Vegan diet beats ADA diet; improves health of diabetes patients

In a study published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers found that a vegan diet may be better for type 2 diabetics than other diets, even the ones recommended by the American Diabetes Association. Researchers from George Washington University tested a vegan diet and the ADA-recommended diet to see which worked best in the management of diabetes, kidney function, cholesterol levels and weight loss. Around 100 adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes participated, with half following a low-fat vegan diet and half following the ADA-recommended guidelines. Overweight ADA dieters were also advised to reduce their calorie intake by 500-1,000 calories. According to experts, one small risk associated with a vegan diet is a lack of vitamin B12, so the vegan participants' meals were supplemented with B12 vitamins. Forty-three percent of the people who followed the vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their dependence on diabetes management drugs, whereas only 26 percent of the ADA dieters had the same results. The vegan dieters also lost an average of 14 pounds compared to an average of 7 pounds in the ADA diet group. - newstarget

Vegan Food Pyramid