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OBJECTIVE - We sought to investigate whether a low-fat vegan diet improves glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS- Individuals with type 2 diabetes (n = 99) were randomly assigned to a low-fat vegan diet (n = 49) or a diet following the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines (n = 50). Participants were evaluated at baseline and 22 weeks.
RESULTS - Forty-three percent (21 of 49) of the vegan group and 26% (13 of 50) of the ADA group participants reduced diabetes medications. Including all participants, HbA^sub 1c^ (A1C) decreased 0.96 percentage points in the vegan group and 0.56 points in the ADA group (P = 0.089). Excluding those who changed medications, A1C fell 1.23 points in the vegan group compared with 0.38 points in the ADA group (P = 0.01). Body weight decreased 6.5 kg in the vegan group and 3.1 kg in the ADA group (P < 0.001). Body weight change correlated with A1C change (r = 0.51, n = 57, P < 0.0001). Among those who did not change lipid-lowering medications, LDL cholesterol fell 21.2% in the vegan group and 10.7% in the ADA group (P = 0.02). After adjustment for baseline values, urinary albumin reductions were greater in the vegan group (15.9 mg/24h) than in the ADA group (10.9 mg/24 h) (P = 0.013).
CONCLUSIONS - Both a low-fat vegan diet and a diet based on ADA guidelines improved glycemic and lipid control in type 2 diabetic patients. These improvements were greater with a low-fat vegan diet.
Diabetes Care 29:1777-1783, 2006
Abbreviations: ADA, American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes prevalence is relatively low among individuals following plantbased and vegetarian diets, and clinical trials using such diets have shown improvements in glycemic control and cardiovascular health (1,2). Most of these trials have also included exercise, thus making it impossible to isolate diet effects. In a 12-week pilot trial of a low-fat vegan diet in individuals with type 2 diabetes, conducted without increased exercise, fasting serum glucose concentration dropped 28% compared with 12% in the control group following a diet based on American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines (P < 0.05) (3). A similar diet, used in the absence of exercise, was associated with increased insulin...