Vegans have the lowest risk of type 2 diabetes, and the more meat people eat, the higher it goes

Vegans have the lowest risk of type 2 diabetes

Vegans get type 2 diabetes less often than any other diet group, and the more meat people eat, the higher their risk, even when the meat is unprocessed red meat or the flesh of chickens and turkeys.

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Vegan diets can turn type 2 diabetes around

In randomized trials, people with type 2 diabetes on vegan diets cut their medication, lowered their blood sugar more than on the standard diabetes diets, and some no longer met the threshold for a diagnosis. In type 1 diabetes, a vegan diet cut how much insulin people needed.

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Vegan diets came with the fewest new cases of type 2 diabetes

Of the diets studied, vegan diets were linked with the lowest rate of new type 2 diabetes cases.

Vegan participants had the lowest type 2 diabetes risk

Among all the participants, the vegans had the lowest risk of diabetes.

The more meat people ate, the higher their type 2 diabetes risk

Type 2 diabetes risk rose in a straight line with how much total meat, red meat, and processed meat people ate.

Vegans had the lowest diabetes risk of any diet group in the Adventist Health Study-2

Among Adventists, vegans had the lowest risk of developing diabetes of all the diet groups.

Eating meat is consistently linked with type 2 diabetes

Studies consistently link eating meat with a higher risk of diabetes.

Processed and unprocessed red meat both come with more cardiovascular disease and diabetes

This systematic review found that both unprocessed and processed red meat are linked with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Red meat, processed meat, and chicken and turkey flesh all came with more diabetes

Across 1.97 million adults in 31 cohorts from 20 countries, each 100 g a day of unprocessed red meat came with 10% more type 2 diabetes, each 50 g a day of processed meat with 15% more, and each 100 g a day of chicken and turkey flesh with 8% more.

People with type 1 diabetes needed less insulin on a low-fat vegan diet

In a 12-week randomized trial, adults with type 1 diabetes on a low-fat vegan diet needed less insulin and became more sensitive to it, while a portion-controlled comparison group didn’t change.

A vegan diet cut daily insulin use by 28% and insulin costs by 27%

In the same trial, daily insulin use fell 28% and insulin costs 27% in the vegan group, with no rise in low or high blood sugar (hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia).

Children drinking 2–3 or more glasses of cow’s milk a day had 1.8 times the type 1 diabetes risk

In a meta-analysis of 96 studies on diet and type 1 diabetes, children who drank 2–3 or more glasses of cow’s milk a day had 1.8 times the risk. Starting cow’s milk later came with lower risk.

Children who got more cow’s milk protein progressed faster to type 1 diabetes

In the DAISY study, which followed 1,835 children from infancy, more cow’s milk protein came with more islet autoimmunity (an immune attack on the cells that make insulin) and faster progression to type 1 diabetes.

A healthy plant-based diet came with 34% less type 2 diabetes in 200,727 people

Across the Nurses’ Health Studies and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, with 200,727 people and two decades of diet records, the most plant-based eaters had 20% less type 2 diabetes, and those highest on the healthy version of the score had 34% less. The unhealthy version, heavy on juice, soda, refined grains, and sweets, came with higher risk instead.

Type 2 diabetes went from 2.9% in vegans to 7.6% in non-vegetarians among Adventists

Among 60,903 Adventists, type 2 diabetes rates climbed step by step with the amount of animal food in the diet, from 2.9% in vegans to 3.2% in lacto-ovo vegetarians, 4.8% in pesco-vegetarians, 6.1% in semi-vegetarians, and 7.6% in non-vegetarians. Vegans still had about half the risk after adjusting for body mass index.

A low-fat vegan diet beat the standard diabetes diet in a 22-week trial

In a 22-week randomized trial, 43% of the low-fat vegan group cut their diabetes medication, compared with 26% on the American Diabetes Association diet. Among people whose medication stayed the same, HbA1c fell 1.23 points on the vegan diet versus 0.38, and weight fell 6.5 kg versus 3.1 kg.

At 74 weeks, the vegan diet still beat the conventional diabetes diet on blood sugar

Over 74 weeks, about a year and a half, the vegan diet kept its advantage. Before any medication changes, HbA1c fell 0.40 on the vegan diet versus 0.01 on the conventional diet, with bigger drops in total and LDL cholesterol. By then, though, weight loss no longer differed significantly between the groups.

Vegetarian diets lowered long-term blood sugar (HbA1c) in six trials

Across six controlled trials with 255 people, vegetarian diets lowered HbA1c, a measure of long-term blood sugar, by 0.39 percentage points compared with the diets they were tested against. Fasting glucose also fell, but not by a significant amount.

Plant-based diets beat standard diets for type 2 diabetes in 11 trials

Across 11 controlled trials in 433 people with type 2 diabetes, plant-based diets did better than diets based on official diabetes-association guidelines and other comparison diets on HbA1c, weight, and cholesterol. They also did better on depression, quality of life, and general well-being.

On a plant-based diet with no calorie counting, BROAD trial participants lost about 12 kg

The BROAD trial randomized people with obesity, ischemic heart disease, or type 2 diabetes, and the group on a whole-food plant-based diet didn’t count calories. After 6 months, they had lost about 12 kg, their BMI and cholesterol had improved, and their HbA1c had fallen. Two people with diabetes no longer met the threshold for a diagnosis.

Red and processed meat were linked with more type 2 diabetes in 12 cohorts

In a pooled analysis of 12 cohort studies, people who ate the most red meat had 21% more type 2 diabetes than those who ate the least, and people who ate the most processed meat had 41% more.

In a review of 12 food groups, red and processed meat were linked with more diabetes

Red meat, processed meat, and sugary drinks were linked with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, and the evidence for the meats was graded ‘high’. Eating optimal amounts of the protective foods was linked with 42% lower risk. Whole grains and fruit were protective, and in this analysis dairy was too.

Employees on a low-fat vegan diet lost weight and lowered cholesterol in 18 weeks

Employees at ten corporate sites were randomly assigned to a low-fat vegan diet with no calorie limits or to a control group. Over 18 weeks, the vegan group lost 2.9 kg while the controls held steady, their total and LDL cholesterol fell by about 8 mg/dL, and those with diabetes lowered their HbA1c by 0.6 points.

Replacing animal protein with plant protein improved blood sugar in diabetes

In randomized trials of people with diabetes, replacing animal protein with plant protein modestly improved HbA1c, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin. The authors say longer and larger trials are needed.