Nutritional factors adversely influencing the glucose/insulin system

For the majority of people, particularly if they do not smoke, the food they eat is the largest controllable factor determining their long-term health. The disproportionate consumption of foods high in fat, especially high in saturated fat, and high in simple sugars at the expense of foods high in complex carbohydrate and unsaturated fat has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases. Some of the effects of individual macronutrients such as fat, refined sugars and alcohol in promoting abnormalities in glucose/insulin system are presented. These nutrients were chosen because they also have the ability to alter oxidative state of the individual, which in turn could affect the glucose/insulin system. This review focuses on the role of dietary nutrient interactions in influencing the glucose/insulin system through the generation of reactive oxygen species. The importance of dietary macronutrient interaction with micronutrients such as copper and iron and the potential it has in affecting the glucose/insulin system is addressed.