Article on an unlimited diabetes diet

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It sounds too good to be true: an unlimited diabetes diet? If you're
used to counting every calorie, you might find it hard to believe. But
if you love vegetables, you're in luck.

According to researcher Neal Barnard, President of the Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and an adjunct associate
professor in the School of Medicine and Health Science at George
Washington University, a vegan diet—even one with unrestricted calories
—can be better for people with diabetes than a restricted, traditional
diabetes diet.

“We have been testing a vegan diet and comparing it to a more
conventional diabetes diet and the vegan diet is hands down better,”
says Barnard.

Dropping blood sugar—and pounds

In May 2006, results from a study, led by Barnard, comparing a low-fat
vegan diet to a traditional nutritionist-approved diabetes diet
reported that the low-fat vegan diet provided greater health
improvement.

The vegan diet dropped A1C levels by 1.2 points whereas the
traditional diet only dropped levels by a half a point to a point.
(A1C is a measure of average blood sugar levels.) Those on the low-fat
vegan diet also had a 21% reduction in LDL (bad cholesterol) whereas
those on the traditional diet had just a 9% drop.

And one study finding that Barnard found particularly interesting was
that those on the low-fat vegan diet lost 14lbs, whereas those on the
traditional diet lost just 7lbs.

“Weight loss was stronger with the vegan diet, which is a bit
counterintuitive because the typical diabetes diet has a specific
caloric restriction and those on the vegan diet had no restriction,”
says Barnard.

Barnard thinks that less fat storage in cells may explain part of the
reason why a vegan diet shows so much promise. “There’s evidence that
the key problem in type 2 is insulin resistance. This means you have
insulin but your cells aren’t responding to it properly,” he says.
“That may be due to tiny droplets of fat that are inside the cell.
Vegans typically have less of this fat inside their cells.”

Making the switch

You may be asking yourself, “If this type of diet is so good, why
isn’t everyone following it?” The answer isn’t simple, since
everyone’s health situation is different. But a big reason is simply
lack of education and awareness.

According to Barnard, the potential health benefits of a vegan diet
for those with diabetes is relatively new to the public and to
healthcare professionals, which explains why some diabetes educators
and nutritionists are still a little hesitant to prescribe it.

“There are some people that are a little reluctant, but time is moving
on and people want to try it,” say Barnard.

Also, people tend to think a vegan diet is overly difficult and
boring. Barnard ensures that it doesn’t have to be. Here’s an example
of what you could be eating:

● Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, cinnamon and/or raisins, veggie
sausage (read the label because not all are vegan), toast with jelly
or jam.

● Lunch: Salad with a non-fat dressing, lentil soup, minestrone soup,
vegan chilli, veggie burger, bean burrito, baked potato chips.

● Dinner: Spaghetti with tomato sauce and veggies, vegetarian Chinese,
veggie sushi, miso soup.

And making the switch doesn’t have to be difficult either. “You don’t
have to do it slowly,” says Barnard. “Very often people want to do it
yesterday.”

Do it yourself

So how would you get started?

Barnard suggests figuring out what it is you like to eat that falls
into a low-fat vegan diet (that means no meat, no dairy and low-fat
oils). Then eat like a vegan at every meal for three weeks. After
that, try your old diet and compare.

“See how you feel,” Barnard says. “Most people feelbetter and their
tastes have changed. It’s like when someone goes from whole milk to
skim milk. It’s watery at first but then you get use to it. If yougo
on a vegan diet, it is light at first but then you get used to it.”

Like any good diet, however, vegan-ism is a lifestyle change—it's not
just something you do on a whim. If you think that it might be to your
liking, or if you just want to try something different, Barnard
suggests taking a multivitamin as well. Not because the vegan diet is
less healthy than a traditional one, but because some vitamins, such
as vitamin B12, are more difficult to get on a vegan diet.

It’s also a good idea to make your doctor is aware of your dietary
changes because any medicines you take may need their dosages
adjusted. And by telling your doctor, you'll also help spread the word
about a diet that might not only be better for your health, but also
easier and more enjoyable to follow.