Laboratory evaluations to optimize outcomes of antioxidant nutrition therapy in diabetes management

Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) guidelines acknowledge the need to identify deficiencies of antioxidant vitamins. However, the guidelines contain that such identification is difficult. Thus, there is evidence that available clinical laboratory tests for antioxidant vitamins C and E are not in perspective in clinical practice. Coenzyme-Q(10) and glutathione tests are also available in research laboratories. These indices are invaluable tools for discrete recommendation and monitoring of antioxidant nutrition therapies. This commentary addresses biomarker insight to what the MNT guidelines consider difficult. The importance and limits of the various dietary antioxidants is overviewed. It puts in perspective how clinical laboratory monitoring of vitamins C and E levels can be used to optimize the outcomes of dietary evaluations for diabetes management. Insight to how to interpret the laboratory results is presented. The importance of this commentary is hinged on the premise that the outcome of dietary therapy can be counter-productive when laboratory evaluation or limitations of the antioxidant nutrients are undermined.