[Primary prevention of diabetes mellitus by nutritional correction]

Nutrition and the status of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism were investigated in an organized population of men aged 20 to 59. Nutritional correction was based on the results obtained. Repeated investigation of the same population in 3 years has shown that a decrease in the caloric content of the daily ration at the expense of fats and carbohydrates, especially starch and refined sugars, causes a decrease in the level of basal insulin, mean values of glycemia during a GTT, and atherogenic fractions of the lipid spectrum. Correlation between the level of glycemia and the ratio of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids was established. Nutritional correction as a prophylactic method was shown to be more effective in persons of younger age.