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An estimated 400 million people in the world
are now living with diabetes.
This equates to 1 in 11 adults.
While Type 1 diabetes is less common
and is usually related to genetics,
Type 2 diabetes, once called adult onset diabetes,
is now so common it can impact children as young as age 5.
Type 2 diabetes is most typically the result of poor diet
and a lack of exercise.
By 2040, the number of people suffering from Type 2 diabetes
across the globe could rise to more than 640 million.
As the standard American diet,
also referred to as the Western pattern diet
has spread across the world,
people have increased their intake
of fatty and processed foods.
Now more than 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese
and according to diabetes.co.uk,
obesity is believed to account for 80 to 85%
of the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Lack of exercise also increases
the risk of developing diabetes.
The less active a person is,
the greater the risk of the disease.
The World Health Organization notes
that physical inactivity alone is estimated to cause
7% of the burden of Type 2 diabetes in the European region.
According to the American Diabetes Association,
in 2015 more than 30 million Americans were diabetic
and more than 84 million adults were pre-diabetic.
Dr. Eugene Chang told Everyday Health,
"Over the past century, we've seen the incidence
"of chronic diseases go up dramatically in Western culture,
"and that's due to changes in our lifestyle,
"diet, and environment."
The symptoms of Type 2 diabetes vary.
Diabetes UK says, "A lot of people don't get any symptoms
"or they don't notice them.
"Some people don't think the symptoms are important
"so don't ask for help."
It adds, "This means that people live with Type 2 diabetes
"for up to 10 years before being diagnosed."
The health consequences of diabetes can be serious.
It can lead to nerve damage,
resulting in the loss of feeling in the limbs,
as well as kidney damage and eye damage
with the potential risk of blindness.
It can also potentially increase the risk of heart disease,
stroke, sleep apnea and Alzheimer's disease.
But diabetes may be managed effectively with a vegan diet.
"By eating a healthy vegan diet
"low in cholesterol and saturated fat,
"but balanced enough to include fiber and protein,
"blood glucose levels can be made easier to control,"
says Diabetes.co.uk.
This type of diet, particularly when combined with exercise
can help to lower blood glucose levels
and better manage diabetes.
A recent study of more than 2,000 young adults
supports this point of view.
For participants that increased the amount of fruits,
vegetables and nuts in their diet
over the course of 20 years,
the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes was 60% lower
than those who didn't.
A study from the University of London
also found that a plant-based diet
can help to ease symptoms of depression
as well as other mental health issues
in Type 2 diabetes sufferers.
A critical analysis of more than 400 individuals
with diabetes aged in their mid 50s
revealed that physical and emotional quality of life
improved after switching to a vegan diet.
Lead author of the study, Anastasios Toumpanakis said,
"We would say that people with Type 2 diabetes
"following a plant-based diet might be happier
"because as the studies suggest,
"the majority found that through this eating pattern
"they can have better control of their condition."
Nerve pain was also less common
in those following a plant-based diet.
Those who remained on a non-vegan diet
reported a loss of temperature control in their feet,
suggesting that plant-based foods can help to slow
progressive nerve damage in diabetes sufferers.
Many medical experts believe that a healthy plant-based diet
can go further than just managing Type 2 diabetes.
- Overall the results suggest that a plant-based diet
can improve overall quality of life,
psychological well-being and chronic diabetic neuropathy
in people with Type 2 diabetes without changes
in food enjoyment and diet cost.
So it's not more expensive, people don't dislike it.
It just gets rid of a whole lot of physical
and mental problems, psychological problems
that people have.
- [Narrator] It may also help to reverse the condition.
- Now put that in the context of the fact
that nutritional excellence has the ability
to work better than drugs.
- It can be reversed, something we've known since the 1970s.
Now, we know that look, any weight loss can slow
or even reverse diabetes.
In Slovakia, the Natural Food Interaction Diet,
which promotes the consumption of plant-based whole foods
is undergoing trials
at the National Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology.
The diet was developed after years of study
on the interactions of chemicals within food
and it may help to reverse Type 2 diabetes
without need for further medical intervention.
Recommended meals on the diet include Weetabix,
a wholegrain wheat breakfast cereal,
with chia seeds and almond milk
and quinoa with dark green vegetables and pine nuts.
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine
recommends an online program
that encourages diabetes sufferers
to adopt a plant-based diet to help reverse the condition.
And vegan physician, Dr. Neal Barnard
released a plant-based recipe book
specifically for people who want to reverse Type 2 diabetes.
- In 2006 we published the first findings
from a breakthrough study that was funded by NIH
where we did a head-to-head test
of a conventional diabetes diet that reduced calories
and asked the participants to count carbohydrate grams
versus an experimental approach
that used a totally vegan low fat diet.
And do you know what happened?
The vegan diet caused more weight loss,
better blood sugar control
and it helped people to a surprising degree.
- [Narrator] Barnard is the founding president
of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
The committee is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to the promotion of a plant-based diet
and preventative medicine.
Its members include 12,000 physicians.
Barnard's book is helping to save lives.
One diabetes sufferer told PCRM,
"I've gone from 2,000 milligrams of metformin a day
"to now only 500 milligrams a day
"and I'm still in progress, thank you."
Metformin is the first-line medication
for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
One person said their wife
was recommended the book by their doctor.
"My wife's numbers that had been out of control
"for so long were finally predictable," he said.
Another patient added simply, "Did it, it worked, thanks."
"Weight has gone up and come back down,"
Barnard told Parade.
"Sugars that have gone up can go back down,
"medication doses that have gone higher
"year by year can come down, as can cholesterol levels
"and blood pressure levels
"and medication used to treat them."
Brooklyn's Borough president, Eric Adams
says he reversed his diabetes with a plant-based diet.
He was losing his eyesight and suffering from nerve damage
in his hands and feet.
He decided to take matters into his own hands
and manage his condition with an active lifestyle
and a healthy vegan diet.
- My eyesight cleared up when I changed my diet.
In three months all the nerve damage was gone,
the ulcer was gone, all of those symptoms that I had
associated with my diabetes disappeared.
- [Narrator] Type 2 diabetes runs in his family.
He told Everyday Health, "Imagine the excitement I have
"in watching my mother who has been injecting herself
"with insulin since I was two years old
"now hear me tell her that she can reverse her condition.
"I can't even express the emotions
"that are attached to that."
Adams isn't the only public figure
to improve his health with a vegan diet.
Rapper Will.i.am ditched meat and dairy in 2017.
He lost weight and his cholesterol
and blood pressure levels improved.
- My high blood pressure was high, it had high cholesterol
and since then, starting in December,
I changed what I eat, I have a plant-based diet,
I work out.
- [Narrator] He said, "The cholesterol is down as well,
"but in runs in my family and diabetes,
"so I want to get it under control now
"so I don't have to worry about it later on."
- I wanna continue my veganism, working out, staying fit
gettin' gorilla ripped, you know what I'm saying?
Get my gorilla muscle strength.
- [Narrator] Kevin Smith has also claimed
that following a vegan diet has improved his health.
The filmmaker suffered a heart attack
at the beginning of 2018.
He then decided to ditch animal products and go vegan.
He was told he needed to lose 50 pounds.
He lost 17 pounds in just nine days
of eating plant-based foods.
- You're lookin' at me right now going like,
Silent Bob telling me how to (beep) eat?
Yes, believe it or not, man.
I'm not saying I'm an expert
but I've been through some stuff
and so now I can speak on the issue of men's health.
- [Narrator] After a month of plant-based eating,
Smith's doctor ran lab tests
and said the results looked fantastic.
The doctor reduced Smith's Lipitor cholesterol medication
by half because his levels had dropped so radically.
Following the change, Smith's daughter,
vegan model and actress, Harley Quinn Smith,
said her dad was thriving.
"He's doing really great.
"He's the healthiest he's ever been.
"He's vegan now which is amazing."
- Once he had his heart attack,
I was absolutely not going to let him
continue living his life without veganism
being a part of it.
- [Narrator] The American Diabetes Association
recommends people eat plant-based whole foods
like citrus, fruits and berries.
The group says a vegan diet rich in fresh fruits,
vegetables and plant-based proteins including beans,
grains, nuts and seeds can help to mitigate
the onset and effects of Type 2 diabetes.
In its 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes,
the ADA cites 35 studies pointing to the benefits
of a plant-based diet.
And also notes that doctors and nutritionists
should always educate patients on lifestyle management.
Diabetes.co.uk agrees, it states,
"Many people instantly recoil at the idea of a vegan diet,
"but this attitude is gradually changing,
"particularly amongst people with diabetes."
Can people with diabetes use a vegan diet
to improve blood glucose control?
Absolutely, by eating a healthy vegan diet
low in cholesterol and saturated fat
but balanced enough to include fiber and protein,
blood glucose levels can be made easier to control.
This type of diet, particularly when combined with exercise
can help to lower blood glucose levels
and better manage diabetes.
The NHS has also recognized the benefits
of a vegan diet for people with diabetes.
It acknowledged a study that suggests a strong link
between a whole foods plant-based diet
and Type 2 diabetes prevention in overweight adults.
This high level recognition represents
the initial acceptance of the vegan diet
in both the public sector and the scientific community.
The research referred to by the NHS
involved a 16 week randomized control experiment
that placed 75 overweight men and women into two groups.
One on a low fat vegan diet, the intervention group,
the other without change to their current diet,
the control group.
The intervention group showed improved function
of their beta cells in addition to a reduction in BMI
and reportable visceral fat loss.
The control group did not see significant results
in either beta cell function or weight loss.
The NHS applauded the research technique
of the randomized trial, stating that it is the best way
to assess the effectiveness of an intervention.
It also conceded that a vegan diet tends to incorporate
less fat and sugar than the typical Western diet,
so the results are not particularly surprising.
Consuming high amounts of sugar is commonly thought of
as increasing the risk of diabetes,
but according to experts appearing in the 2017 documentary
"What the Health" processed meat is also a risk factor.
- [Male Narrator] Harvard researchers looked at
nine perspective studies finding that just one serving
of processed meat per day increased risk
of developing diabetes by 51%.
The link between eating meat
and developing diabetes became undeniable.
- [Narrator] It pulled this finding from a study
conducted in August 2011 and published
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
referencing a 2009 study,
the filmmakers note that if a person eats meat.
- [Male Narrator] Today with 2/3 of Americans
being overweight, clearly there's a food issue.
In the next 25 years one out of every 3 Americans
will have diabetes.
- Diabetes, the arthritis, the heart disease,
the dementia, the obesity, the cancers
are affecting about 70% of deaths.
All the data is that those 70% of deaths and morbidity
are largely lifestyle related and preventable.
- [Narrator] What do you think?
Do you agree?
Do you know or anyone you know manage Type 2 diabetes
with a vegan lifestyle?
Let us know in the comments below.
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(gentle music)