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Vegan Diet

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JPR7

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I am a worried mature mother ... My son in law has type 2 diabetes which is causing him many problems. He and my daughter have now embarked on a strict vegan diet (partly due to animal rights) also eliminating all dairy. I am fearful this is too much too soon. Is it a good direction to follow. I feel lost.
 
Hello @JPR7

Welcome to the forum.

Like any diet which restricts certain foods... Actually... scratch that... like ANY diet (by which I mean any form of eating) it is important to pay attention to the various nutrients and elements that the body needs, both the biggies (fat, carbohydrate, protein) and the little wiffly things (fatty acids, vitamins, minerals blah blah).

It is perfectly possible to eat a 'normal', unrestricted Western diet based on what you think is reasonable, and what you personally enjoy eating and end up with something that is mostly carbs and very little in terms of nutrients.

A vegan diet does present some challenges, certainly in what many of our T2 members here find works well for them (eg eggs being a useful go-to, and meals which are based on meat and veggies rather than high carb loads). However there are lots and lots of replacement items these days which can really help to enrich a vegan diet and make it varied and enjoyable.

Hope your son in law finds a way of eating that suits him. There are online tools that can help you evaluate your own diet for micro/macro nutrients. He may find vegan forums which have helpful hints too.
 
Welcome @JPR7.
Your son in law and daughter aren't the first couple to become vegan and have to deal with type 2 diabetes at the same time. As others have said, vegan forums may be good sources of information.
A couple of questions:
Are they already vegetarian? Friends of mine (not with any type of diabetes) have told me it's easier to give up meat first, then animal products, in steps.
What are the many problems caused by your son in law's T2D? Problems such as complications or problems dealing with the condition - diet / exercise / medication(s)?
 
I eat some vegan meals as my daughter vegan and providing i watch carbs my numbers are good. E g tonight I had a veggie shepherd pie. Soya mince with leeks, cauliflower, carrots and onion gravy with thin layer of mash with diary free Marge and oat milk. BG before 5 and 3 hours later 6. I buy zero carb rice and pasta from health food shop, have tofu etc. I have to limit root veg which I adore but I can have in moderation. I tolerate onions and tomato well. I'm not a fan of coconut based cheeses though.

I am getting tempted to go vegan so will enjoy the above links.
 
MikeTurin said:
I'll go for a vegan ketogenic diet. http://meatfreeketo.com/
Or follow a vegan meal plan
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/meal-plans-/vegan
http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/meal-planning-for-vegetarians/
Click to expand...
Thank you for this info ... looks like I´m in for a lot of reading. Have signed up for the vegan ketogenic monthly recipes so I can can continue to cook meals for my new vegan family!
 
Copepod said:
Welcome @JPR7.
Your son in law and daughter aren't the first couple to become vegan and have to deal with type 2 diabetes at the same time. As others have said, vegan forums may be good sources of information.
A couple of questions:
Are they already vegetarian? Friends of mine (not with any type of diabetes) have told me it's easier to give up meat first, then animal products, in steps.
What are the many problems caused by your son in law's T2D? Problems such as complications or problems dealing with the condition - diet / exercise / medication(s)?
Click to expand...
They became vegetarian at the beginning of the year but they are committed to becoming Vegan and when I visited them for a week recently I was pleasantly surprised by some of the meals they served me. My SiL is good with exercise but has found medications a problem. He has trialed a number of different types to no avail which led him to research more deeply into all food types and combinations and how it affects him. He has had some improvement since becoming vegetarian but believes he needs to try vegan.
 
@JPR7
I made some Sunday and I have eaten em as a side dish theroasted peppers. Almost this recipe: I've used instead of mint a bit of parlsley
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-peppers-with-black-olives
I like also the peperonata
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/08/peperonata-bell-pepper-italian-recipe.html
That is also great with roasted rabbit or ****, but of course is not for vegans
Is also great with old polenta, but it's no good for diabetes. If you add some hot peppers I suppose that you could try some tofu

or Ratatouille remember that potaoes are to avoid and also don't put cheese
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/14048/summer-vegetable-ratatouille/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/259162/ratatouille-provencale/
(you can present it as in the movie too if you like to get fancy)
 
JPR7 said:
They became vegetarian at the beginning of the year but they are committed to becoming Vegan and when I visited them for a week recently I was pleasantly surprised by some of the meals they served me. My SiL is good with exercise but has found medications a problem.
Click to expand...
If they're still vegetarian, so they eat eggs and dairy products some vegetarian omelette or frittata with herbs and vegetable could be a good choice.
Or like the "tomini al verde" http://www.gustissimo.it/ricette/antipasti-formaggio/tomini-al-verde.htm
 
I have not tried it but many people are proclaiming the benefits of Low Fat High Carb vegan diets (one site comes to mind https://www.forksoverknives.com). I think that part of the success is in the food preparation, i.e. made from scratch using quality ingredients & avoiding refined products.

IMHO I think that our biggest problem today is reliance on highly processed convenience foods.
 
Martin Canty said:
I have not tried it but many people are proclaiming the benefits of Low Fat High Carb vegan diets (one site comes to mind https://www.forksoverknives.com). I think that part of the success is in the food preparation, i.e. made from scratch using quality ingredients & avoiding refined products.

IMHO I think that our biggest problem today is reliance on highly processed convenience foods
Click to expand...
 
forksoverknives is an interesting site. Particularly the oil free vegan recipes which I know will be of interest to my SiL. Thanks for the tip.
 
I’m type 1 and vegan. There’s so many health benefits when utilising a healthy vegan diet. (It is possible to be a very unhealthy vegan!)
To begin with I’d advise to look recipes up online or invest in a cookbook that suits your style of eating/cooking. Preparation, time and thought is key. I know health food stores and fresh foods can be costly at times but there are lots of ways to do this on the cheap.
I track all my food through ‘myfitnesspal’ so I can see throughout the day my levels of carbs, fats and sugars. I was only diagnosed with type 1 4.5 weeks ago so I’ve had to adjust what I eat, when and quantities etc but the general consensus at the moment is that a vegan diet has been beneficial from the onset for me controlling diabetes.

Some type 1 vegans are claiming they can eat more carb (better forms of carbohydrates) and are taking less insulin. Over time I will update my thoughts on this.
 
Mucker86 said:
I’m type 1 and vegan. There’s so many health benefits when utilising a healthy vegan diet. (It is possible to be a very unhealthy vegan!)
To begin with I’d advise to look recipes up online or invest in a cookbook that suits your style of eating/cooking. Preparation, time and thought is key. I know health food stores and fresh foods can be costly at times but there are lots of ways to do this on the cheap.
I track all my food through ‘myfitnesspal’ so I can see throughout the day my levels of carbs, fats and sugars. I was only diagnosed with type 1 4.5 weeks ago so I’ve had to adjust what I eat, when and quantities etc but the general consensus at the moment is that a vegan diet has been beneficial from the onset for me controlling diabetes.

Some type 1 vegans are claiming they can eat more carb (better forms of carbohydrates) and are taking less insulin. Over time I will update my thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
Mucker86 said:
I’m type 1 and vegan. There’s so many health benefits when utilising a healthy vegan diet. (It is possible to be a very unhealthy vegan!)
To begin with I’d advise to look recipes up online or invest in a cookbook that suits your style of eating/cooking. Preparation, time and thought is key. I know health food stores and fresh foods can be costly at times but there are lots of ways to do this on the cheap.
I track all my food through ‘myfitnesspal’ so I can see throughout the day my levels of carbs, fats and sugars. I was only diagnosed with type 1 4.5 weeks ago so I’ve had to adjust what I eat, when and quantities etc but the general consensus at the moment is that a vegan diet has been beneficial from the onset for me controlling diabetes.

Some type 1 vegans are claiming they can eat more carb (better forms of carbohydrates) and are taking less insulin. Over time I will update my thoughts on this.
Click to expand...

Thank you this is encouraging info. Would be interested in your progress ...
 
Hello JPR7 and welcome to the forum. 🙂 My daughter and I would luv to be vegan because of the animals. Well done that couple.
 
Mucker86 said:
Some type 1 vegans are claiming they can eat more carb (better forms of carbohydrates) and are taking less insulin. Over time I will update my thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
I would be interested seeing the results of this as my thoughts are that the total carb load would be the same, just that time of delivery to the blood stream may be altered with low GI foods.... i.e. lower but extended spike. It's not like us T2's who are mainly affected by insulin resistance & our diet can mitigate the insulin resistance (to a degree).
 
Mucker86 said:
I’m type 1 and vegan. There’s so many health benefits when utilising a healthy vegan diet. (It is possible to be a very unhealthy vegan!)
To begin with I’d advise to look recipes up online or invest in a cookbook that suits your style of eating/cooking. Preparation, time and thought is key. I know health food stores and fresh foods can be costly at times but there are lots of ways to do this on the cheap.
I track all my food through ‘myfitnesspal’ so I can see throughout the day my levels of carbs, fats and sugars. I was only diagnosed with type 1 4.5 weeks ago so I’ve had to adjust what I eat, when and quantities etc but the general consensus at the moment is that a vegan diet has been beneficial from the onset for me controlling diabetes.

Some type 1 vegans are claiming they can eat more carb (better forms of carbohydrates) and are taking less insulin. Over time I will update my thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
How long have you been Vegan? My daughter been doing it almost 2 years now and says she will never go back but agrees about having an unhealthy vegan diet !!
 
Grogg1 said:
agrees about having an unhealthy vegan diet !!
Click to expand...
It's so easy to have an unhealthy diet with any lifestyle, as I found out despite eating (for the most part) "healthy" for most of my life.... However, on "restrictive" diets (mine LCHF) we do need to be extremely mindful of the nutritional content.
 
Grogg1 said:
How long have you been Vegan? My daughter been doing it almost 2 years now and says she will never go back but agrees about having an unhealthy vegan diet !!
Click to expand...
I’ve been vegan for 18 months now and can definitely say that there are plenty of benefits to be rewarded with such as loss of weight, sleep and full body wellness. Ethically it’s good but I’m not an activist in anyway and choose to focus on the many health benefits it brings instead.
 
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