Diabetes and Your Diet

According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians have lower rates of diabetes (as well as lower rates of heart disease, cancer, and obesity) than meat-eaters do.⁸ The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge people with diabetes to eat more plant foods, such as beans, whole grains, and vegetables, and to reduce their meat intake. Although the causes of diabetes are often complex, the effectiveness of a vegetarian diet in preventing and treating diabetes is strong. The following are a few reasons why:

Saturated Fat and Cholesterol

Our bodies produce all the cholesterol that we need. Additional cholesterol from food—which is found exclusively in meat, eggs, dairy products, and other animal products—along with saturated animal fats, raises our blood cholesterol to dangerous levels, which clogs our arteries. Clogged arteries raise the risk of suffering from heart disease, impotence, and strokes. Diabetics are at a heightened risk of developing heart disease, so doctors recommend that they pay particularly close attention to their intake of saturated fat and cholesterol.⁹ Adopting a vegan diet eliminates dietary cholesterol and drastically reduces the amount of saturated fat in a person's diet. Cutting out meat, eggs, and dairy products is a fantastic way for diabetics to protect their heart health.

Obesity

Any doctor will tell you that being overweight puts you at an increased risk of developing diabetes and that it's crucial for people who have diabetes to keep their weight in check. Vegetarians are far less likely than meat-eaters are to be overweight, which is probably a large part of the reason why vegetarians are less likely to develop diabetes. In fact, vegans are nine times less likely to be obese than meat-eaters are. By slimming down on a vegetarian diet, you will look great in your bathing suit while significantly improving your health!

Iron

There are two kinds of iron in human diets: heme iron (found in animal products) and nonheme iron (found in plant foods). A study by Harvard researchers found that consuming heme iron from pig and cow flesh increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which is by far the most common type of diabetes in the United States; the consumption of nonheme iron was not found to increase this risk.¹⁰

Fiber

Nutrition research strongly indicates that eating large amounts of dietary fiber dramatically reduces the risk of developing diabetes.¹² Eating lots of fiber also significantly improves the health of diabetics by lowering their blood-glucose levels.¹³ There is zero dietary fiber in animal flesh, eggs, and dairy products—fiber is only found in plant foods. By going vegetarian and loading up on fiber-rich beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, you'll be making a terrific investment in your health.

Dairy Products: Making Kids Sick

According to Harvard researchers and numerous studies, the consumption of dairy products is linked to the development of prostate and ovarian cancers, obesity, and an array of other health problems. One of the most worrisome health problems linked to dairy products is type 1 diabetes in children. A major study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tracked the diets and health of children in 40 countries. It found that the more milk and meat that kids consumed, the more likely they were to develop type 1 diabetes. The kids who ate more plant foods had a lower risk of developing the disease.¹⁴ A report published by the New England Journal of Medicine gave very strong support to the longstanding theory that certain proteins in cow's milk can impair the production of insulin, causing diabetes in children who are genetically susceptible to the disease.¹⁵ A panel convened by the American Academy of Pediatrics reviewed more than 90 studies that examined the link between the consumption of dairy products and diabetes and concluded that avoiding cow's milk may delay or prevent the onset of diabetes in susceptible individuals.¹⁶ Many medical experts urge new mothers to feed their babies breast milk or nondairy formula instead of cow's milk in order to prevent their children from developing type 1 diabetes. Raising children on a vegan diet helps to set them up for a lifetime of good health.

Read more about preventing and treating diabetes.