Vegan Diet Bests ADA Plan at Diabetes Control

"The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a crusading group that has long ranked vegetarianism high on its agenda, has made a compelling case for a low-fat vegan diet to improve glycemic control.

Both a low-fat vegan diet and a diet following American Diabetes Association guidelines improved glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes, found a 22-week study partially funded by NIH and published in the August issue of Diabetes Care.

But the vegan diet was better, reported Neal D. Barnard, M.D., an adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University, who is president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and colleagues.

The vegan diet -- consisting of fruits, vegetables and grains but no animal products and only limited added fats -- did a better job of lowering glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels, body weight, and LDL, reported Dr. Barnard."