Forums: January 2010 Kickstart Forum Archive: diabetes and vegan diet
Created on: 01/01/10 04:45 PM Views: 2635 Replies: 14
mj Joined: 01/01/10 Location: South Carolina Posts: 16	diabetes and vegan diet Posted Friday, January 1, 2010 at 4:45 PM I understand the vegan diet will be helpful with reversing/controlling type 2 diabetes. I'm just a little worried about pasta and potatoes. Anybody have any experience with chosing between whole wheat pasta and the low carb ones like dream fields? It might be an individual thing. I'm not planning on eating a bucket full of any of it but don't want to undo what i'm doing to help myself either! Any direction is greatly appreciated.
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manxie Joined: 01/01/10 Posts: 16	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Friday, January 1, 2010 at 6:14 PM Hi, MJ. I'll be interested in learning the answer to your question. I am pre-diabetic and, so, have decided to become a more dedicated low-fat vegan in the hope of dropping some weight and heading off still more blood sugar issues. (I claim to be one now--except when I want a doughnut, cream in my coffee, etc.) In regards to your question: My prediction is that whole wheat pasta will be the winner since PCRM isn't advocating a low-carb plan here. That's fine with me: I love carbs! Now I just have to pick the right ones!
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mj Joined: 01/01/10 Location: South Carolina Posts: 16	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Friday, January 1, 2010 at 6:39 PM Thanks Manxie. You're probably right. I love carbs too, and steamed half and half in my coffee! I'm givin' it a go, black coffee with a little splenda ain't so bad. Wonder if the splenda is ok?
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lillucy23 Joined: 01/01/10 Posts: 3	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Friday, January 1, 2010 at 6:58 PM A friend follows the McDougall Program, which is a low-fat vegan diet. It's a bit too restrictive for my tastes, but Dr. McDougall speaks a lot about the benefits of a low-fat vegan diet and how it can reverse Type II diabetes. http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/august/fav5.htm
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serenevannoy Joined: 12/28/09 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 294	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Friday, January 1, 2010 at 9:38 PM My partner got his diabetes completely under control (that is, he went from pretty serious Type II numbers to non-diabetic numbers), and he eats lots of carbs, including plenty of pasta and potatoes. Rice spikes his sugars if he doesn't eat it with protein/fat, but that's an individual thing. Keep an eye on your own sugars, and you'll find the things that work well for your particular pancreas. Serene Vannoy, Oakland, CA -- My daily Kickstart blog: http://serenecooking.livejournal.com/tag/kickstart
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Lucy Joined: 01/02/10 Posts: 9	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 3:08 PM i have diabetes type 2, and want to get it under control some. i am thinking of trying to go vegan, i am already vegetarian. but at least trying to have a more wholesome diet. for me carbohydrates send my bg up high, so i need to watch them.
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JamieR Joined: 01/01/10 Location: Mendocino Coast, Northern California Posts: 116	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 6:34 PM I am a diabetic as well. I think to key to eating well as a diabetic is eating more whole foods. Carbs, even starchy carbs, are important in a healthy diet. Knowledge of yourself is the real key. I test my numbers when trying out new foods and combinations. I've found I don't do so well on highly processed carbs (like white flour), but that I do great on whole grains and moderate amounts of starchy carbs. One of the guidelines for testing new foods that my doctor gave me...is that a food should not give a rise to your blood sugar more than 50 points 1 1/2 hours after eating it. A rise of less than that...and the food is OK for you. While I am not really a pasta person, when I do eat it, I choose whole grain pastas. Not whole wheat ones (I find those heavy), but whole grain ones made out of spelt, quinoa, and farro. And I make my add-ins (not really a sauce usually) low-starch, high-fiber veggies...and make the veggies the star of the dish...like a proportion of 2/3 sauteed veggies to pasta. HTH! September Kickstart Goals: Walk/bike daily, keep up with forum, 100% low-fat vegan experimenting with maximizing FLAVOR! www
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healthynell Joined: 01/01/10 Posts: 31	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 8:02 PM I think I read in Dr. Barnard's book that sweet potatoes tend to be better for diabetics generally. They don't raise the blood sugar level as much. I just LOVE sweet potatoes! I love this soup from the NutritionMD website: http://www.nutritionmd.org/recipes/view.html?recipe_id=276 (I double the chickpeas that it calls for.)
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ShyloP Joined: 01/02/10 Location: Dallas, Tx Posts: 6	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 9:57 PM MJ - this doesn't address your diabeties question, but maybe try loosing the Splenda and try Truvia or another natural sweetener (Brown Rice Syrup or Raw Agave Nector) instead. Lots of nasty reports out there about Aspartame, Sweet-n-low, Equal and Splenda. www
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mj Joined: 01/01/10 Location: South Carolina Posts: 16	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 9:09 AM I have just tried Agave Nectar and I LOVE it! It doesn't seem to trigger sugar cravings for me like other sweetners do so I'm gonna stick with it. It's great in oatmeal. Haven't tried it in coffee yet. That's the big test!! Thanks ShyloP JamieR, thanks for the info on blood glucose and the 1.5 hour impact as well as the whole grain pasta. I guess I need to trek to Whole Foods and see what I can find. I need to change my thinking from whole wheat to whole grain! Just fyi for everybody, I just got The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. It's awesome. I want to make every recipe!!
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seedthrower Joined: 01/03/10 Location: Westminster, MD Posts: 19	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 2:59 PM Hi MJ, I was diagnosed with diabetes last spring, and moving to a vegan diet has made all the difference, so much so that I've not had to take any medicine since October. Not everyone is the same, however, but it's really worked (and exercise) for me. I'm a pasta lover, and dreamfields is a great choice. At first I had to order it on line, but it's now available at my grocery store. www
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VeganRecipeGuy Joined: 01/03/10 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 131	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 4:50 PM My wife doesn't have a problem with a starch based diet, until she eats something with added fat. If she stays under 20 grams of fat per day, (which is easy to do vegan) her blood sugar stays pretty stable. Keeping her healthy is the whole reason we changed our food-culture to vegan as a family. www
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citykitty Joined: 01/03/10 Posts: 26	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 5:01 PM I am also type 2 and the dreamfields pasta is my personal favorite and has minimal effect on my blood sugar. just my $0.02.
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sandik Joined: 01/09/10 Posts: 2	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 8:51 AM I have been vegetarian, lacto ovo for many years (1976) and a junk food junkie. Type 2 diabetic since 97 or so. Began with oral medications and then also insulin injections. December 17 2009 I went Vegan and no junk (Dr Barnards book on diabetes very very helpful!!) and the kickstart is helping I was taking Glucophage 1000 mg twice a day, 45 units of Lantus insulin every evening and 15 units of Apidra 3 times daily with meals. Thats 4 injections daily. Well, today, 23 days later, I am taking 500 mg of Glucaphage twice daily (half the pill) and that is all. I was decreasing insulin along the way. I have not needed the mealtime coverage since the 2nd day !! and I went from 45 to 35 to 20 to NO Lantus now for 2 days and doing well. NONE !! Hallelujah!! NO INJECTIONS and half the pill! Also18 pounds are GONE !! I still have about 80 pounds to reach goal but 60-70 is still reasonable. I am doing lo fat Vegan Also I say weight is gone as opposed to 'lost'. For I have lost and found too many pounds over the years. This time they are GONE! Not to return!! Just had to share and celebrate!! Hang in there, diabetes is going too!!
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shanna Joined: 12/30/09 Posts: 287	RE: diabetes and vegan diet Posted Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 9:05 AM These are great stories about recovering and improving diabetes! One of my favorite vegan blogs is Vegan Hope, by a woman named Natala who was diagnosed with diabetes and faced an amputation. She went vegan and has been steadily losing weight and is doing well. She's so great about sharing info and keeping her readers encouraged. Check out her story for inspiration, and she's also leading a challenge soon: http://veganhope.com/
	Edited 01/09/10 9:05 AM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom

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