Meat-based Diets Linked With Type 2 Diabetes; Vegans Everywhere Get Smug
Meat-based diets linked with type 2 diabetes; vegans everywhere get smug A 14-year study has SHH! Please stop crowing, Meat causes diabetes! Meat causes diabetes! It is not quite that simple. Can you slow your roll? Get back to me when youre ready to listen, OK? As I was saying! A 14-year study of more than 66,000 European women shows that a diet high in acidic foods leads to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Youd think this means oranges cause type 2 diabetes, right? But actually meat, cheese (NOOO!), and fish boost the acid in your kidneys and pee WAY more than citrus fruits. (Fruits and veggies, believe it or not, LOWER your bodys acidity at least your potential renal acid load.) Chronic acidosis a condition caused by increased acidity in the blood and body tissues reduces insulin sensitivity, the ability of the hormone insulin to regulate blood sugar Over a period of 14 years, 1,372 new cases of type 2 diabetes were recorded. Women whose potential renal acid load (Pral) scores were in the top 25 percent had a 56 percent greater risk of developing diabetes than those in the bottom 25 percent. Recap: Eating more fruits and veggies MIGHT help lower your risk of type 2 diabetes not to be confused with type 1 diabetes , the kid version with no known cause and eating tons of meat and cheese might do the opposite. This is shocking, as no one before has suggested eating produce could have health benefits. You heard it here first. Continue reading >>
Can A Vegan Diet Reduce Type 2 Diabetes Pain?
With commentary by Cameron Wells, MPH, RD, acting director of nutrition education for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine The combination of a low-fat and vegan diet can reduce nerve pain in people with type 2 diabetes, according to new research published in the journal Nutrition & Diabetes. Past research has shown that a plant-based diet has other benefits for people with type 2 diabetes, including stabilizing blood glucose levels, reducing weight, and lowering cholesterol. “We wondered if the diet would have an impact for those with type 2 diabetes who also suffer from diabetic neuropathy,” says Cameron Wells, MPH, RD, acting director of nutrition education for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which undertook the study. Nerve pain is a common symptom of type 2 diabetes, with few good treatments. Diabetic neuropathy can also cause numbness, oversensitivity and can lead to serious complications like balance and gait disturbances, and reduced quality of life. “We thought that diet might play a role in improving these symptoms,” says Wells. The main goal of the diet was to lower fat. “When you accumulate excess fat inside cells, the fat gums up the locks that insulin uses to open the door to the cell,” explains Wells. When insulin can’t open the "doors," glucose can’t get into the cells and remains in the bloodstream leading to high blood sugar levels. A lower fat diet can reduce insulin resistance and blood sugar levels," she says. Making a Case for a Vegan Diet Researchers wanted to test a plant-based diet because plant foods tend to be naturally low in fat, they’re less likely to cause blood sugar spikes, and are high in fiber. “It’s hard to achieve a truly low fat diet when you’re consuming cheese and meat Continue reading >>
Vegan Diet
Tweet Many people instantly recoil at the idea of a vegan diet, but this attitude is gradually changing, particularly amongst people with diabetes. Can people with diabetes use a vegan diet to improve blood glucose control? Absolutely. By eating a healthy vegan diet low in cholesterol and saturated fat, but balanced enough to include fibre and protein, blood glucose levels can be made easier to control. This type of diet, particularly when combined with exercise, can help to lower blood glucose levels and better manage diabetes. What is a vegan diet for diabetes? A vegan diet effectively means cutting out meat, dairy and animal products whether you have diabetes or not. So what do you eat? Vegan diets, whether for people with diabetes or not, are usually based around plants. Particular foods eaten include vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes. Animal products such as meat and dairy are avoided, as are added fat and sugar. People on vegan diets often take vitamin B12 deficiency supplements. Isn’t a vegan diet for diabetics hard to stick to? Eating a vegan diet does require some compromise, but getting the right diabetes recipes and planning your diet well will make following a vegan diet for diabetes easy. When planning your vegan diet, you need to make sure that protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals are balanced. Vegan diets do not usually demand that portions be stuck to or calories counted, making them easier to follow than some diabetes diets. Can I lose weight using a vegan diet? Many people with diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, have a firm goal to lose weight. Weight loss is well understood as one of the best ways of achieving diabetes control. Vegan diets with a lower glycaemic index and a higher level of fibre are an excellent way of losing wei Continue reading >>
Should You Go Vegetarian? The Benefits Of A Plant-based Diet For People With Diabetes
What if you were told you could lose weight, lower your blood glucose and blood pressure, prevent heart disease, and slow the progression of type 2 diabetes—or prevent it if you don’t yet have it? It sounds too good to be true, but more and more research indicates that a plant-based eating plan may help people with diabetes. What the Studies Show In a 72-week study published by Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, people with type 2 diabetes followed either a low-fat vegan diet or a moderate-carbohydrate plan. Both groups lost weight and improved their cholesterol. When people who didn’t complete the study or had medication changes were omitted from the study analysis, there was a significantly greater decrease in A1C and LDL (bad) cholesterol in the vegans. A study of nearly 100,000 members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, which promotes a vegetarian diet, showed that the vegetarians had a lower rate of type 2 than nonvegetarians. “The closer people follow a vegan diet, the more they stay at a healthy weight and prevent type 2,” says Michael J. Orlich, M.D., assistant professor of preventive medicine at Loma Linda University in California. Orlich was involved with the study. Not eating red and processed meats may help prevent type 2 even without factoring in body weight. Two long-term, ongoing studies by the Harvard School of Public Health tracking nearly 150,000 health care providers showed that people who ate an additional half serving of red meat daily for four years had a 50 percent higher risk of developing type 2. Cutting back on red-meat intake by more than a half serving a day reduced this risk by 15 percent. “Study after study has tightly linked eating a plant-based diet with decreasing a number of Continue reading >>
How To Follow A Vegan Diet With Diabetes
The same day now-58-year-old Nara Schuler was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2010, her doctor told her she’d have to start medication immediately — and stay on it for the rest of her life. But Schuler refused to accept this treatment recommendation. “I have to at least try to do something for myself,” she recalls thinking. With some research, Schuler learned about the potential benefits of a vegan diet for people with type 2 diabetes, and she began cutting meat and dairy, as well as packaged, processed, and fast food from her diet. Her new eating plan consisted mainly of nonstarchy vegetables, plus some fruit, beans, nuts, and seeds. And, to her delight, her diabetes improved. Within three months, her A1C, a measure of average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months, returned to normal. “I could see that the blood sugar was lowering every single day,” Schuler says. Within seven months, she had shed 90 pounds, helping to increase her insulin sensitivity. “I felt so empowered — it was amazing,” Schuler says. “It gave me a feeling of accomplishment that’s indescribable.” The Pros of a Vegan Diet for Diabetes “There’s a lot of new evidence showing up telling us the benefits of following a plant-based diet,” says Marina Chaparro, RDN, CDE, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics who has type 1 diabetes. A review published in June 2016 in the journal PLoS Medicine suggested that following a plant-based diet rich in high-quality plant foods may decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And a vegan diet may also provide benefits if you already have diabetes, according to a review published in May 2017 in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology. This review cites a small randomized controlled study published in A Continue reading >>
What Causes Type 2 — Genes Or Food?
There’s a major split in the Type 2 diabetes world. Some believe Type 2 is all about diet (and maybe exercise.) Others say it’s mostly a genetic illness and that diet doesn’t make much difference. Who’s right? This disagreement came to the forefront in the controversy over TV chef Paula Deen. When Deen told the world she had Type 2 diabetes, some people blamed the high-sugar and high-fat food she cooks on her shows. (One signature dish is deep-fried cheesecake.) But Deen denied her diet had much to do with it. She pointed out that many people eat like her and don’t get diabetes. She said her genes were at fault, even though no one else in her family has diabetes. Bloggers jumped in; some to attack Deen, some to defend her. On Diabetes Self-Management, Jan Chait wrote, “Psst! Food does NOT give you diabetes!” Some doctors agreed. Dr. Terry Simpson wrote, “It is more a matter of genetics than anything else. For those who are unlucky enough to have the genetic code that predisposes them to diabetes, the odds are they will become its victim… Even the most “in shape” individual, who eats “right” who has the genetics for diabetes can no more avoid that than you can avoid a car accident if someone misses a stop sign because they are texting.” I beg to differ. Blaming genes without referencing diet makes no sense at all. There has been an increase in diabetes worldwide of 100% to 400% (depending on location) in the last 20 years. Genes don’t change that fast. The environment has changed. People are more sedentary and more stressed now. But the number one change has been the mass consumption of sugars and refined carbs. Dr. Robert Lustig at University of California San Francisco blames sugars for most of the diabetes increase. Our bodies just weren Continue reading >>
A Vegan Diet Could Prevent, Treat And Even Reverse Type 2 Diabetes, Say Leading Experts This Diabetes Week (12-18 June).
Diet and lifestyle have long been regarded as the main causes of type 2 diabetes. Now research suggests that vegans reduce their risk of diabetes by 78% compared with people who eat meat on a daily basis. “Type 2 diabetes is almost always preventable, often treatable, and sometimes reversible through diet and lifestyle changes,” wrote Dr Michael Greger, internationally-renowned physician, in his best-selling book How Not To Die. “People who eat a plant-based diet have just a small fraction of the rates of diabetes seen in those who regularly eat meat. By switching to a healthy diet, you can start improving your health within a matter of hours.” This is partly because vegans are better able to control their weight. Carrying excess body fat is the number one risk factor of type 2 diabetes, with around 90% of those who develop the disease being overweight. Vegans, however, have lower levels of obesity on average than any other dietary group. It is also because, Dr Greger explains, the saturated fats found in animal products contribute to insulin resistance – the cause of type 2 diabetes – whereas monosaturated fats found in nuts and avocados may actually protect against the detrimental effects of saturated fats. As a result, people eating plant-based diets appear to have better insulin sensitivity, better blood sugar levels and better levels of insulin, which enables blood sugar to enter your cells. Type 2 diabetes is spreading fast. Over 21 million people have been diagnosed with the disease in the United States, a number that has roughly tripled since 1990, with devastating health implications. Diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, and stroke. Sandra Hood, state registered dietitian in the UK, said: “A plant-based diet can be very h Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes And Vegan Diets
The only prospective study measuring rates of diabetes in vegans, the Adventist Health Study 2, found them to have a 60% less chance of developing the disease than non-vegetarians after two years of follow-up. Previously, a cross-sectional report from the Adventist Health Study-2 showed vegans to have a 68% lower rate of diabetes than non-vegetarians. A number of clinical trials have now shown that a vegan, or mostly vegan, diet can lower body weight, reduce blood sugar, and improve other parameters for type 2 diabetes. 2017 Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies A 2017 meta-analysis reviewed 14 studies published in 13 papers ( 17 ). Two were cohort studies and the other 12 were cross-sectional. Vegetarians had a lower incidence of diabetes in eight of the studies while there was no difference in the other five. Based on the pooled analysis of the studies, vegetarians had a 27% lower risk for diabetes compared to omnivores (OR 0.73, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.87). When the researchers looked at effects in different groups, they found that vegetarian men were less likely to have diabetes than omnivore men, but there was no difference in risk between vegetarian and omnivore women. The researchers also looked at different types of vegetarian diets and found that risk for diabetes was lowest among vegans and lacto-vegetarians. Pesco-vegetarians did not have a lower risk for diabetes compared to omnivores, although semi-vegetarians did. The main limitation of this meta-analysis is that most of the studies were cross-sectional. In addition, the studies were from diverse populations throughout the world where definitions and composition of vegetarian diets may differ. This might explain why among these studies, the findings were stronger in studies from North America, Europe, and the We Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes And The Vegetarian Diet
From the Clinical Nutrition & Risk Factor Modification Center (DJAJ, CWCK, AM, ALJ, and LSAA) and the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism (DJAJ), St Michael's Hospital, Toronto; the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (DJAJ, CWCK, AM, and LSAA); the Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Boston (DSL); the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC (NDB); and the VA Medical Center, Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington (JWA). Address reprint requests to DJA Jenkins, Clinical Nutrition & Risk Factor Modification Center, St Michael's Hospital, 61 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 2T2. E-mail: [email protected] . Search for other works by this author on: From the Clinical Nutrition & Risk Factor Modification Center (DJAJ, CWCK, AM, ALJ, and LSAA) and the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism (DJAJ), St Michael's Hospital, Toronto; the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (DJAJ, CWCK, AM, and LSAA); the Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Boston (DSL); the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC (NDB); and the VA Medical Center, Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington (JWA). Search for other works by this author on: From the Clinical Nutrition & Risk Factor Modification Center (DJAJ, CWCK, AM, ALJ, and LSAA) and the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism (DJAJ), St Michael's Hospital, Toronto; the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (DJAJ, CWCK, AM, and LSAA); the Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Boston (DS Continue reading >>
How Becoming A Vegetarian Can Cure Diabetes: Plant-based Diets Improve Blood Sugar Levels, Scientists Claim
Switching to a vegetarian diet could help reverse diabetes, a new study claims. Millions of people battling the killer disease could improve their blood sugar levels by eradicating meat from their weekly shop. Scientists believe removing animal fats could help cure the condition, leaving patients free from the disease. They said changes to diet could be used as an alternative treatment for type 2 diabetes. An analysis of previous studies revealed removing animal fats from diet helps improve insulin sensitivity. Scroll down for videos Eating a vegetable-based diet reduced levels of a key blood-protein called glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). For people with diabetes, the higher the HbA1c in their blood, the greater the risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as nerve damage, eye problems, and heart disease. The study found a vegan or vegetarian diet lowered HbA1c by an average of 0.4 percentage points, and up to 0.7 points. This is comparable to the effects of drugs given to help patients with diabetes control their blood-sugar levels, researchers said. 'A diet change beats a pill,' said dietitian Susan Levin, one of the study's authors. 'A plant-based diet improves blood sugar, body weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol all at the same time, something no drug can do.' Dr Neal Barnard, of the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, added: 'Plant-based diets work in a different way than "conventional" diabetes diets. 'We now know that type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance. Getting the animal fat — and fats in general — out of the diet helps repair insulin's ability to function.' He told the Daily Express: 'We tell patients they can eat as much as they want – and as much whole wheat pasta, whole grains, and brown ri Continue reading >>
Vegan Diet Good For Type 2 Diabetes
cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients than a diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), according to a new study. Two out of three people with diabetes die of a heart attack or stroke, so reducing cardiovascular disease is a priority. The study was in part funded by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which promotes a vegan diet. For 22 weeks, participants followed either a low-fat, low-glycemic vegan diet or guidelines prescribed by the ADA. All 99 participants had type 2 diabetes. Both men and women participated and were recruited through a newspaper ad in the Washington, D.C., area. Participants reported what they ate at the start of the trial and throughout the trial. Researchers took the data and calculated scores based on the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI). Scores were calculated at the beginning of the 22 weeks and again at the end. There was no difference in the scores between the two groups at the start of the study. Past research has shown a correlation between AHEI and cardiovascular disease. The AHEI is a nine-component dietary index used to rate foods and macronutrients related to chronic disease risk. The higher the AHEI score, the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. The vegan dieters saw significant improvements in their AHEI scores; the ADA group did not. The vegan group improved significantly in every AHEI category, including increased intake of vegetables, fruits, nut and soy protein, and cereal fiber, and a decrease in trans fat intake. Both groups were able to reduce their weight and their hemoglobin A1c, a measure of blood sugar levels over a prolonged period of time. However, the vegan group experienced more significant reductions in both categories. "The results of this study suggest that, if fol Continue reading >>
Going Vegan Could Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Going vegan could prevent type 2 diabetes Excess weight is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Recent research, however, suggests one strategy that could help to prevent the condition in people who are overweight, and it involves giving up meat and dairy. Researchers say that a vegan diet could prevent diabetes in people who are overweight. Researchers found that overweight people who switched to a vegan diet for 16 weeks showed improvements in insulin sensitivity plus the functioning of beta cells compared with a control group. Beta cells reside in the pancreas and produce and release insulin. The vegan diet also led to improvements in blood sugar levels, both during fasting and during meals. Lead study author Dr. Hana Kahleova, of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C., says that the findings have "important implications for diabetes prevention." Dr. Kahleova and colleagues recently reported their results in the journal Nutrients. Type 2 diabetes arises when the body is no longer able to respond to insulin effectively which is a condition known as insulin resistance or the pancreatic beta cells do not produce enough insulin. Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. As a result of this, blood sugar levels can become too high. This can lead to serious complications, including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetic eye disease, and nerve damage. It is estimated that more than 30 million people in the United States are living with diabetes, and type 2 diabetes accounts for around 9095 percent of all cases. Being overweight is one of the leading risk factors for type 2 diabetes. In fact, around 80 percent of people who have type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Making lifestyle changes such as adopting a he Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Warning - Ditching Two Unexpected Foods From Diet Could Increase Risk
Experts suggest this could be due to Vitamin A - a substance which is found in animal foods and dairy products. The vitamin boosts cells in the pancreas that produce the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin, researchers said. There has previously been no known link between diabetes and Vitamin A - which is found in liver, oily fish and cheese - until now. Dr Albert Salehi, senior researcher at the Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden, said vitamin A is found mainly in offal and dairy products. The researchers said milk in Sweden is enriched with Vitamin A and there appears to be no deficiency in people who eat a varied diet. However he said some vegetarians perhaps need to be aware of the problem. The research team from King's College London and the Oxford Centre for Diabetes found the vitamin improves the function of the specialist cells - known as beta cells. They initially discovered the cells contain a large quantity of a cell surface receptor for vitamin A. Dr Salehi said: "There are no unnecessary surface receptors in human cells. They all serve a purpose but which, in many cases, is still unknown and because of that they are called 'orphan' receptors. "When we discovered insulin cells have a cell surface expressed receptor for vitamin A, we thought it was important to find out why and what the purpose is of a cell surface receptor interacting with vitamin A mediating a rapid response to vitamin A." Fri, August 19, 2016 Diabetes is a common life-long health condition. There are 3.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK and an estimated 500,000 who are living undiagnosed with the condition. The researchers believe Vitamin A has an important role for the development of beta-cells in the early stages of life - and as people get older. They worked wi Continue reading >>
Type Of Vegetarian Diet, Body Weight, And Prevalence Of Type 2 Diabetes
Type of Vegetarian Diet, Body Weight, and Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes 1Department of Health Promotion and Education, School of Public Health, and the Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California; 2Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California; 3Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California; 4Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California. Corresponding author: Serena Tonstad, [email protected] Received 2008 Oct 17; Accepted 2009 Feb 2. Copyright © 2009 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See for details. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. We assessed the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in people following different types of vegetarian diets compared with that in nonvegetarians. The study population comprised 22,434 men and 38,469 women who participated in the Adventist Health Study-2 conducted in 2002–2006. We collected self-reported demographic, anthropometric, medical history, and lifestyle data from Seventh-Day Adventist church members across North America. The type of vegetarian diet was categorized based on a food-frequency questionnaire. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs using multivariate-adjusted logistic regression. Mean BMI was lowest in vegans (23.6 kg/m2) and incrementally higher in lacto-ovo vegetarians (25.7 kg/m2), pesco-vegetarians (26.3 kg/m2), semi-vegetarians (27.3 kg/m2), and nonvegetarians (28.8 kg/m2). Prevalence of type 2 diabetes increased from 2.9% in vegans to 7.6% in nonvegetarians; the prevalence was intermediate in par Continue reading >>
Is Diabetes Likely To Be A Serious Risk For Vegans?
Is diabetes likely to be a serious risk for vegans? First of all, vegan only says what someone DOESNT eat - meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, etc. It doesnt tell you what a person actually eats. You need to determine what kind of vegan diet you mean, because there certainly are junk food vegans, although the risk of developing diabetes is lower because vegans generally eat a lower fat diet with much more fiber, that doesnt mean that vegans cant also develop diabetes. But in general vegans have a much lower risk than everyone else, so you are more likely to be diabetic if youre NOT vegan. But that is comparing a standard american diet to any vegan diet. However, if youre talking about a healthy vegan diet, such as a whole food, plant based diet, then that will actually prevent and reverse type 2 diabetes in the majority of cases. So that means no processed food whatsoever, no sugar, no oil and of course no meat, fish, dairy, or eggs. Eating low fat has also been shown to be beneficial for preventing/reversing type 2 diabetes. If youd like to know more about this diet, I highly recommend you check out some books by Dr Neal Barnard as well as other specialists that are using a whole food vegan diet to treat a range of diseases, including heart disease, MS, lupus, fibromyalgia, and many more. I will list some videos and books for you, which have long lists of references to the clinical studies which support a WFPB diet in treating most lifestyle diseases, but you can also go to pubmed and search for articles yourself, to see that this method has more than enough scientific support. It is so well documented at this point that its a travesty that this is not the default treatment option already. Based on overwhelming evidence, there are some health insurance companies that hav Continue reading >>
