One in three adults living in the United States will have type 2 diabetes by 2050, reports National Public Radio. The cause of the meteoric rise in diabetes cases is largely a result of the large number of obese and overweight people in the U.S. To manage your diabetes, follow the diet, medication and lifestyle advice given to you by your dietitian and physician. Additionally, discuss these alternative diets for type 2 diabetes with them to see if they may be for you.
Paleo Diet
The paleo diet is a unique diet plan in that it eliminates many of the most commonly consumed foods in many people's diets: dairy, grains, oils and sugar. The paleo diet is based on the eating patterns of our caveman ancestors that lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Instead of eating modern-day processed food, paleo dieters subsist on meat, vegetables, nuts and fresh fruit. Research published in the July 2009 issue of "Cardiovascular Diabetology" by Lund University's Tommy Jönsson investigated the effect of a paleo diet on a group of obese type 2 diabetics. At the end of 6 months, the paleo dieters lost significant amounts of weight, improved blood sugar management and reduced their cholesterol levels.
Atkins Diet
Losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can significantly improve type 2 diabetes blood sugar management, notes the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The Atkins diet is a controversial low-carb diet that can facilitate weight loss better than other popular diets, according to Stanford University's Christopher Gardner. In his research published in the July 2007 issue of the "Journal of the American Medical Association," a group of overweight women were put on one of a number of popular weight loss programs that included the Atkins diet. Those on the Atkins diet lost more weight and improved the heart disease risk factors of blood pressure and good cholesterol more than those on the other diets. Heart disease is an important consideration for diabetics, as they are at double the heart disease risk than nondiabetics, the ADA states.
Vegan Diet
A vegan diet cuts out all foods that contain animal products. This includes obvious foods like meat and cheese but also includes butter, eggs and dairy products. According to Andrew Nicholson of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a vegan diet has the potential to reverse type 2 diabetes in some patients. Nicholson reports that type 2 diabetics who adopt a vegan diet tend to improve their blood sugar and reduce their reliance on diabetic medications more than those following a typical ADA diet.
References
- NPR: Diabetes Rates To Soar Unless Americans Get Weight Under Control
- "JAMA": Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women
- "Cardiovascular Diabetology": Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study
- ADA: Weight Loss
- ADA: Diabetes Statistics
- PCRM: Diabetes: Can a Vegan Diet Reverse Diabetes?
