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RecruitingNCT05872711Updated May 24, 2023

Low Carbohydrate Versus Mediterranean Diet in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

An interventional study of Low carbohydrate diet in Type 1 Diabetes, sponsored by Sheba Medical Center. Recruiting at 1 site in Israel. Open to participants aged 12 Years to 22 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-05-24.

Sponsored by Sheba Medical Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Oct 2024, 1 year 11 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Apr 2023; still recruiting 3 years 5 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
12 Years to 22 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect of low carbohydrate diet versus Mediterranean diet on blood sugar values in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

The main question aims to answer whether a low carbohydrate diet is as effective as the Mediterranean diet for better glycaemic control in type 1 adolescents.

The investigators are also aiming to check whether low carbohydrate diet is safe and does not elevate cholesterol blood levels and whether the diet is adherable among youth with type 1 diabetes.

Participants with type 1 diabetes wearing a continuous glucose monitor and that will sign an informed consent will be randomly selected for 2 groups. One group will get the Mediterranean diet program and the other will get the low carbohydrate diet program, both for a duration of six months. Each participant will attend a cooking workshop at the beginning of the study. Blood work and stool samples will be taken at the beginning and 3 times through the study periodd. Each participant will attend meetings with the dietician thorough the period of the study.

Read the detailed description

Background and objective: Improved glycemic control of type 1 diabetes (T1DM), with low rates of adverse events was reported via an online community of children and adults who consume a of low carbohydrate diet (LCD). The investigators aim to compare the effects of a low carbohydrate diet (LCD) with those of a Mediterranean diet on glycemic control, lipid profile, bone metabolites and the microbiome profile in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Design A randomized, controlled trail. Families of adolescents in the Diabetes clinic in Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital will be approached and offered to participate in a dietary intervention study. After participants will sign the informed consent, they will randomly be assigned into 2 diet treatment groups, the LCD (n=20) and the Mediterranean diet (n=20). Baseline nutrition teaching session and training and will be conducted for all participants and their parents. Participants will attend visit with the dietician at baseline, 2, 4, 8,12 weeks and will be given a 3-day food dairy to complete twice in that period. Measurements of weight, height, blood pressure, HbA1c, Time in range, number of hypoglycemia, lipid profile, creatinine, bone metabolites will be measured at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks and gut bacteria profile at baseline and at 24 weeks. Personality, quality of life, and socioeconomic questionnaires will be given to children and their parents.

Contribution of the suggested research:

In this research the investigators are aiming to show that LCD is as good as Mediterranean diet with improved glycemic control, safe, and adherable for adolescent with T1D.

02

Conditions studied

  • Type 1 Diabetes

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • Glycemic targets
  • Low carbohydrate diet
  • Mediterranean diet
03

In context

Diabetes Mellitus

10,925 studies on the registry are indexed under Diabetes Mellitus; 1,319 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 80 across 8,367 interventional studies indexed under Diabetes Mellitus.

Browse Diabetes Mellitus studies →

Lead sponsor

Sheba Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 660 studies on the registry; 63 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
12 Years to 22 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Connected to a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of eating disorder
  • Family history of mental disorders
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
40 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Low carbohydrate diet

    The LCD will provide 50-80g of carbohydrate per day with no caloric restriction. The planned macronutrient compositions (percentages of the total calories) of the diet were: 15-20% carbohydrate (\<80 g/day), 33% protein and 58% total fat.

    Other: Low carbohydrate diet

  • Active comparator
    Mediterranean diet

    The MED group was prescribed a moderate-fat MED, rich in vegetables and low in red meat, with poultry and fish preferred to beef and lamb. The primary sources of added fat were 30 to 45 g of olive oil and a handful of nuts (five to seven nuts \<20g) per day. The planned macronutrient compositions of the diet were 40-50% carbohydrate, 25% protein and 35% total fat. The diet is based on the recommendations of Willett and Skerrett

    Other: Low carbohydrate diet

Interventions

  • OtherLow carbohydrate diet

    In order to maintain equal intensity of treatment, each patient will get a cooking workshop and received a personalized diet regime at baseline, based on the randomly assigned diet. Format and quality of the materials are similar. All diet plans are individualized and matched for energy intake personally . Participants will meet individually with the dietitian for diet instruction and support at week 1,2,4,7,10,12 and thereafter at 24 weeks for a total of seven frontal meetings. Twice during the first 12 weeks the dietician will conduct 10-15-minute motivational telephone calls with all the participants.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change of time in range (TIR) 70-180 mg/dl after following a LCD or a MD in adolescents with T1DM.

    Time spent in range (TIR) 70-180 mg/dl assessed by CGM was downloaded at each visit with the dietician. Severe hypoglycemia was defined as an episode requiring assistance and was confirmed by documentation of a blood glucose value less than 54 mg per deciliter

    Time frame: The change of TIR between baseline and after six months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Evaluation of the influence of LCD vs. MD on HbA1c.

    Blood test for Hba1c will be taken at baseline and 24 weeks. Insulin dose and glycemic variability will be taken at each visit with the dietician from=n the pump and sensor downloads.

    Time frame: The change between baseline and after six months

  2. Assessment of the impact of dietary changes after an LCD vs. MD on gut dysbiosis

    Three stool samples will be take from each participant, and kept in -80c until being investigated in a lab

    Time frame: The change between baseline and after six months

  3. Assessment of the impact of both diets on bone turnover measures.

    Blood samples will be taken from the participants after a 12-hr fast at baseline,12 and 24 weeks. Bone markers: procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) and bone resorption C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTx1) as well as cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL cholesterol.

    Time frame: The change of bone turnover at baseline and after six months

  4. Assessment of the impact of dietary changes after an LCD vs. MD on quality of life.

    Quality of life questionnaire for type 1 diabetes adolescents will be given at baseline and after 6 months. A higher score reflects a better equality of life.

    Time frame: The change between baseline and after six months in the quality of life.

  5. Change in BMI after LCD vs. MD

    Measured height and weight will be taken at baseline and after 6 months of intervention in both arms and will be calculated into BMI. The outcome is the change in BMI at baseline and at the end of the intervention.

    Time frame: BMI change at baseline and after six months

  6. Change in diet LCD vs. MED

    FFQ (food frequency questionnaire) will be given at baseline and after 6 months to both arms, change of micronutrients and macronutrients will be calculated according to the questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline and after six months

  7. Change in LDL cholesterol

    Blood test will be taken at baseline and after six months of intervention. Change in LDL cholesterol before and after the diets.

    Time frame: Baseline and after 6 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Lennerz BS, Barton A, Bernstein RK, Dikeman RD, Diulus C, Hallberg S, Rhodes ET, Ebbeling CB, Westman EC, Yancy WS Jr, Ludwig DS. Management of Type 1 Diabetes With a Very Low-Carbohydrate Diet. Pediatrics. 2018 Jun;141(6):e20173349. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-3349. Epub 2018 May 7. PubMed 29735574 ↗
  • Schmidt S, Christensen MB, Serifovski N, Damm-Frydenberg C, Jensen JB, Floyel T, Storling J, Ranjan A, Norgaard K. Low versus high carbohydrate diet in type 1 diabetes: A 12-week randomized open-label crossover study. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2019 Jul;21(7):1680-1688. doi: 10.1111/dom.13725. Epub 2019 Apr 21. PubMed 30924570 ↗

Study documents

  • Study protocol · Jan 31, 2023

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 24, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05872711
Lead sponsor
Sheba Medical Center
Responsible party
Dr. Orit Hamiel (Head of Pediatric Endocrinology Department in Sheba Medical Center, Sheba Medical Center) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 24, 2023
Start date
Apr 19, 2023
Primary completion
Oct 31, 2024 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 1, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
May 24, 2023

Study contacts

Orit Pinhas-Hamiel, MD
Contact
Orit.hamiel@sheba.health.gov.il
+97235305015
Neriya Levran, Msc
Contact
neriyale@gmail.com
+972545432176
Orit Pinhas-Hamiel, MD
principal investigator · Head oh Pediatric Endocrinology Unit

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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