Does a vegan diet cure diabetes, or just put it into remission?
Suggestions:
I have a lot to say here as I am a health fanatic and know a lot about diabetes (with several family members having it).
I don’t think you can put it completely into remission, BUT you can gain full control of your blood sugar levels and maybe slightly improve your glucose tolerance by eating a vegetable rich diet with proper protein intake which will allow you to live as if you never even had diabetes and still treat yourself every once and a while to something sweet/unhealthy (and I know some people who are like this). On one note though, you can NOT ignore certain protein sources like meat, dairy, and eggs. Certain necessary amino acids like l-taurine and others are ONLY found in meat, dairy, and egg proteins and many of these amino acids are beneficial and critical to maintaining your blood sugar balance. My grandfather is type 2 diabetes and was once on a low fat, very limited meat/protein diet for a long time until he saw a well respected cardiologist from Johns Hopkins (baltimore) who told him that his body wasn’t making certain non-essential amino acids (in his liver) which affected his hearth health, blood sugar, cellular energy, and cholesterol and that he needed to get more protein and more of the (anti-inflammatory and heart healthy) omega 3 and to eat more healthy fats (like olive oil/fish oil)– no red meat and no flax oil though. If you eat meat, make sure it’s free range, organic. If it’s going to be beef, it MUST be grass fed. Grain fed cows (as opposed to grass fed-free range) have the highest levels of saturated fats and lowest levels of omega 3 fatty acids. Similarly free range eggs and raw butter have the higher levels of omega 3’s.
About going vegan– Plant derived proteins are harder for your body to digest and assimilate (because the cell walls of the cells in plants are very tough), so if you do go vegan, cook fibrous, cruciferous veggies well– cooking breaks down the cell walls allowing your digestive system to digest the inner parts of the cell where all the nutrients are. Limit 1 serving of soy a day. Also eat high protein grains (like quinoa, millet, sprouted grains bead) and eat a wide variety of beans, legumes, seeds, and nuts. Eat raw nuts too and make sure you soak them before hand. If you eat seeds make sure you sprout them before eating them (Mung bean sprouts are good). Try to make an exception and eat lowfat organic yogurt– the probiotics and proteins in yogurt are GOOD for you. Also, while soy is healthy, many vegans tend to over consume soy which is a problem because soy has phyto-estrogens in it that (according to my doctor) act like estrogen in the body which can accumulate and disrupt the delicate hormonal balance of your body and cause certain problems (like a diminished muscle mass, mood, and libido).
There are certain herbs and supplements that you can take that will either raise or lower your blood sugar and lower cholesterol too (like cinnamon, ginseng, bitter melon, Psyllium fiber, ginger, tumeric, holy basil, fennugreek, etc) BUT if I were you, I wouldn’t take any of these without seeing a certified naturopathic-type doctor (like a TCM doctor, chiropractor, ND, nutritionist/herbalist). Fish oil (capsules) is something you can start taking to help keep your bad cholesterol down, blood sugar balanced, and brain healthy– it also fights inflammation which is something that people with diabetes will need to guard against. I even take fish oil (I’m not diabetic)- I take it for prevention. You can get it anywhere (walmart), just make sure that the bottle says it’s purified. If you choose to go fully vegan (and not even eat yogurt), take probiotics (like flora Q).
The good news is that there is a pharmaceutical company that is researching this antioxidant compound (only be available through prescription from a MD) called resveratrol (it’s from red wine). You can already buy this in health stores, but is not going to be the same quality or strength as the drug version that they are researching/making right now– the cool thing is that it’s a natural phyto-compound extracted from red wine/grapes. They did small studies in india on people with type 2 diabetes with this and discovered that several diabetes indication markers such as glucose tolerance and blood sugar balance improved… there was also a reduction in bad cholesterol. The hemoglobin A1c test and tests showed improvements that lasted for months after the resveratrol therapy. While the long term studies that they’re doing now will tell, they are hypothesizing that resveratrol will also reverse damage done to cell mitochondria which would restore some energy to people with cellular mitochondria damage over a long period of the drug therapy. This is also being researched for use with people with cancer and people with diabetes related aging and heart conditions.
Sort of hard to answer this question perfectly. Are you talking about type 1 or type 2? And while we might appreciate some benefits from dietary changes, it is highly unlikely that you will be cured by the change. But you may be able to manage your blood sugar and improve your pancreas beta cell functions and reduce the insulin resistance that is present.
Focus as well on anti-inflammatory supplements.
ive had diabetes for 20 yrs ive tried everything there is no cure for it all u can do is find a gd diet and Control it to the best of ur ability sorry but there really isn’t a cur for it i hope in the future there will be but i very much doubt it
There is no cure or remission for diabetes.
A vegan diet is just fine- if you want it.
You can certainly control it to some extent through diet, but I think a cure is unlikely. Control can be a form of remission I suppose as it allows you to get your life back and to manage the condition.
I would recommend everyone speak to their GP about setting up an appropriate diet for them as everyone is different.
I have a lot to say here as I am a health fanatic and know a lot about diabetes (with several family members having it).
I don’t think you can put it completely into remission, BUT you can gain full control of your blood sugar levels and maybe slightly improve your glucose tolerance by eating a vegetable rich diet with proper protein intake which will allow you to live as if you never even had diabetes and still treat yourself every once and a while to something sweet/unhealthy (and I know some people who are like this). On one note though, you can NOT ignore certain protein sources like meat, dairy, and eggs. Certain necessary amino acids like l-taurine and others are ONLY found in meat, dairy, and egg proteins and many of these amino acids are beneficial and critical to maintaining your blood sugar balance. My grandfather is type 2 diabetes and was once on a low fat, very limited meat/protein diet for a long time until he saw a well respected cardiologist from Johns Hopkins (baltimore) who told him that his body wasn’t making certain non-essential amino acids (in his liver) which affected his hearth health, blood sugar, cellular energy, and cholesterol and that he needed to get more protein and more of the (anti-inflammatory and heart healthy) omega 3 and to eat more healthy fats (like olive oil/fish oil)– no red meat and no flax oil though. If you eat meat, make sure it’s free range, organic. If it’s going to be beef, it MUST be grass fed. Grain fed cows (as opposed to grass fed-free range) have the highest levels of saturated fats and lowest levels of omega 3 fatty acids. Similarly free range eggs and raw butter have the higher levels of omega 3’s.
About going vegan– Plant derived proteins are harder for your body to digest and assimilate (because the cell walls of the cells in plants are very tough), so if you do go vegan, cook fibrous, cruciferous veggies well– cooking breaks down the cell walls allowing your digestive system to digest the inner parts of the cell where all the nutrients are. Limit 1 serving of soy a day. Also eat high protein grains (like quinoa, millet, sprouted grains bead) and eat a wide variety of beans, legumes, seeds, and nuts. Eat raw nuts too and make sure you soak them before hand. If you eat seeds make sure you sprout them before eating them (Mung bean sprouts are good). Try to make an exception and eat lowfat organic yogurt– the probiotics and proteins in yogurt are GOOD for you. Also, while soy is healthy, many vegans tend to over consume soy which is a problem because soy has phyto-estrogens in it that (according to my doctor) act like estrogen in the body which can accumulate and disrupt the delicate hormonal balance of your body and cause certain problems (like a diminished muscle mass, mood, and libido).
There are certain herbs and supplements that you can take that will either raise or lower your blood sugar and lower cholesterol too (like cinnamon, ginseng, bitter melon, Psyllium fiber, ginger, tumeric, holy basil, fennugreek, etc) BUT if I were you, I wouldn’t take any of these without seeing a certified naturopathic-type doctor (like a TCM doctor, chiropractor, ND, nutritionist/herbalist). Fish oil (capsules) is something you can start taking to help keep your bad cholesterol down, blood sugar balanced, and brain healthy– it also fights inflammation which is something that people with diabetes will need to guard against. I even take fish oil (I’m not diabetic)- I take it for prevention. You can get it anywhere (walmart), just make sure that the bottle says it’s purified. If you choose to go fully vegan (and not even eat yogurt), take probiotics (like flora Q).
The good news is that there is a pharmaceutical company that is researching this antioxidant compound (only be available through prescription from a MD) called resveratrol (it’s from red wine). You can already buy this in health stores, but is not going to be the same quality or strength as the drug version that they are researching/making right now– the cool thing is that it’s a natural phyto-compound extracted from red wine/grapes. They did small studies in india on people with type 2 diabetes with this and discovered that several diabetes indication markers such as glucose tolerance and blood sugar balance improved… there was also a reduction in bad cholesterol. The hemoglobin A1c test and tests showed improvements that lasted for months after the resveratrol therapy. While the long term studies that they’re doing now will tell, they are hypothesizing that resveratrol will also reverse damage done to cell mitochondria which would restore some energy to people with cellular mitochondria damage over a long period of the drug therapy. This is also being researched for use with people with cancer and people with diabetes related aging and heart conditions.
Sort of hard to answer this question perfectly. Are you talking about type 1 or type 2? And while we might appreciate some benefits from dietary changes, it is highly unlikely that you will be cured by the change. But you may be able to manage your blood sugar and improve your pancreas beta cell functions and reduce the insulin resistance that is present.
Focus as well on anti-inflammatory supplements.
ive had diabetes for 20 yrs ive tried everything there is no cure for it all u can do is find a gd diet and Control it to the best of ur ability sorry but there really isn’t a cur for it i hope in the future there will be but i very much doubt it
There is no cure or remission for diabetes.
A vegan diet is just fine- if you want it.
You can certainly control it to some extent through diet, but I think a cure is unlikely. Control can be a form of remission I suppose as it allows you to get your life back and to manage the condition.
I would recommend everyone speak to their GP about setting up an appropriate diet for them as everyone is different.