Nutrology and type 2 diabetes: Nutrient pathophysiology and the transition from health to disease

From a Nutrology point of view, type 2 diabetes is a multi-factorial form of clinical “malnutrition” resulting from the intake of an imbalanced diet in combination with adverse environmental conditions and in the presence of predisposing genetic factors. In this review article, we present evidence of a close association between clinical obesity in a specific genetic background as the pillars of the process underlying the development of type 2 diabetes. We review the basics of the energy balance and the role of fat storage and body distribution in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. We describe some molecular aspects of nutrients under normal physiology and during the metabolic and hormonal abnormalities that accompany type 2 diabetes. We conclude with a brief discussion of the principles behind popular dietary recommendations aimed at preventing the full development of diabetes mellitus and its complications.