Vegan Diet Can be Beneficial

10/20/2006

If your weight is up or you need to get your blood sugar down, try vegging out.

A new study just published in "Diabetes Care" shows more vegetables and less meat can help you drop pounds and reduce the need for certain diabetes medications.

The researchers found that a low-fat vegetarian diet may be even more effective at treating Type 2 diabetes symptoms than the standard diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association.

The study also found that 40 percent of vegan dieters who ate a diet of about 75 percent carbohydrates in the diet were able to get off their medications, and the average person lost 14 pounds.

Those on the standard diabetes diet, which is only about half carbohydrate, lost only about seven pounds and only about 1 in 4 reduced diabetes medications.

A vegan diet excludes all animal products including meat, eggs and dairy, so many people wonder what vegans do eat.

Vegan Christina Celesti says, “Lots of fresh veggies, greens, carrots, lots of vegetables. Tofu is a wonderful supplement, and tempeh for protein, nuts, soy milk, rice milk, almond milk."