#T2D is Type 2 Diabetes

In overweight adults with no history of diabetes, a low-fat, plant-based vegan diet can reduce visceral fat and significantly improve both pancreatic beta-cell function and insulin resistance, potentially decreasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

The 16-week randomized controlled trial in 73 adults showed that participants who ate a diet of vegetables, grains, legumes, and fruits significantly improved their overall metabolic condition.

Previous studies have shown that the prevalence of diabetes is 46% to 74% lower in people who eat a plant-based diet compared with meat lovers in the general population.

A vegan diet has also been shown to improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetes better than calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diets.

The vegan diet provided 75% of caloric energy from carbohydrates, 15% from protein, and 10% from fats (20–30 grams/day). There was no calorie restriction in the vegan diet. [This is very low in fat, difficult to do if added oils are used.]

The vegan diet elicited marked increases in meal-stimulated insulin secretion and beta-cell glucose sensitivity, along with decreased fasting insulin resistance and decreased fasting and postprandial plasma glucose concentrations.

There was also improvement in plasma lipid concentrations in response to a low-fat vegan diet, which is consistent with previous studies.

I want to point out that this diet doesn’t just exclude all animal foods, it also excludes all added fats and oils. No sauteing in oil, no oil in dressings.

The evidence for this diet has been around for over a decade:

A Low-Fat Vegan Diet Improves Glycemic Control and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes, Diabetes Care, 2006

Thank you, Virginia!