Vegan Diets for Type 2 Diabetes: Managing Insulin Resistance

A 2017 research article reviewed the scientific evidence on using vegan diets to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes. Vegan diets completely avoid animal products and emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, seeds and nuts. The article had very encouraging findings on the ability of vegan diets to lower blood sugar, A1c, weight, cholesterol and other risk factors. This article summary explains the key benefits of plant-based and vegan diets found by the research.

Major Benefits for Diabetes Prevention

The article reviewed large research studies that followed people over time to see if vegetarians and vegans were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The studies consistently found much lower rates of diabetes in vegans and vegetarians compared to meat-eaters, even after considering differences in body weight.

For example, in a study of over 60,000 people, vegans had just 2.9% rates of diabetes compared to 7.6% in non-vegetarians. Despite having lower BMIs on average, vegans still had half the rate of diabetes as non-vegetarians. The evidence clearly shows vegan and vegetarian diets, with little or no meat, strongly protect against developing diabetes.

Benefits for Diabetes Treatment

The article also covered research on using vegan diets to treat type 2 diabetes. In a major 22-week study comparing a vegan diet to the standard American Diabetes Association (ADA) diet, the vegan group had much better diabetes control. Hemoglobin A1c dropped 1.23 points in the vegan group compared to 0.38 points in the ADA group. The vegan group also lost much more weight - 6.5 kg vs. 3.1 kg. LDL cholesterol fell 21.2% in the vegan group vs. 10.7% in the ADA group, without cholesterol medications.

Other studies found that vegetarian and vegan diets lower hemoglobin A1c levels about half as much on average as the leading diabetes drug metformin. So the diabetes control from plant-based diets is extremely significant.

Research also shows that vegetarian and vegan diets are just as acceptable to diabetes patients as conventional diabetic diets. So they are realistic for people to follow over the long term.

Lower Risk of Diabetes Complications

The article discussed how, beyond improving blood sugars and A1c levels, plant-based diets also reduce the risk of major diabetes complications:

Heart Disease - Observational studies associate vegetarian diets with 24%-32% less heart disease. Clinical trials show plant-based diets can reverse heart disease by improving artery plaque and chest pain symptoms.

Kidney Disease - Research suggests that replacing animal protein with plant protein may slow the progression of kidney disease in diabetics. Plant-based diets also reduced albuminuria, a marker of kidney damage.

Neuropathy - Small studies indicate plant-based diets can relieve painful diabetic neuropathy symptoms for many patients.

Therefore, plant foods and meat avoidance benefits all aspects of diabetes - from prevention, to blood sugar control, to avoiding complications.

Mechanisms for Health Benefits

Why exactly are plant foods so helpful and animal foods potentially harmful? The article covered the multiple protective mechanisms:

Weight loss and lower obesity risk

More fiber, antioxidants and magnesium

Less saturated fat, advanced glycation endproducts, heme iron and certain preservatives

Increased short-chain fatty acid production

Improved gut health and microbial profile

Research still needs larger and longer studies on vegetarian and vegan diets. But taken together, the evidence for their benefits is extremely promising for both preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. Nutrition experts now widely recognize plant-based patterns as an effective diabetes tool.

McMacken M, Shah S. A plant-based diet for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2017 May;14(5):342-354. doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.05.009. PMID: 28630614; PMCID: PMC5466941.