Diet trial leaves bone-health questions open in young people with diabetes
A small trial comparing low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets found no statistically significant changes in the main bone-turnover markers within either group.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
For adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes, the main bone-turnover markers did not change significantly within either diet group. The authors describe these analyses as exploratory. This finding leaves uncertainty about dietary effects on bone health, because a nonsignificant change in blood markers cannot establish equivalent effects or long-term bone safety.
The trial was small and the bone-marker analyses were exploratory. The abstract supplies within-group marker tests but no between-diet effect estimate or confidence interval for those markers.
What researchers found
CTX and P1NP bone-turnover markers
Baseline to 24 weeks, assessed separately in the low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean groups; these tests do not establish equivalence between diets.
What the blood tests address
Researchers measured blood markers before and after the assigned diets. These measurements concern bone turnover; the abstract does not report fractures or bone density, so it cannot directly answer whether either diet protects bones.
Secondary results need caution
An additional laboratory measure, alkaline phosphatase, declined significantly in the low-carbohydrate group. Reported differences in mineral intake did not remain significant after correction for multiple testing, so they should not be presented as established dietary effects.
The original publication
Bone Turnover Markers (CTX and P1NP) Following Low-Carbohydrate and Mediterranean Diet Interventions in Adolescents and Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes.
Levran N, Levek N, Levy-Shraga Y et al.
Nutrients · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41470880
- Record checked
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