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<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow"><A
href="http://news.google.ca/nwshp?hl=en&tab=wn&ncl=http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D5212647">http://news.google.ca/nwshp?hl=en&tab=wn&ncl=http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D5212647</A></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">Researchers have found that people who followed a
low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar
more and lost more weight than people on an American Diabetes Association
diet.<BR>According to a study by researchers from George Washington University,
the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina the participants
lowered their cholesterol more and ended up with better kidney function, than a
group following the standard American Diabetes Association diet.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">It appears the vegan diet was far easier to
follow than most because it did not demand that portions be measured or calories
counted; only three of the vegan dieters dropped out of the study, compared to
eight on the standard diet. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physician's
Committee for Responsible Medicine, which helped conduct the study, says he
hopes the findings will encourage dietary changes first, rather than
prescription drugs. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">It is estimated that as many as 18 million
Americans have type-2 diabetes, which results from a combination of genetics and
poor eating and exercise habits.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">The condition greatly increases the risk of heart
disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and limb loss.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">Barnard and colleagues tested 99 people with
type-2 diabetes, and then randomly assigned them to a low-fat, low-sugar vegan
diet or the standard American Diabetes Association diet.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">The researchers found that after 22 weeks on the
diet, 43 percent of those on the vegan diet and 26 percent of those on the
standard diet were either able to stop taking some of their drugs such as
insulin or glucose-control medications, or were able to control their condition
with lower doses.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">The vegan dieters lost 14 pounds (6.5 kg) on
average while the diabetes association dieters lost 6.8 pounds (3.1
kg).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">An important level of glucose control called a1c
which gives a measure of how well-controlled blood sugar has been over the
preceding three months, fell by 1.23 points in the vegan group and by 0.38 in
the group on the standard diet. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">It was also found that LDL or "bad" cholesterol
also fell by 21 percent in the vegan group and 10 percent in the standard diet
group.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">A vegan diet is plant-based and consists of
vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes and avoids animal products, such as meat
and dairy and is low in added fat and in sugar.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">As people on a vegan diet are at risk for vitamin
B12 deficiency supplements were given to the participants on that
diet.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">The American Diabetes Association diet is more
individually tailored and takes into account a patient's weight and cholesterol.
The diet cuts calories significantly, and are patients are told to limit sugary
and starchy foods.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">For the study all 99 participants met weekly with
advisers, who advised them on recipes, gave them tips for sticking to their
respective diets, and offered encouragement.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">The overall message seems to be that diets work
if people stick to them for long enough and everyone diagnosed with diabetes
needs to start eating more carefully which is probably the hardest aspect to
deal with.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">The researchers say the results show that both
diets improved diabetes management and reduced unhealthy cholesterol levels, but
some improvements were greater with the low-fat vegan diet.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Narrow">The research is published in Diabetes Care, a
journal published by the American Diabetes Association.<BR><A
href="http://www.news-medical.net/?id=19125">http://www.news-medical.net/?id=19125</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>