Reverse Diabetes with a Vegan Diet?

One of the tell tale signs of a body with insulin resistance is the onset of belly fat. Insulin resistance is the precursor to full blown diabetes, but few are fortunate enough to discover that their bodies are in this pre-diabetic state in time to prevent the onset of diabetes.

For those of us with this diagnosis, it can be a spiral of confusion and often despair, as we try to follow the diabetic eating plan and still have elevated blood glucose levels.

However, it may not have to be this way. There is a growing body of evidence that a vegetarian or a vegan diet can actually reverse the ravages of diabetes, and where Dr. Julian Whittaker was a lone voice crying in the wilderness some years back when he wrote "Reversing Diabetes", now that we have some scientific studies on the subject doctors are coming out of the woodwork proclaiming this as the best way to care for a diabetic.


Photo Credit: Flickr: MeganAP's Photostream

I've been reading books about diabetes and trying diet experiments for years. On a low carb high protein diet I can lower my glucose but after about 2 weeks I feel horrible. The standard American Diabetes Association's Constant Carbohydrate Diet actually keeps my glucose levels in the low 200's, and I feel tired and sleepy and my body hurts a lot. Plus, I tend to be a stress eater - not so much desiring sweets as much as salty-crunchy things like potato chips and other snack foods.

Recently a co-worker discovered a book I had not yet read and started following the vegan eating plan it promotes. In the first 2 weeks she lost 11 lbs and dropped her glucose readings from over 250 average down into the normal ranges. She's about 6 weeks into this new way of eating, and is now beginning to reduce her medication dependence AND is having a wonderful side effect of also having lower cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, too.

Naturally I was incredulous, but as I've watched her improve, I have reached the point of being willing to give it a try myself. It's not going to kill me to go without meat and dairy (despite my life long love affair with cheese) and I'm lucky that I already like brown rice and beans and a lot of vegetables, so I actually slipped into eating vegan without any fanfare or drastic changes.

I'm in my second week of vegan eating and the first thing I can tell you is that I'm beginning to feel a lot better. My joint pains have diminished, I'm requiring less sleep, and I'm getting burst of afternoon energy that I haven't had since I was young. (I'm over 50.) I think the afternoon energy has a lot to do with my choosing to eat spinach salads for lunch almost every day. I've eaten salads a lot, but usually with iceburg lettuce because I like the crunch, and it was only when I started eating spinach that the energy improvements became noticeable.

My glucose readings have dropped some, and I'm surprised that I tolerate brown rice and sweet potatoes much better than I expected to, although flour tortillas still affect me badly.

Below I have gathered some of the information that led me to embark on this grand experiment as well as some resources you may find useful.

Source: Vegan Diet May Treat Diabetes - CBS News

(WebMD) Eating a low-fat vegan diet may be better at managing type 2 diabetes than traditional diets, according to a new study.

Researchers found 43 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who followed a low-fat vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their need to take medications to manage their disease compared with 26 percent of those who followed the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

In addition, participants who followed the vegan diet experienced greater reductions in cholesterol levels and weight loss than those on the other diet.

A vegan diet is plant-based and consists of vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes and avoids animal products, such as meat and dairy. People who are on a vegan diet are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency, and so B12 vitamins were given to the participants on that diet.

"The diet appears remarkably effective, and all the side effects are good ones -- especially weight loss and lower cholesterol," says researcher Neal D. Barnard, MD, adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University, in a news release. "I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs."

Barnard is also president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit health organization that opposes animal research and advocates a vegan diet.

Vegan Vs. ADA Diet For Diabetes

In the study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers compared the effects of following a low-fat vegan diet and the ADA diet on reducing the need for drugs to manage diabetes, kidney function, cholesterol levels, and weight loss in 99 adults with type 2 diabetes. Meals were not provided, but participants met a dietitian to come up with a diet plan and then met regularly each week for nutrition and cooking instruction.

Forty-nine of the participants followed a low-fat vegan diet consisting of about 10 percent of daily calories from fat, 15 percent protein, and 75 percent carbohydrates. They were asked to avoid animal products and added fats and instead favor foods like beans and green vegetables, but portion sizes and total daily calories or food intake were unrestricted.

The other 50 participants followed the dietary guidelines recommended by the ADA, including 15-20 percent protein, 60-70 percent carbohydrates and monosaturated fats (such as olive oil), and less than 7 percent saturated fats (such as animal fats and butter). Total cholesterol was also limited to 200 milligrams or less per day.

Overweight participants in the ADA diet group were also advised to reduce daily calorie intake by 500-1,000 calories per day.

The results showed that both diets improved diabetes management and reduced unhealthy cholesterol levels, but some improvements were greater with the low-fat vegan diet.

For example:

# 43 percent of those on the vegan diet reduced their need to take drugs to manage their diabetes compared with 26 percent of the ADA diet group.

# Weight loss averaged more than 14 pounds in the vegan diet group vs. less than 7 pounds in the other group.

# LDL "bad" cholesterol dropped by an average of 21 percent in the vegan group compared with 11 percent in the ADA diet group who did not change their cholesterol drug use.

# Measures of blood sugar control also improved more significantly among those who followed the low-fat vegan diet than among those who followed the ADA diet and who did not change their diabetes drug use.

Researchers say the vegan diet represents a major change from current diabetes diets because there are no limits on calories, carbohydrates, and portions, which may make it easier for some people to follow. Talk to your doctor about what diet changes you might consider to help with diabetes or other medical conditions.

SOURCES:Barnard, N. Diabetes Care, August 2006; vol 29: pp 1777-1783. News release, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Article Origins Here: A Vegan Raw Foods Diet That May Reverse Type 2 Diabetes!
Beverleigh H Piepers

Type 1 and type 2 diabetics all over the world are hearing about the work of Dr. Gabriel Cousens, a New York City psychiatrist who, when he discovered a "cure" for type 2 diabetes, gave up his practice to start a vegan commune in Arizona. Dr. Cousens' diet really does reverse most cases of type 2 diabetes, that is for the people who manage to stay on it.

For type 2 diabetes, the process boasts a 90% to 95% cure rate... that sounds truly amazing. Conventional medicine never talks of curing type 2 diabetes... just controlling it.

How could a vegan diet reverse type 2 diabetes? Sprouts, spirulina, and leafy greens, emphasized in this raw foods diet, contain almost no fat. When there is very little fat circulating in your bloodstream, fat cells don't compete with the rest of your body for insulin. In addition to transporting glucose, insulin transports fatty acids. The body's remaining insulin supply can then be devoted to storing glucose and so blood sugar levels plummet.

Most Dr. Cousens' patients are quickly taken off their prescribed oral anti-diabetic medications or insulin, in order to prevent hypoglycemia. In as little as two weeks on the vegan diet, one sees the beginning of lasting blood sugar control. As fat deposits in the pancreas itself break up, insulin production may normalize so that no further medication is needed.

However, unfortunately blood sugar control ends when diabetics stop the diet. Many diabetics who learn Dr. Cousens' diet need frequent refresher courses in the isolated environment of his clinic 20 miles outside Patagonia, Arizona, and there is never a time to go back to eating meat or sweets. Those foods are banished from the diabetics eating plan for life.

Diabetes expert Robert Rister has been following type 2 diabetics who have been trained by Dr. Cousens since 2006. Surprisingly, he reports, all of Dr. Cousens' patients remain in remission from diabetes and all mostly follow the diet, although two have been able to continue to control their blood sugars while eating small portions of lean meat or fish about once a week. Every person who has succeeded on the program, however, spent six months to a year on a very strict vegan, raw foods diet, only slowly introducing even cooked vegetables.

Could a vegan, raw foods diet work for you? Discipline is the key. If your living situation permits you to follow a strict vegan diet, you may be able to bring your diabetes into very good control or even reverse type 2 diabetes.

Would you like more information about alternative ways to handle your type 2 diabetes?

To download your free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions... its based on questions many diabetics have asked me over recent months.

Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes. (c)2010 - http://drugfreetype2diabetes.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beverleigh_H_Piepers

Beverleigh H Piepers - EzineArticles Expert Author