A low-fat vegan diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and beans can help reduce insulin needs in people affected by Type 1 diabetes, a new research has found.
It also found that changes in body weight, brought about by the plant-based diet, helped lower participants’ resistance to insulin by improving sensitivity. Glycemic control, or glucose levels in the blood serum, was also observed to get better. The improvements were, in turn, found to correspond to lowering the risk of heart disease in these patients.
While Type 2 diabetes is more common, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the healthy pancreas, affecting its ability to produce insulin and regulate blood sugar. The patients, therefore, may require regular insulin injections.
“With the cost of insulin remaining a concern for many, our groundbreaking research shows that a low-fat vegan diet that doesn’t restrict carbs may be the prescription for reducing insulin needs, managing blood sugar levels, and improving heart health in people with Type 1 diabetes,” said Hana Kahleova, the study’s lead author and director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, US. The study findings have been published in the Clinical Diabetes journal.
For the study, the researchers randomly assigned 58 adults with Type 1 diabetes to either a low-fat vegan group with no limits on calories or carbohydrates or a portion-controlled group reducing daily calorie intake for overweight participants and keeping carbohydrate intake stable over time. Source: PTI