Autumn 2006• Volume XV, Number 4

Vance Warren
Watch Vance tell his story (Quicktime)

Vance Warren is a 36-year-old former police officer. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the age of 31. At first, he didn’t take the diagnosis seriously. But then he started having trouble with his eyesight and renal function. He tried several different diets—including the Atkins diet—but none of them worked. Finally, he signed up for PCRM’s study and was assigned to the vegan diet group. Since he began the intervention diet in January 2005, his A1c dropped from over 9 percent to 5.3 percent (normal values are below 6.0 percent), his cholesterol dropped from 221 to 148 points, and he has lost 74 pounds. “It’s a life-changing experience being 74 pounds lighter,” Warren said at the news conference. “It really saved my life,” he added. Warren cited the education and support he received as part of the study as critical factors in helping him achieve the results he did.

Nancy Boughn
Watch Nancy tell her story (Quicktime)

Nancy Boughn has been living with diabetes since 1996. When she signed up for the study, she was hoping that she would be in the vegan group, because she had already “spent eight and a half years measuring everything,” she said, referring to the portion control that is typical of standard diabetes diets. At the time she began the study, her diabetes was worsening and not responding to intensified drug therapy. However, during the vegan intervention diet, Boughn’s health began improving so rapidly that she had to discontinue one of her medications before the study was over. Her A1c dropped from 8.3 to 6.4, and she lost 48 pounds. Boughn spoke highly of how easy the diet is to follow—even when traveling—if you just plan ahead.