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The Case For A Vegan Diabetes Menu

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A menu for diabetes patients can help control the symptoms of diabetes. To understand the relationship between the dietary menu and diabetes, an understanding of what diabetes is may be helpful.

What Diabetes Is

Diabetes is a disorder in which the patient has unusually high blood sugar levels and an erratic metabolism. High blood sugar levels are caused either by low levels of the hormone insulin or by resistance to the effects of insulin, combined with insufficient levels of secreted insulin. Symptoms of diabetes sufferers include excessive urination, excessive thirst, increased fluid intake, and blurred vision.

Symptoms of diabetes can be controlled by diet and exercise, so diabetes patients look for a diabetes menu that controls the amount of glucose in the blood.

Benefits Of A Vegan Diabetes Menu

According to clinical studies conducted in 2005 by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (the PCRM), working on a grant from the Diabetes Action and Research Education Foundation, a diabetes menu comprising a high-fiber, low-fat vegan diet resulted in patients losing weight and needing less medicine to control their blood sugars.

Subjects in the 12-week study followed one of two diets: the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (the ADA) and a vegan diet. A vegan diet excludes all animal products, including meat, eggs, and dairy. The vegan diabetes menu in the study consisted of meals that were all made without refined ingredients and without cholesterol. Meals averaged 10% fat as a percentage of calories and 80% complex carbohydrates. Meals contained 60 to 70 grams of fiber per day.

In contrast, the typical diabetes menu suggested by the American Diabetes Association is 30% fat and 50% carbohydrate, providing 30 grams of fiber per day and containing 200 milligrams of cholesterol per day. To help ensure that patients would follow the diet, caterers prepared lunches and dinners for participants in the study; all the patients had to do was reheat the meals and eat them.

The Results

The fasting blood sugars of the vegan group decreased 59% more than the blood sugars of the ADA group. While the vegan group needed less medication to control their blood sugar levels, the ADA group needed the same amount of medication as they had used before the study. Participants following the ADA diabetes menu lost 8 pounds on average over the 12-week study, while those following the vegan diabetes menu lost an average of 16 pounds.

Finally, when measuring protein loss in the urine  a symptom of diabetes-related kidney damage  the ADA group's protein losses worsened, while the vegan subjects had a large reduction in protein losses.

The PCRM study shows that eating a vegan diabetes menu may have a significant positive impact on the symptoms of diabetes.