Diet might eliminate need for diabetes drugs

Doctors from Georgetown University and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a nonprofit health and research organization, have found that a vegetarian diet reduces or eliminates the need for medicines in two-thirds of patients with diabetes. The study was small, but the results were dramatically better than in studies using conventional diets.

"Because of the study," said one participant, "I no longer need medicine for diabetes."

Participants had a dramatic reduction in the amount of sugar in their blood, the standard test for diabetes, and lost a tremendous amount of weight -- 16 pounds in 12 weeks, on average. The diet was based on grains, vegetables, beans, and fruit, with no calorie limit.

The study appeared in the August 1999 issue of Preventive Medicine, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

The study -- which included just 11 patients -- had been intended simply as a pilot study, and a larger trial is planned. However, the results proved statistically significant and were so striking that the researcher decided to publish the findings.

"People with diabetes are at great risk for heart attacks, kidney disease, and even blindness. This new approach fights these risks better than any previous diet," said Neal D. Barnard, M.D., of PCRM.

Previous studies had used low-fat, plant-based diets, but all had also prescribed vigorous exercise, so there was no way to sort out the effect of the diet. This was the first study to isolate the effect of diet. In practice, exercise should be combined with diet changes and will accentuate their effect.

"If these findings are confirmed in a larger study, it is strong evidence that a low-fat vegetarian diet is the treatment of choice for persons with diabetes," Barnard said.

SOURCES: "New Diet Proves Better Than Drugs for Diabetes," press release, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, October 12, 1999.