6 Steps On How To Start A Diabetic Vegetarian Diet
This post maycontain affiliate links , which help support this blog but dont add to your cost. What does a diabetic vegetarian eat is a common question I get when I tell people Im both diabetic and vegetarian. Its actually one of the reasons I decided to start this site and call it the Diabetic Herbivore. Plant based diets are already not well understood by the mainstream and neither are the low carb needs of diabetics (which seems strange since there are over 29 million diabetics in our country. Everybody knows at least one). When you put the two together, it seems to really baffle people. Often, when I go to a restaurant and tell the server Im vegetarian, they suggest their meatless noodle, potato or rice dishes. If I ask for low-carb options, Im often presented with their gluten-free offerings. When I explain that Im both diabetic and vegetarian, I get a bewildered look in return. Ive taken to not even asking a lot of times. I figure I know what I can eat better than they do, so I just study the menu until I find something. I will ask the server whats in a dish (or if it is cooked with meat) if Im unsure if it will work, and sometimes I will ask for a substitution or to just hold the meat. Sometimes, weve even gotten up and left the few places that had absolutely nothing I could eat that sounded tasty to me. I remember early on in my vegetarian days, I pulled up to an Arbys because I was running late but needed food. I checked out their drive-through menu thoroughly and finally decided to try one of their salads, which of course has meat on it. I asked the order taker for the salad with no meat. When I got to the window, she said, You did want bacon bits on your salad, right? I answered, Um, no, I said no meat. Bacon is meat. I was informed later by some laughing ca Continue reading >>
Vegetarian Diets For Diabetics: Benefits And Drawbacks
Vegetarian Diets for Diabetics: Benefits and Drawbacks Diabetes is a difficult condition to manage and your eating habits will play a great part in determining the quality of your life with this disease. The American Diabetes Association states that there isnt a single best meal plan for this condition, but they agree that a low-fat meal plan, as well as DASH, Mediterranean, and vegetarian diets can help with controlling diabetes. Its a proven fact that people eating plant-based diets have a lower body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol level. Most importantly, they have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and obesity. Both these conditions pose a huge risk for diabetics. People suffering from this condition also develop hypertension and are in a high-risk group for stroke and heart attack. On the other hand, obesity is one of the main contributing factors to diabetes development. Maintaining a healthy body mass does not only reduce your chances of becoming a diabetic, it also helps manage the condition in the long run. Types of Vegetarian Diets and Their Benefits There are several types of plant-based diets, and each of them can be equally beneficial for people suffering from diabetes. They are: This diet excludes all animal-based products. Allows for dairy, but omits all kinds of meat and eggs. This meal plan excludes meat but includes dairy and meat. There is also a semi-vegetarian diet that includes fish. Regardless of which type you choose, wise meal planning can help you manage diabetes and control your BMI more efficiently. Many plant-based foods have a low glycemic index, so they dont cause sudden spikes in blood sugar that are so dangerous to diabetics. They are also lower in bad cholesterol, which is the reason why the reduce the risk of heart condition Continue reading >>
Want To Go Vegetarian? What To Do If You Have Diabetes
If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, choosing to be a vegetarian can be a healthy option. In fact, research has shown that following a vegetarian diet can help you better manage your diabetes. It has also been shown to help prevent or reverse type 2 diabetes. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy I began following a vegan diet a few years ago when the documentary Forks Over Knives came out about the benefits of a plant-based diet. The results of the research highlighted in this documentary just made sense, and it is working well for me and my family members. RELATED: Is a Plant-Based Diet Right for You? When following a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle , you reduce the saturated and trans fats in your diet, which can reduce your risk of chronic disease. These types of fats can clog and damage arteries. And compared to a typical American diet, a vegetarian diet is higher in fiber. The recommended amount of fiber for adults with or without diabetes is 20 to 35 grams per day. When you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you will likely meet or exceed this amount. Foods that are high in fiber are slower to digest so elevations in your blood sugar are less likely to occur. Fiber also provides a feeling of fullness, which usually reduces the overall number of calories eaten and may help you lose weight too. There are different types of vegetarian diets, with the three most common being: Vegan No meat (including red meat, poultry, seafood or any product made with meat), eggs or dairy products. Lacto-vegetarian No meat or eggs, but they do consume dairy products Lacto-ovo vegetarian No meat, but they doeat both dairy products and eggs. You ma Continue reading >>
How To Manage Your Diabetes As A Vegetarian
In this article, we will take a look at the benefits of following a vegetarian diet if you have diabetes. Though we cannot recommend a drastic change in one’s diet, we will enumerate the benefits of following a vegetarian diet. Prior to making any major changes in your diet if you have diabetes, it is imperative that you check with your primary care provider, and registered dietician or Certified Diabetes Educator for their input and expertise. Types of vegetarians Vegan A vegan is the strictest type of vegetarian. The vegan diet is referred to as a “total,” or “pure” vegetarian diet. People who are vegans do not eat any meat or animal products, including eggs and dairy products. This also includes fish and seafood. They are on a plant-based diet. To get the protein needed daily on a vegan diet, a person with diabetes could eat soy based products such as tofu or soy milk, all sorts of vegetables, and a variety of beans and whole grains. This is important because proteins are the “building blocks,” and have important functions related to cell structure and function, and even to make the hormone insulin. Because a vegan diet is low in vitamin B12, a multivitamin or supplement is usually recommended for a vegan diet. Ask your doctor before going on a vegan diet plan, and inquire about your vitamin B-12 needs while on a vegan diet. Lacto-vegetarian The lacto-vegetarian doesn’t eat meat or eggs. However, they don’t mind including milk products in their diet. Lacto-ovo vegetarian This group does not eat any meat, but they do enjoy animal products such as eggs and all varieties of milk products, such as eggs or cheese. Other Variations There are some variations on the theme, such as “pescetarian,” who will eat fish. There is also a version called, “raw Continue reading >>
Testing Out Vegetarianism
I always wanted to be a vegetarian. It always sounded like such a noble cause: saving the animals, the environment, and my health all in one fell swoop. But my actual experience with vegetarianism is somewhat mixed. In high school, I quit eating meat altogether for about six months, much to the chagrin of my meat-loving family. Eventually the weight of fixing my own vegetarian dinners was too burdensome, so I decided to incorporate chicken into my meals. A few months after that, pork found its way back into my diet. I managed to avoid beef entirely for 10 years, before I finally broke down and had a hamburger. A lot people are probably similar to me. Vegetarianism sounds like the right thing to do, but you're not quite sure you can actually go all the way. October is also National Vegetarian Awareness Month, so for the past three weeks, my husband and I have taken on a new challenge: eating a vegetarian diet. Neither of us are interested in becoming full-time vegetarians, but we also realized that we were perhaps relying on meat a little too much. This would be our experiment to get us used to mixing more fruits and vegetables into our meal planning. Like many people with diabetes, I was a bit concerned that eating vegetarian might be a gateway to a diet full of pasta, cereal and bread — which in moderation isn't a bad thing, but it's hard to build a healthy diet based solely on carbs. Luckily it turns out that being vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean giving up all your favorite protein options. I discovered there are actually several different kinds of vegetarianism, with varying degrees of severity in diet restrictions: Ovo vegetarianism excludes all meat and dairy, but includes eggs Lacto vegetarianism excludes all meat and eggs, but includes dairy Ovo-lacto veget Continue reading >>
Is A Vegetarian Diet Better For Diabetes?
Research suggests that well planned, vegetarian diets that are rich in whole grains, fiber, legumes, nuts, and unsaturated fats can help improve blood sugar and may even prevent diabetes. Here, a registered dietitian and type 1 tells you what you need to know. Vegetarian diets are becoming more mainstream. The words meatless Monday, vegan and plant based are the new buzzwords in today’s nutrition frenzy. But you might be skeptical to try a vegetarian diet if you have diabetes fearing you will consume too many carbohydrates and no animal protein to stabilize your blood sugars. Eggs, cheese, meat, fish and other protein sources have long been considered “safe” for people with diabetes because they don’t raise blood sugars as do carbohydrates found in grains, fruits, and legumes—all cornerstones of the vegetarian diet. But it turns out, following a meatless Monday or vegetarian approach may be beneficial to your waistline as well as your diabetes control. New research points to the protective effects a plant-based diet can have on people at risk of developing diabetes or with existing diabetes. Vegetarians and vegans tend to live longer and have a lower risk of developing diabetes as well as other chronic conditions like heart disease, hypertension, certain types of cancers and obesity. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recent position paper, a well-planned vegetarian diet that is rich in whole grains, nuts, and soy, seeds, fruits, and veggies can be nutritionally adequate and suitable for all life stages. The key word here is well-planned. Vegetarians can be at risk for nutritional deficiencies, in particular, iron, vitamin D and calcium if not appropriately planned. People with diabetes may need to consider additional factors if choosing to ad Continue reading >>
Adopting A Vegetarian Meal Plan
An Option to Consider The road to health is paved with vegetables, fruits, beans, rice and grains. – Polly Strand In the United States, vegetarianism has often been considered something of a fad or an aspect of an “alternative” lifestyle. In recent years, however, this way of eating has become more mainstream. Today, up to 10% of Americans call themselves vegetarians, although they don’t all define the word the same way. “Vegans” avoid all foods derived from animals and eat only plant-based foods. “Lacto-vegetarians” avoid meat, poultry, fish, and eggs but include dairy products in their diets along with plant foods. “Lacto-ovo vegetarians” eat eggs in addition to dairy products and plant foods. And “flexitarians” (sometimes called “semi-vegetarians”) follow a primarily plant-based diet but occasionally eat small amounts of meat, poultry, or fish. The reasons people adopt a vegetarian eating style are varied and may include concern for animals and/or the environment, personal health, and culture or religion. Following a vegetarian meal plan does appear to have health benefits. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians are less likely than meat eaters to be overweight or obese or to have Type 2 diabetes. They also tend to have lower blood cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure, and they have lower rates of death from heart disease and prostate or colon cancer. The features of a vegetarian meal plan that may reduce the risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals (chemical compounds found in plants that may be beneficial to human health). In many ways, the characteristics of a well-planne Continue reading >>
Vegetarian Diet: Can It Help Me Control My Diabetes?
Could switching to a vegetarian diet cure my diabetes? Answers from M. Regina Castro, M.D. A vegetarian diet probably won't cure your diabetes. But it may offer some benefits over a nonvegetarian diet — such as helping to better control your weight, reducing your risk of some diabetes-associated complications and possibly even making your body more responsive to insulin. There's no single vegetarian eating plan. For example, some allow dairy products while others don't allow any animal products (vegans). The benefits of a vegetarian diet depend on the type of diet you choose and the food choices you make when following the diet. For most, however, eating a vegetarian diet: Promotes a healthy weight. Vegetarian diets are often lower in calories than are nonvegetarian diets, which can help with weight management. Also, people following a vegetarian diet tend to have lower body mass indexes (BMIs) than do people who follow a nonvegetarian diet. A healthy body weight can improve blood sugar control and reduce your risk of diabetes complications. Improves blood sugar control and insulin response. Eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts — features of a vegetarian diet — can improve blood sugar control and make your body more responsive to insulin. This may mean taking less medication and lowering your risk of diabetes-related complications. But even a vegetarian diet can have adverse effects on blood sugar if it is rich in simple carbohydrates — especially starches, such as potatoes, white rice and white bread. Reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease. A strict vegan diet is cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat and usually high in soluble fiber. A low-fat vegetarian diet can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease — a common complication of Continue reading >>
Vegetarian Diets And Incidence Of Diabetes In The Adventist Health Study-2
Vegetarian diets and incidence of diabetes in the Adventist Health Study-2 S. Tonstad ,a,* K. Stewart ,a K. Oda ,b M. Batech ,b R.P. Herring ,a and G.E. Fraser c aLoma Linda University School of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA aLoma Linda University School of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA bLoma Linda University School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA bLoma Linda University School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA aLoma Linda University School of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA aLoma Linda University School of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA bLoma Linda University School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA cLoma Linda University, Department of Cardiology, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA *Corresponding author. School of Public Health, 24951N Circle Drive, Nichol Hall Room 1519, Loma Linda, California 92354, USA. Tel.: +1909 747 2607, +1 909 747 0471; fax: +1 909 558 0471 The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis See other articles in PMC that cite the published article. To evaluate the relationship of diet to incident diabetes among non-Black and Black participants in the Adventist Health Study-2. Participants were 15,200 men and 26,187 women (17.3% Blacks) across the U.S. and Canada who were free of diabetes and who provided demographic, anthropometric, lifestyle and dietary data. Participants were grouped as vegan, lacto ovo vegetarian, pesc Continue reading >>
Lacto-ovo | Paleo Diabetic
Posted on March 30, 2017 | Comments Off on Does a Low-Carb Vegetarian Diet Work forDiabetes? Spaghetti squash with parsley, olive oil, snow peas, garlic, salt, pepper It does for type 2 diabetic David Mendosa, whos been doing it for three years. He shares some ideas on how to do it at the link below. From the intro: About nine years ago, I started to eat only food low in carbohydrates that dont have a high glycemic index. I knew that this was the only proven way to bring my blood glucose level down where I wanted it to be without using drugs or supplements. My most recent A1C test showed that my level is 5.1 percent, well within the range considered normal. While continuing to eat this way, about three years ago I added the further restriction of eating no meat, fish, or seafood. This was a substantial shift in what I was eating, and I made it mainly because I dont want to be intentionally responsible for the death of animals or other sentient beings. Only later did I begin to realize its health benefits. Continue reading >>
Vegetarianism And Diabetes: Do The Two Mix? (part 1)
Does the word “vegetarian” conjure up images of people with long hair, wearing robes, feasting on bean sprouts and tofu? While that may have been the picture of vegetarianism back in the 1960’s and 70’s, today’s vegetarian is just like you and me, except for some of the food choices he makes. Let’s define “vegetarian.” According to the American Dietetic Association, “A vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat, fish, or fowl or products containing these foods.” However, vegetarianism takes different forms. For example, a lacto-ovo-vegetarian eats grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, seeds, and nuts but also includes dairy foods and eggs in his eating plan. A lacto-vegetarian eats the same foods as the lacto-ovo-vegetarian but doesn’t eat eggs. A vegan, or total vegetarian, doesn’t eat any animal products at all. Some vegans go so far as not eating honey, for example, since it comes from bees, and may even refuse to wear clothing or shoes made of leather. To add to the complexity even further, some people call themselves “semivegetarians,” meaning that they occasionally eat fish, poultry, or meat. Then there are “fruitarians,” who eat only raw fruit, nuts, and seeds (not recommended, by the way). People choose to become vegetarians for various reasons, including concern for the environment, animal welfare, religious beliefs, economic reasons, and, of course, health reasons. According to a Harris poll done in 2003, about 3% of the U.S. population is vegetarian, when vegetarian is defined as people who don’t eat meat, poultry, or seafood. Vegetarianism has caught on thanks in part to the many celebrities who have shunned eating meat, including Pamela Anderson, Paul McCartney, Joaquin Phoenix, Cameron Diaz, and Prince. Vegetarian diets, Continue reading >>
Adherence To A Vegetarian Diet And Diabetes Risk: A Systematic Review And Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies
Adherence to a Vegetarian Diet and Diabetes Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies Department of Food and Nutrition, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Gyeongbuk, Korea; [email protected]_jy *Correspondence: [email protected] ; Tel.: +82-53-810-2879 Received 2017 May 11; Accepted 2017 Jun 10. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( ). We quantitatively assessed the association between a vegetarian diet and diabetes risk using pooled estimates from observational studies. Electronic database searches for articles published from January 1980 to May 2016 were independently performed by two investigators, and 13 articles (14 studies) were identified. The pooled odds ratio (OR) for diabetes in vegetarians vs. non-vegetarians was 0.726 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.608, 0.867). In the subgroup analyses, this inverse association was stronger for the studies conducted in the Western Pacific region (OR 0.514, 95% CI: 0.304, 0.871) and Europe/North America (OR 0.756, 95% CI: 0.589, 0.971) than studies conducted in Southeast Asia (OR 0.888, 95% CI: 0.718, 1.099). No study had a substantial effect on the pooled effect size in the influence analysis, and the Eggers (p = 0.465) and Beggs tests (p = 0.584) revealed no publication bias. This meta-analysis indicates that a vegetarian diet is inversely associated with diabetes risk. Our results support the need for further investigations into the effects of the motivations for vegetarianism, the duration of the adherence to a vegetarian diet, and type of vegetarian on diabetes risk. Keywords: vegetarian, diabetes, systematic review, meta-analysis Diabetes mellitus is one of the l Continue reading >>
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The Benefits Of A Lacto-ovo Vegetarian Diet
The Benefits of a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Diet With a master's degree in art history from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Michelle Powell-Smith has been writing professionally for more than a decade. An avid knitter and mother of four, she has written extensively on a wide variety of subjects, including education, test preparation, parenting, crafts and fashion. A lacto-ovo vegetarian diet can be healthy and delicious. Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets avoid meat, fish, and poultry, but include eggs, dairy products and honey. A well-balanced lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is nutritionally complete and rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. While you may choose a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons, there are multiple health benefits associated with lacto-ovo vegetarianism. Vegetarian diets are suitable for children, teens, active adults, pregnant women and seniors. Vegetarians diets help to prevent heart disease, according to the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. A lacto-ovo vegetarian typically consumes less saturated fat and cholesterol than someone who eats meat. A high-fiber, low-fat vegetarian diet, combined with other lifestyle changes, may even reduce atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Incorporating soy based foods, whole grains, and a wide variety of vegetables may lower cholesterol without medication, reports Professor David Jenkins at the University of Toronto. A meatless diet is also associated with lower blood pressure. Adult-onset diabetes may, in some cases, be controlled through a vegetarian diet. Common vegetarian foods, like legumes, fruits and vegetables may make your body more responsive to insulin, allowing you to reduce medication. A low-fat, high-fiber diet can help you to maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of hea Continue reading >>
The Ultimate Anti-diabetes Diet
One of America's most common killer diseases, type 2 diabetes, jeopardizes the health, quality of life, and longevity of nearly 24 million Americans, according to the American Diabetes Association, and that number continues to rise. New cases have doubled over the past 30 years, and because the disease occurs gradually and often with no obvious symptoms, many people don't even know they have it. People who are overweight are at higher risk because fat interferes with the body's ability to use insulin, the crux of the disease. But a solution to the problem is within reach: a groundbreaking eating plan not only helps prevent this chronic disease, but actually reverses it while also promoting weight loss. Focusing on plant-based meals,the revolutionary plan was developed by Vegetarian Times former Ask the Doc columnist, Neal Barnard, MD, and is backed by the results of his long-term study. Your doctor may not tell you about this diet: dietitians generally counsel overweight diabetics to cut calories, reduce serving sizes, and avoid starchy carbohydrates that raise blood sugar levels. But Barnard's team at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and scientists at George Washington University and the University of Toronto thought this might be the wrong approach, considering that carbohydrate-rich rice, legumes, and root vegetables are staples throughout Asia and Africa, where most people are thin and diabetes rates are low. Barnard and his team studied a group of diabetics, comparing the effects of a diet based on standard recommendations versus a vegan-style diet with no limits on calories, carbs, or portions, and just three rules: eliminate meat, dairy, and eggs; minimize fat and oil; and favor low-glycemic foods (such as beans, vegetables, brown rice, and oatme Continue reading >>
How To Manage Your Diabetes With A Low-carb Vegetarian Diet
This country still hasn’t recognized the importance of eating low-carb, especially for diabetes management, but also for reducing weight. But October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, and some people with diabetes, including the more than 3,700 members of The Vegetarian Low Carb Diabetic Healthy Diet Society, follow both. You can manage your diabetes on both a vegetarian and low-carb diet and get the benefits of both. These diets have many advocates and are healthful and satisfying. But I doubt if anyone would say that it’s easy to be a vegetarian and a low-carber at the same time. Eating low-carb About nine years ago, I started to eat only food low in carbohydrates that don’t have a high glycemic index. I knew that this was the only proven way to bring my blood glucose level down where I wanted it to be without using drugs or supplements. My most recent A1C test showed that my level is 5.1 percent, well within the range considered normal. While continuing to eat this way, about three years ago I added the further restriction of eating no meat, fish, or seafood. This was a substantial shift in what I was eating, and I made it mainly because I don’t want to be intentionally responsible for the death of animals or other sentient beings. Only later did I begin to realize its health benefits. Hard at first Like many people, I found at first that going low-carb wasn’t easy. Avoiding starchy food, like bread and other wheat products, was almost as hard as kicking my addiction to tobacco years earlier. But eventually, my cravings for these foods stopped. With that personal history, I was surprised that when I stopped eating meat, fish, and seafood, I didn’t miss them. I found good tasting substitutes, including “Beyond Burger,” which tastes better than beef and wa Continue reading >>
