New study reveals diet beneficial for type 1 diabetes

While managing type 1 diabetes can be demanding, due to the daily insulin injections required, researchers in the US have found that a low-fat vegan diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and beans could have beneficial effects for people with this chronic disease.

Unlike type 2 diabetes, patients with type 1 diabetes are not prescribed oral anti-diabetic drugs, given their lack of efficacy.

Subcutaneous injections are prescribed to treat this type of diabetes, which differs from type 2 in that the pancreas stops producing insulin, resulting in excess sugar levels.

This highly restrictive chronic disease is not only treated by the administration of insulin, but also by following a balanced diet.

And this parameter may warrant particular attention, as US researchers report that a low-fat vegan diet can reduce insulin requirements and improve insulin sensitivity for people with type 1 diabetes.

Published by the American Diabetes Association, research from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, based in Washington, DC, looked at the effects of a low-fat vegan diet versus a portion-controlled diet, as usually followed by patients with type 1 diabetes.

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Study findings

A 12-week period was used to study the comparison among 58 adults. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of two groups: one eating a portion-controlled diet and the other a low-fat vegan diet. In the latter case, the diet was rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. 

The scientists found that people who followed the plant-based diet significantly reduced the amount of insulin they needed to take and increased their bodies’ sensitivity to insulin, compared to the portion-controlled group.

This was associated with changes in body weight. In fact, the researchers report that people in the vegan group lost five kilos, on average, while changes in body weight were not significant in the portion-controlled group.

According to the scientists, “changes in insulin sensitivity were also associated with increased carbohydrate and fiber intake.”

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