking with someone tonight who heard of an endocrinologist (female) who has developed a “new” idea of a diet for people with diabetes. The name was Schwarzbine, Schwarzbaan, Schwarz-something and it was called the Schwarz-something Principle. I couldn’t find anything in my searches on the Internet. Could you give me any more information on this?

Sorry, but I have not heard of any name similar to this connected with nutrition and diabetes. The trend in diabetes management is away from “diets” as such, meaning a very specific or defined meal plan, eaten consistently on a daily basis. The reality is that precise consistency of food intake from day to day is simply not the way most people eat. Whether or not they have diabetes. We all have variations in appetite, hunger, food availability and so on from day to day. So for most people, “diets” are temporary — while diabetes is permanent. Not a good match.

Because we have new and better tools of diabetes management — including better testing approaches, better insulins and new oral agents — we can now incorporate the reality of how people actually eat into our approach to food management in diabetes. This has led to a new emphasis on total carbohydrate management to manage blood sugars, rather than defined diets or lists of “do’s” and “don’ts.” Managing “carbs” can allow people to eat from a wide variety of preferred and available foods, varying amounts from day to day, while achieving blood glucose control. Various simple techniques can be used to tailor this approach for people on different medicine regimens for their diabetes.

Whether or not you locate the person/approach you’re looking for, you may also want to search out information on carbohydrate management. It is simple, flexible and can be highly effective in helping most people improve and maintain blood glucose control.

BB