People with type 2 diabetes were assigned to either a low-fat, vegan diet (49 participants) or a diet adhering to the 2003 American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines (50 participants).
After about a year and a half (74 weeks), members in both groups lost weight, but the difference between them wasn't significant: 4.4 kg (9.7 lbs) wt. loss in the vegan group, 3.0 kg (6.6 lbs) weight loss in the ADA group.
However, there was a significant difference between the groups in the following measures:
- Hb A1c:
-0.40 for the vegan diet
-0.01 for the ADA diet - Total cholesterol (mg/dL):
-20.4 for the vegan diet
-6.8 for the ADA diet - LDL cholesterol (mg/dL):
-13.5 for the vegan diet
-3.4 for the ADA diet
"Both diets were associated with sustained reductions in weight and plasma lipid concentrations. In an analysis controlling for medication changes, a low-fat vegan diet appeared to improve glycemia and plasma lipids more than did conventional diabetes diet recommendations."
1 A Low-Fat Vegan Diet And A Conventional Diabetes Diet In The Treatment Of Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized, Controlled, 74-Wk Clinical Trial, AJCN, May 2009
Photo of vegan pyramid: Nutrispeak.com, the home page of Vesanto Melina, MS RD.
