According to a recent article (October 2008) published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, a vegan diet is more likely to cause weight loss and glucose control compared to the standard diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
What I find especially ironic is that the vegan diet participants in this study not only consumed more fiber, but more - gasp - carbohydrates. That's right folks, people who ate a higher carb diet actually had lower blood sugar levels - precisely the opposite of what we hear. But here's the rub: consuming a diet higher in fiber is what is important when you want to beat diabetes, and fiber comes from high "carb" foods (not to mention fiber is a carbohydrate) such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.
This is why if you know someone who is diabetic, and they've tried lowering their carbs to less than 45 grams a day... it's pretty much gotten them nowhere. I can't tell you how many people have tried the ADA recommended diet (what their dietitian or doctor told them), and said it didn't have much effect on their blood sugar. Yet when those same people read my book or blog or attended my seminar and increased the fiber in their diet, that's when their doctor took them off insulin! Even 70 year old people!
So please, please, please don't worry about carbs if you're a diabetic. Just eat more foods high in fiber (not Metamucil). If you're eating 25-40 grams a day, you will see a monumental change in your blood sugar after a couple of weeks, or even sooner. Oh yeah, and you'll lose weight too.
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Turner-McGrievy GM, Barnard ND, Cohen J, Jenkins DJA, Gloede L, Green AA. Changes in nutrient intake and dietary quality among participants with type 2 diabetes following a low-fat vegan diet or a conventional diabetes diet for 22 weeks. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:1636-1645.
Labels: diabetes
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Actually what was listed as containing sulfites was "pork and beans" - as in the canned variety. Beans themselves wouldn't have need of sulfites, but those containing pork use them to retain the color of the meat.
Good to hear the nutritionist you mention subtracts fiber from total carbs. Many do not. And now, some are counting fiber as 1/2 a carb... don't ask why.