Vegan Diet Helps Shed Pounds but Doesn't Dint Diabetes
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Following a vegan diet for at least 3 months helped people with overweight or type 2 diabetes shed the pounds, but only had a marginal effect on HbA1c levels, on average, new research indicates. No effect was seen on blood pressure, triglycerides, or the "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. HbA1c was reduced by a mean of –0.18 percentage points (P = .002), and there was a small reduction in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, on average, across all the studies examined in this meta-analysis.
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@samik A vegan diet most likely led to weight loss because it is "associated with a reduced calorie intake due to a lower content of fat and higher content of dietary fiber," added Termannsen, of the Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Denmark. Asked to comment, Janet Cade, PhD, who leads the Nutritional Epidemiology Group at the University of Leeds, UK, said the results are likely due to fewer calories in the vegan diet compared with the "control" diets. "Of course, a vegan diet can be healthier in a range of ways, such as higher fruit and vegetables, more fiber and antioxidants, however, the same would be true of a vegetarian diet," she noted.