Vegetarian diet: Can it help me control my diabetes?

Could switching to a vegetarian diet cure my diabetes?

- Nancy / New York

Answer

Changing to 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. This, of course, depends on the type of vegetarian diet you choose and the particular food choices you make when following the diet.

There's no single vegetarian eating plan. A vegan diet is the strictest of all vegetarian diets. Vegans eat no animal meat and no foods that come from animals, such as dairy products and eggs. Other types of vegetarian diets may allow dairy products and eggs.

A strict vegan diet is cholesterol-free and generally low in saturated fat. Vegetarian diets that include generous amounts of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes are high in fiber and phytochemicals. Vegetarian diets often are lower in calories than are nonvegetarian diets. All of these factors benefit people with diabetes.

Significant weight loss resulting from a vegetarian diet can improve type 2 diabetes in people who are obese. But this is also true of similar weight loss from a nonvegetarian diet. Some research indicates that a vegetarian diet makes your body more responsive to insulin — which is a very good thing if you have diabetes. In fact, in a 2006 study published in the journal Diabetes Care, 43 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who ate a low-fat vegan diet reduced their need for diabetes medications.

A vegetarian diet could also reduce your risk of diabetes-associated complications such as cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. But again, this depends on the specific food choices you make.

If you have diabetes, talk to a dietitian before switching to a vegetarian diet. A dietitian can help you create an eating plan that provides all the needed nutrients and the right number of calories to maintain a healthy weight.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

• Vegetarian diet: How to get the best nutrition
• Type 1 diabetes

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