| From Nutrition Newsbytes Your link to nutrition discoveries IN THE NEWS GO VEGAN TO CONTROL TYPE 2 DIABETES People with adult onset diabetes can improve their blood sugar control by following a strict vegetarian diet. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine researchers tracked the glycemic control of seven patients with Type 2 diabetes who followed a strict, plant-based, low-fat "vegan" diet for 12 weeks. Researchers determined blood sugar levels declined on a vegan diet, despite decreased medication use. The investigators compared the results with those of four diabetic patients assigned to a more conventional low-fat regimen. Fasting blood glucose levels dropped 28 percent in patients on the low-fat vegan diet and 12 percent in those following the traditional low-fat diet. The vegan group lost an average of nearly 16 pounds in contrast to slightly over eight pounds in the conventional group. In addition, one of the six patients in the vegan group was able to completely discontinue use of hypoglycemia medication and three patients were able to reduce their dosages. Nearly 95 percent of diabetics have Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body becomes less sensitive to insulin and leads to potentially dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels. The study was published in the August issue of Preventive Medicine. Reprinted with permission; Copyright 2000 Enzymatic Therapy. (Enzymatic Therapy manufactures and distributes more than 200 nutritional |