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28 July, (foodconsumer.org) - Those who have type 2 diabetes might reverse their condition to normal just by following a vegan diet. A new study found that a low-fat vegan diet without dairy and meat may be better for type 2 diabetics than the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association.

Those who were on a vegan diet not only had lower levels of blood sugar and cholesterol and lost more weight, but also had better kidney function, according to the study published in the journal Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

The study, led by Dr. Neal Barnard and colleagues from George Washington University, the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina, was meant to test a low-fat low sugar vegan diet and the ADA-recommended diet to see which is better in the management of diabetes, kidney function, cholesterol levels and weight loss.

In the study, 100 adults were enlisted. Half were assigned a low-fat vegan diet and the other half followed the ADA-recommended guidelines. In the group on the ADA diet, those who are overweight were told to reduce their calorie intake by 500- 1,000 calories. In the vegan group, vitamin B12 was added to the diet as a vegan diet may likely lack vitamin B 12.

As a result, 43 percent of those who were on the vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their dependence on diabetes drugs such as insulin or glucose-control medications while only 26 percent of the ADA dieters also reduced the dependence. With regards to weight loss, the vegan dieters lost an average of 14 pounds, compared to 7 pounds for those who were on the ADA diet.

Better yet, the vegan diet is easier to follow than the standard diabetes diet because participants on the vegan diet did not have to measure portions and calories. During the study, three vegan dieters dropped out of the study, compared to eight on the ADA diet.

"The (vegan) diet appears remarkably effective, and all the side effects are good ones -- especially weight loss and lower cholesterol," said Dr. Neal D. Barnard, adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. "I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs."

"The diet did not restrict carbohydrate, it could be high carbohydrate, the diet didn't restrict calories, it didn't restrict portion size," said Barnard. "If it was 8:30 at night and you were hungry you could go ahead and eat."

The only things ruled out by the diet were animal products as well as foods containing vegetable oils. Fruits like avocado were also not recommended in the vegan diet.

Nancy Bowen, one of the participants in the study said that the diet helped her stop using one of the drugs that was prescribed to her, "Where I work, people say to me, I wish I would have known about this because we buried my mom or my dad a couple years ago," she added.

The benefits of a vegan diet for diabetes patients have been known to some nutritionists. Dr. Colin T. Campbell, a retired nutrition professor from Cornell University, who authored a famous book titled "The China Study" published in 2005, pointed out in his book that reduced meat consumption can help more than diabetes.

He said reduced intake of meat, which is full of fat and animal protein, can help avoid many if not all diseases of affluence including cancer, heart disease, and obesity. Fat and protein in meat have been correlated with high risk of those diseases.

The ADA diet focuses on reducing calories only. It groups food based on their carbohydrate and protein content rather than the kind of food it is. Dr Barnard said that along with grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, the pyramid also recommends eating two to three servings of low- or non-fat milk, and 4 to 6 ounces of meat, cheese or meat substitutes.

In contrast, the vegan diet focuses on foods that are high in fiber content and are filling although they are low in fat.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Around 90 to 95 percent of those affected have type 2 diabetes, a condition characterized by failure of the pancreatic beta cells to adequately respond to the increased demands for insulin that occur as a result of obesity-related insulin resistance.

One explanation as to why a vegan diet benefits such individuals may be that a high fiber diet does not put more demands on already stressed cells.

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