Vegan diet and type 1 diabetes: risks or benefits?

Those suffering from type 1 diabetes, the autoimmune form of diabetes, could benefit significantly from a low-fat vegan diet. In fact, a controlled plant-based diet seems to translate into an improvement in insulin sensitivity, a reduction in cholesterol and weight loss, with repercussions also on the risk indices of the main diseases associated with this condition.

This is suggested by a study just published in Clinical Diabetes by researchers and doctors belonging to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) of Washington and some US universities. In fact, it can be deduced that, before taking drugs, or in support of them, diabetics could be advised to eat a diet that does not include animal proteins and has little fat.

Vegan diet versus omnivorous diet

In the study, around thirty adults with type 1 diabetes were invited to follow a low-fat vegan diet but without other limitations (for example on calories or total carbohydrates) for 12 weeks. The composition of the menu, left free, had to include 75% of calories from carbohydrates, 15% from proteins and 10% from fats, and included legumes, cereals, leafy vegetables, fruit, with the invitation to give space to foods with a low glycemic index, and to exclude all animal derivatives, including those that may hide among additives.

An equal number of diabetics had instead followed the control diet, composed of 60-70% carbohydrates and monounsaturated fatty acids, 15-20% proteins, less than 7% saturated fatty acids and 200 milligrams per day of cholesterol. This diet was portion-controlled, designed to ensure good stability in sugar levels, and included a decrease in total calorie intake for those who were overweight. Furthermore, all participants could only drink one portion of alcohol per day if women, two if men, and took a vitamin B12 supplement.

The results

At the end of the three months, those who had followed the vegan diet had had a 28% decrease in the need for insulin, and a 127% increase in insulin sensitivity compared to those who had followed the control diet. In other words, the cells’ response to insulin, strongly reduced in diabetics, and influenced by dietary fat intake, was more than doubled.

Probably, the improvement was due to the fact that those who had followed the vegan diet had consumed more fiber and sugar, and less fat and protein, two factors which, as also demonstrated in other studies, improve insulin sensitivity. In addition to this, the “vegans” had lost an average of 5.9 kg of weight, while those in the control group had remained stable.

The blood lipid profile also improved significantly among the “vegans”: total cholesterol dropped by 32.3 milligrams per deciliter of blood, while in the control group the average decrease was 10.0 mg/dl. Similarly, the “bad” form of cholesterol, i.e. LDL, had dropped by 18.6 mg/dl, compared to no significant change among the others.

Not just diabetes

Furthermore, the vegan diet had consequences on the heart and blood vessels: the decrease in the need for insulin was associated with a decrease in cardiovascular risk by 9%, the decrease in glycated hemoglobin values ​​(one of the main parameters of diabetes) with a decrease 12% of heart attacks and 8-12% of cardiovascular diseases. Finally, the decrease in LDL translated into a 20% lowering of the risk of a so-called major event, i.e. a heart attack or stroke.

All of this led study coordinator Hana Kahleova to comment: “Our research shows that a low-fat vegan diet without restrictions on carbohydrates can be useful for reducing insulin needs, managing blood sugar levels and improving heart health in people with this type of diabetes. And the economic advantages must be added to the health advantages, given the high cost of insulins”.

© All rights reserved. Photo. Depositphotos

1