At first glance, a diet lacking in meat and dairy may not seem appropriate for people with diabetes because it would seem to be too high in carbohydrates. Recent studies on a vegan diet published in the journal Diabetes Care beg to differ with that theory.

The National Institutes of Health study was conducted in partnership with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), George Washington University, and the University of Toronto. They found that a vegan diet was more effective in controlling blood sugar and cholesterol in type 2 diabetic patients than a diet based on current American Diabetes Association guidelines.

Fasting blood sugars decreased 59% for those on the vegan diet. In addition, 43% of those following the low-fat vegan diet were able to reduce their diabetes medications.

Of course, one could eat sugar and candy on a vegan diet and not achieve blood sugar control, but those who choose vegetarian and vegan diets for health reasons tend to focus on the right nutrients: whole, unrefined grains, legumes, and fruits and vegetables. These nutrients contain more fiber which slows digestion, causing a more controlled release of glucose into the bloodstream. In fact, the study diet contained up to 60 grams of fiber — almost 4 times the typical American intake. Fiber is also useful in reducing cholesterol, a factor that places diabetics at a higher risk for heart disease.

A vegan diet is also typically low in fat, particularly saturated fat. Most people don’t realize that fat calories can affect a diabetics blood sugar just as much as carbohydrates. Fat intake interferes with the body’s ability to utilize insulin. Only animal products contain cholesterol, so a vegan diet contained none, also helping those with diabetes reduce blood levels of LDL cholesterol by 21%

Calories do count when it comes to optimal blood sugar control. Weight gain can exacerbate insulin resistance, making diabetes worse. Losing weight has been shown to be very effective in normalizing blood sugar levels. Vegetarians and vegans, for the most part, typically consume fewer calories than do those following a standard American diet. In the study, those following the vegan diet lost an average of 16 pounds. Two of America’s "larger" celebrities have recently lose significant weight following a vegan diet — Rubben Studdard, best known from American Idol, and Forrest Whitaker.

Nancy Berkoff, RD EdD offers vegan meal plans that are based on the American Diabetes Association’s Exchange List. Each daily menu, taken from the book Vegan Meals for One or Two, provides approximately 1800 calories per day, the amount most often recommended by physicians when diabetes is first diagnosed. Meals and snacks are balanced, and planned to reduce cravings that can lead to overeating and resulting in higher blood sugars.

For more information about a low-fat, vegan diet for controlling blood sugar, see Dr. Neal Barnard’s book “Program for Reversing Diabetes”, published in 2007 by Rodale Books.

This is a part of my ongoing series, 10 Minute Vegetarian. I’m busy, you’re busy. We want to be healthy, but we don’t have a lot of time. In the 10 minutes it takes you to read this article, you can learn something about the health benefits of the vegetarian diet and how to implement it in your own hectic schedule.

This post was included in the All Things Eco Blog Carnival.