Kick Diabetes!

So what exactly is diabetes? We recognize two forms of the disease. Type I diabetes generally requires insulin treatment and was formerly known as juvenile diabetes. It seems to be an autoimmune type of disease, in which the body's immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. "There's much evidence that drinking cow's milk in childhood is a risk factor. Type II diabetes is usually thought of as the adult form of the disease. The pancreas still produces insulin, but the body is resistant to its effects. About 80 percent of Type II diabetics are obese."[1]

Can diet prevent diabetes? Most people think of a diabetic diet as one with no added sugar (which is no longer true), but it's not that simple. True, a major study found that people who develop diabetes tend to consume foods with a slightly higher glycemic index than people who don't develop diabetes. The glycemic index is a measure of how much your blood sugar is affected by eating a given food. It turns out that many starchy foods do raise your blood sugar more than other foods. For example, bread, including whole wheat bread, raises your blood sugar as much as white sugar does, and potatoes raise your sugar even more than that.

On the other hand, one recent study showed that women who consume higher amounts of whole grains have a lower risk of developing diabetes than other women do. So glycemic index isn't everything. It may just be that the slightly higher glycemic index diet of those developing diabetes simply reflects what we might call a "junk food" diet, the standard American diet, high in sugary snacks and fats, but low in the complex carbohydrates found in plant foods.

Many studies confirm that a meat-based diet, low in fiber and high in refined foods, is the cause of the epidemic of obesity and diabetes we are now seeing. Seventh Day Adventists, about half of whom are vegetarian, have only half the death rate from diabetes as the rest of the population. The protective effect of a vegetarian diet has been attributed to its high fiber content, and some feel that magnesium—the best sources of which are dark, leafy green vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts—also play a role.

Some think of Type II diabetes as the milder form, but Type II diabetics develop the same complications as Type I diabetics. The good news is that when Type II diabetics change their lifestyle, by adopting a high fiber plant-based diet and losing the excess weight, the diabetes can often be reversed and the need for medication eliminated. Low carbohydrate, high protein diets do not reverse diabetes; they cause it. And they only promote weight loss when they contain a reduced number of calories, just as with most diets.

A study reported in the October 2001 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition found that among non-obese meat-eaters and vegetarians, the vegetarians were less resistant to the effects of insulin on their blood sugars, and therefore less likely to develop Type-II diabetes!

Protein also has an effect on retinopathy and the cause of poor vision in many people with long-standing diabetes. One study showed that diets that are high in carbohydrates and fiber and relatively low in protein help prevent diabetic retinopathy, whereas diets that are low in carbohydrates and high in protein tend to promote it. A plant-based diet, high in complex carbohydrate and fibers, can not only prevent many people from becoming diabetic, but can also prevent complications in those who have the disease.

Meat-based diets harm diabetics in other ways as well. Along with animal protein comes a "healthy" dose of cholesterol and saturated fat (what an oxymoron!). One does not need a medical degree to know that cholesterol and saturated fat are bad for blood vessels and lead to heart attacks and strokes (number one killer). To summarize, most cases of adult-onset diabetes could be prevented by lifestyle change and adoption of a plant-based diet, rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates and relatively low in protein and fat. In people with either Type-I or Type-II diabetes, a diet such as this, formulated in consultation with their doctors, could markedly reduce the incidence of serious complications.

Fruit has polysaccharides, disaccharides, and monosaccharides. Fruit has time released natural sugar molecules. Fructose bypasses the pancreas and so can be used by diabetics.[2]

Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication. The six are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days. The film follows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change. We witness moments of struggle, support, and hope as what is revealed, with startling clarity, is that diet can reverse disease and change lives.[3]