A vegan diet equals less insulin?

[Inka]

I’m carrying on this discussion from the thread linked below so as to not divert that thread away from the OP:
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/newbie-with-type-1-5-saying-hello.89435/

@everydayupsanddowns and I were discussing how I found eating vegan food meant I could use less insulin for the same amount of carbs. I notice this particularly if I eat totally vegan for a few days (I’m not vegan myself - I just eat some vegan meals each week). By vegan, I mean specifically healthy vegan rather than something that just happens to not have animal products in, so low fat, plenty of green veg, seeds, healthy grains, etc.

It seems animal fat and protein increase insulin resistance and/or inflammation and that cutting animal products out can increase insulin sensitivity, sometimes very impressively.

I still can’t find the exact video of a Type 1 I watched and referred to in the above thread but I did find this interesting page with fascinating comments below the article from others about how they need less insulin:
https://www.diabetesdailygrind.com/type1vegandiet/#.X419ocrTWhA

I also found this information page from the Journal of Diabetes and Metabolism:
https://www.longdom.org/open-access/plantbased-diets-for-type-1-diabetes.pdf

So, has anyone else found they use less insulin for vegan meals? Or experimented at all with a trial of vegan food for a few weeks and compared results? Or has any other related links? 🙂

I find the ‘increased carbs with reduced insulin’ fascinating, but the section about heart health really leapt out at me there too because I remember seeing those figures in the Balance magazine and finding them terrifying (just how much Type 1 increases risk, particularly for women).

As I said, I’m not a vegan. I eat a mix of vegetarian and vegan food with occasional fish so call myself a pescatarian, but I am very interested in what part diet plays in diabetes and in staying healthy. (For those with Type 2 I found pages saying that a healthy vegan diet helped reduce insulin resistance, but I haven’t linked to them as my original posts were about Type 1.)

 

[Vonny]

That's really interesting @Inka. I am an omnivore but since being diagnosed I eat a lot of nuts, seeds and leafy veg and wonder if that has played a part in the reduction of hba1c from 76 to 37 in less than 6 months. For example I know I'm still not a healthy BMI (6lb to go!) but nonetheless the BG has clearly been reduced.

Whether or not they have played a part, those healthy foodstuffs will remain on my preferred list for a long time!

 

[Inka]

That’s an amazing reduction in your HbA1C @Vonny 😎

Yes, I love the food too so it’s no hardship to eat. I don’t always eat vegan foods but I do try to get plenty of veg into my diet and have really branched out into different greens and nuts and seeds. It’s getting into the habit of healthy eating that’s hardest. Once you have a few meals under your belt and get into the swing of it, it’s not too hard. I originally started eating more vegan meals for environmental and health reasons so any help for the diabetes is an added bonus and a real reassurance too.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Probably a different thing, but I think I get effects from any kind of saturated fat if I eat more than a little bit - from both animal and plants. Same effects from eg peanuts and steak.

It feels like what I would call "inflammation" - a jangly kind of feeling in different parts of the bod, and triggering an ages-old neck/cervical spine prob where I get muscle spasms protecting an inflamed bit (apparently).

It goes with a noticeable increase in BG.

 

[Inka]

That’s interesting @Eddy Edson Ive read other people saying similar about saturated fat. The whole idea of inflammation is fascinating, and it does seem something people with diabetes are more prone too.