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If the management of type 1 diabetes is very demanding due to the daily insulin injections, American researchers have identified a menu based on plants and legumes as a way to better cope with this chronic disease.
Do not confuse type 1 and 2 diabetes
Unlike type 2 diabetes, patients with type 1 diabetes are not prescribed oral antidiabetic medications given their lack of effectiveness, recalls Vidal, the reference encyclopedia for health professionals. For the management of this diabetes, which is distinguished from type 2, by the presence of excess sugar due to the cessation of insulin production by the pancreas, subcutaneous injections are used. prescribed.
This very restrictive chronic illness, most frequently affecting children and adolescents according to Health Insurance, is not only treated by the administration of insulin, but also by observing a balanced diet. A parameter which deserves to be taken into account even more since American researchers have detected the capacity of a plant-based diet to offer a lower need for insulin.
Vegan diet helps reduce insulin doses
Published by the American Diabete Association, a study led by the director of clinical research at the Washington Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine looked at the effects of a vegan menu compared to a portion-controlled diet usually undertaken by patients with type 1 diabetes Above all, the first was distinguished by the low presence of fat!
Twelve weeks were necessary to analyze the comparison with 58 adults. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of the groups, one eating the usual disease-adapted diet and the other the vegan diet. In this second case, there were vegetables as well as fruits at the table, as well as legumes.
Result: patients who followed the plant-based menu not only lost weight, but above all the average daily dose of insulin decreased significantly. Above all, their body was more sensitive to the presence of insulin. In fact, each pound of weight loss was associated with a decrease in daily insulin dose and an increase in insulin sensitivity. For scientists, additional fiber intake could explain this increased sensitivity.
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