Are there any vegetarians here that are type II diabetic? If so, how are your blood sugar readings? I found the following sites interesting and would like to learn more about the effectiveness of a vegetarian diet for diabetes control.


http://www.vegetarismus.ch/heft/2000-1/diabetes_e.htm

http://www.defeatdiabetes.org/Articles/diet030609.htm

http://www.scienzavegetariana.it/nu...rg/diabetes.htm

http://www.veggieheadonline.com/diabetes.html

There is a new book out by Dr, Atkins. It is the book he was working on at the time of his death. It's about diabetes. I have not yet had time to read it, but if it's from Dr. Atkins I feel comfortable in buying it.
Cheers!

First, let me say I AM NOT a diabetic. However, I do have high blood pressure and I worry about developing diabetes, so I pay attention to the issues. As a vegetarian for 21 years, I don't think vegetarianism is the answer to controlling one's blood sugar. After all, many of the foods we veggies rely on (pasta, bread, starchy vegetables, fruits, etc.) quite frankly, raise blood sugar. And you can be a junk food veggie-- eating pizza and cake and ice cream, milk shakes and sugar filled yogurt, french fries and what not day in and day out-- and still be a vegetarian. Being a vegetarian-- meaning you abstain from flesh foods-- is not the same as being a "Health Freak." And the millions of Hindu vegetarians in India are having a crisis of diabetes. (Perhaps all those delicious carby foods and sugary sweets and tea drinks play a role in that?)

So the key, more than being a vegetarian-- is to be more healthfood oriented. It means choosing salads and vegetables on the lower glycemic end of the index, and choosing protein foods over the easier, tastier, and the sweet stuff. This need for change is why many of us are becoming low carb vegetarians. Vegetarianism my protect us from some types of illnesses. But abstaining from flesh doesn't protect you from everything. Being wise about what you do and don't eat is far more important to your health, in my opinion.

Faith

Tomorrow (9/30/04)will make 14 days that I have followed Dr. Fuhrman's diet plan as explained in his book "Eat to Live". It is a vegan diet that is low fat. The first couple of days my blood sugar was higher than I like, after that it has stayed in the range acceptable by ADA standards. I lost another 6 pounds and have 25 to 30 more pounds to go. There are several other vegan diet plans that are used to treat diabetes. A couple of the things I have learned since I was told that I am diabetic (Nov 5th 2003) is that there is no one answer that is right for everyone and there is always more than one way to accomplish any goal.