diabetic vegan question
Posted by gabriel_urmen on Oct 09, 2007 · Member since Aug 2007 · 84 posts
im a type 1 diabetic ive been vegan for about 3 months now ,and ive noticed some thing odd.the amount of insulin i need in a day is dramatically decreasing .its dropped from 60 units in a 24 hour period to 40 units or less.what im wondering is this,can the vegan diet help my blood sugar or something else all together ?????
where is lucidanne?
well, i know that a vegan diet can help a type II, but type I is so much different...
it COULD be because you have increased your fiber a lot? it helps sugars release more slowly into the blood, which means less of a blood sugar spike, so you wouldn't need as much insulin.
They did a small study on this:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/26/health/webmd/main1837927.shtml
Most of the studies are on type II but the evidence strongly suggest that there is a correlation. Here are a couple of more resources. I also highly recommend reading The China Study.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/clinres/diabetes.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes/AN00845
There are more but I don't have them bookmarked on this computer.
I was wondering if having a vegan lifestyle would do anything for us type ones. I'm ovo-lacto, but it would be nice information to have. The healthier the better I say.
I was wondering if having a vegan lifestyle would do anything for us type ones. I'm ovo-lacto, but it would be nice information to have. The healthier the better I say.
Again I highly recommend reading the China Study. It does a really good job of talking about this.
here i am. :D haha.
the studies that i have seen have all been about type 2 as well.
also, the studies on cinnamon affecting blood sugar control... it seems to not benefit type1.
but, anecdotally, i have seen a HUGE difference in blood sugar w/ dairy.
throughout the years, i have been varying degrees of LO veg- vegan. and right now, i eat a minimal amount of dairy. when i first decided to omit dairy, it was because i saw the effect of milk on my bs. it shot me up immediately, like drinking soda! and since it was usually w/ a meal, it was twice as worse.
i also notice it with cheese... like if i eat mac and cheese or cheese lasagna, or something of the like. i have to give extra insulin, over a longer period of tiime. i will have to bolus before i eat, then again less then 2 hrs later, etc. and i will continue to be high all night.
now, i dont know if its the fat content that leaves me so high for so long. im sure thats at least part of it. but i dont seem to get the same effects from a tofu meal, etc...even if its higher in fat or fiber.
but, when i drank milk, it was skim...so it would make sense that i would get the spike w/ that... there is no fat to slow the absorption.
if once in awhile, i would eat ice cream, it would be full fat, to avoid the spike, not low fat, or sorbet, etc. at those times, im extra careful w/ monitoring and im diligent w/ portion sizes as well.
i would check on your own, and see how a high dairy meal and a vegan meal might affect you. its different for everyone. but thats been my experience.
hespedel is right too... if youve increased your fiber, that will be the most amazing difference... try it w/ brown rice one day, and regular white rice the next... youll see it, immediately, in your blood sugar results!