Forums: September 2011 Kickstart Forum: Vegan Diabetic
Created on: 09/05/11 07:07 PM Views: 926 Replies: 9
KarenMeyer Joined: 04/06/11 Posts: 18	Vegan Diabetic Posted Monday, September 5, 2011 at 7:07 PM I am trying the Kickstart to improve my health and possibly lower the amount of meds I take daily. For my type 2 diabetes I take Glipizide 2.5 and 4 Metformin pills. This is in addition to drugs for Cholesterol, thyroid, and depression. It seems that most Vegan recipes are loaded with carbs. Is anyone else going to try to eat low-carb vegan? Any other diabetics trying the Kickstart?
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JamieR Joined: 01/01/10 Location: Mendocino Coast, Northern California Posts: 116	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 6:25 AM Hi, Karen! Yes, I am a vegan diabetic...and eating this way for 1 1/2 years has DRAMATICALLY improved my blood sugar, diabetic complications, and allowed me drop or dramatically lower my medications. I won't repeat it all here, but read my introduction on the Introduction thread. It seems counter-intuitive, after all that we've been told by our well-meaning doctors, that the way to control diabetes is to eat plenty of healthy carbs! If you do not own it, I suggest getting Dr. Barnard's Book on reversing diabetes ASAP. It is an eyeopener and completely shifts your paradigm about the true nature of diabetes. My takeaway, in very simple terms, is that diabetes is not so much a disease of inability to process carbohydrates (which is the way mainstream medicine treats it); it is a disease caused by excess fat consumption that causes the body to have a decreasing ability to process carbs efficiently. High blood glucose is not the disease; it is the symptom...and if you treat the symptom and not the cause...well, you will never get better. A low-fat vegan diet attacks diabetes at its source. If you go very low fat--no added oils, no fatty vegetable foods (olives, avocados, nuts, etc.)--you may be AMAZED by your body's ability to process carbohydrates! I know I was! When I was diagnosed with diabetes, my hemoglobin A1c was 13.1 and my blood sugar tested at the doctor's office was over 500! So, to put it mildly, I was very sick with diabetes. First following the SAD diet and then going vegetarian 6 years ago, keeping my numbers under control was always a struggle. Before I started the January 2010 Kickstart, I was taking glipizide, metformin, Lantus, HCTZ, amlodipine, and Lipitor...even with taking nearly 100 units of Lantus, the doctor was threatening meal-time insulin for tighter control. When I decided to try Dr. McDougall's MWL plan (which is more strict than the Kickstart) the month after my 1st Kickstart, I found that my body could process complex carbs like potatoes and rice just fine if I ate them with no added fat. My glucose numbers dropped dramatically; I had to cut 20 units of insulin the 1st week! Next to go was the glipizide...and then more insulin...and all the blood pressure medication. All this with my doctor's monitoring--which I also suggest that you do if you decide to go "all in." The short answer is that you can absolutely do this plan as a diabetic; you will most likely be able to eat your complex carbs so long as you eat them with no fat. Do monitor your blood sugar and do work closely with your doctor to adjust your medication. I suggest giving the plan a try as-is for the 3 weeks of the Kickstart. If you find that your blood sugar is going up because of the carbs, you can adjust. But do yourself a favor and don't just assume that more carbs = higher blood sugar. You may find, as I did, just the opposite to be true! Good luck...and keep asking questions! September Kickstart Goals: Walk/bike daily, keep up with forum, 100% low-fat vegan experimenting with maximizing FLAVOR! www
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 9:03 AM Yeah, it can be unnerving to see all the fruits and carbs in this plan after being told "watch your carbs", where a "good snack" is a handful of nuts or cheese and low carb crackers. I second the suggestion to get hold of Dr. Barnard's book - I saw him on a TV program (public television) and it made sense - BUT I have to check everything myself, so I hit the interweb and that's where I found the kickstart. I figured to try it for three weeks and see how things went. It was amazing! Since hubby is the main cook, we were all in as they say - he was doing the cooking so he was eating the results as well, as was our now-13 yr old. We found lots of new favorites, hit some recommended websites (nutritionmd for example) and found others and by the time the 3 weeks was over, we were scouting for other vegan recipes. Hummus has become a standard item. It's really fun trying new foods and recipes and saying "gee, I never thought I'd like <this>!" Sometimes, like at a restaurant or a dinner/social event, I've pulled "sorry, looks lovely but I'm going to skip that - I'm a diabetic vegan so that's just out on a bunch of levels" or "can you have the chef/cook prepare this but without that? I'm sorry to be a nuisance but I'm diabetic and vegan..." --Deb R
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onlychild1956 Joined: 09/05/11 Posts: 3	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 9:39 AM I am a Vegan diabetic and have been eating this way for 9 months now. My focus as Dr. Barnard recommends is no animal product, low fat and low glycemic index. As another participant pointed out, it seems counter intuitive to all we've been told in the past about eating for diabetes, but I can tell you it works. I don't count carbs, or calories, or even portions and my results are amazing. A1C down to 6.0, weight down 30 pounds and that's without much exercise at all. Cholesterol is 156 and most importantly I feel better than I ever remember feeling. Just give it an honest try, get Dr. Barnard's book and follow his instructions. Be willing to try new things and believe you can do it. It's so worth it.
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Dobby Joined: 09/04/10 Posts: 113	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 11:47 AM Wow, awesome results for all of you! Pam
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KarenMeyer Joined: 04/06/11 Posts: 18	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 11:18 PM Thanks for the encouragement! I am going all in for these 21 days. I'm nervous about the carbs and plan to check my blood sugar two hours after eating. The hardest thing to cut down or eliminate will be peanut butter. Would once a day on a slice of Ezekial toast be okay? I would love to have the same success as those of you that posted. Thanks!
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dlindy111 Joined: 09/06/11 Posts: 1	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 12:21 AM I am a diabetic. Where do I find all these receipes? Where do I start? HELP
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 9:41 AM dlindy111 wrote: I am a diabetic. Where do I find all these receipes? Where do I start? HELP Go to the top of this page and there's a link for 21-day meal plan. Anything that's not simply "oatmeal" or "apple" or "tossed salad" has a link to the recipe. --Deb R
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 9:51 AM KarenMeyer wrote: Thanks for the encouragement! I am going all in for these 21 days. I'm nervous about the carbs and plan to check my blood sugar two hours after eating. The hardest thing to cut down or eliminate will be peanut butter. Would once a day on a slice of Ezekial toast be okay? I would love to have the same success as those of you that posted. Thanks! The 'goal' is < 10% of calories from fat. So, if you eat 2000 calories per day (parenthetically, the US RDA values on most packaged products are based on a 2000 calorie per day intake), you want less than 200 calories from fat. On average, one tablespoon of PB has about 75 calories from fat (depends on what brand, style, etc). That would be about 1/3 of the fat you'd want in your day. The Ezekiel bread adds another 5 or so calories from fat (so that's pretty low fat). Most nut butters run about the same as that - give or take 5 or 10 calories. On the other hand, 2 tablespoons (twice the quantity) of hummus runs to about 25 calories from fat (give or take) - that's a little less than 10% of your day rather than some 30%. And, of course, if you don't eat 2000 calories per day, the numbers change yet again. The kickstart hummus recipe is really simple and tasty - it's become one of our standard spreads here - we'll make wraps with hummus and veggies as a to-go lunch if we're going to be away from home for the day. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap (to keep it from unrolling) then stored in a large ziplock bag (fits 3 to 4 wraps) and packed in a container with a refreezable ice pack, they keep just fine for hours. --Deb R
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maggie Joined: 01/01/10 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 15	RE: Vegan Diabetic Posted Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 8:16 PM My partner is diabetic, explained in more detail in introductions. He has done this kickstart with me three times now. We try to use Ezekiel for any meal that calls for cold cereal or bread. We had Ezekiel buns with the veggie burgers. Brown rice seems to be fine. The breakfast smoothie had to be modified - we learned this the first time he did the kickstart with me. Instead of all fruit (Friday morning)I make a green smoothie with kale, strawberries, almond milk and chia seeds. Recipe came from Raw Cleanse Diet. I modify the kickstart recipes by omitting salt and any sweeteners. Blood tests results 2 hours after meals area always good. Life is a song worth singing.
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