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Does vegetarianism help lower blood sugar?

Amberleigh

Amberleigh

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I’m currently trying some days of eating no meat or fish. Noticed my blood sugars slightly lower not greatly different. Just wondered if anyone had successfully lowered their sugars by going vegetarian?
 
The only ones I've heard about are people who do low carb vegetarian - doable but harder.
Both vegans and vegetarians can develop t2 diabetes.
 
Amberleigh said:
I’m currently trying some days of eating no meat or fish. Noticed my blood sugars slightly lower not greatly different. Just wondered if anyone had successfully lowered their sugars by going vegetarian?
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I am primarily vegetarian, with just a bit of meat and chicken or tuna once a week perhaps. It is do-able but I have to watch that my carb intake doesn't increase, and make sure I eat enough fats like butter, olive oil and cheese to feel full and get enough protein.
 
Amberleigh said:
I’m currently trying some days of eating no meat or fish. Noticed my blood sugars slightly lower not greatly different. Just wondered if anyone had successfully lowered their sugars by going vegetarian?
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Hi @Amberleigh ,

What meds are you prescribed regarding diabetes managment.? (If any.)
This could influence appropriate responses..
 
whether you are lacto-ovo vegetarian or total vegetarian is largely irrelevant to your blood sugars (as long as you don't have a weird allergy to the foods you're eating on the different diets that makes you more insulin resistant). what's relevant is the glycemic load.

give david unwin a ring and ask for a copy of his teaspoons of sugar charts (ok, don't literally; there's a website you can download them off of, but I forget where).

whether you choose to be carnivore, all-dairy (this is a real diet that exists, and I know of someone who has had success with it, but I don't recommend it), omnivore, lacto-ovo vegetarian, bivalvegan, or total vegetarian (which I say instead of "vegan" for personal reasons), it is important to understand the glycemic load of the foods you eat, and how fast each food unleashes its effects.

also, anecdotally, it can be harder to be ketogenic if you don't have animal foods because not everyone makes enough carnitine to get fats into their cells. the solution is either to supplement or to eat flesh.
 
I'll tag in @Walking Girl & @Chook .

Both I believe are non-ID. (Insulin dependant.)

Personally, in feel exogenous insulin changes perspective on dietary choices.
I have been known to eat the odd vegitarian meal. But the success regarding spikes was down to bolus timing luck & choosing less starchy in the menu..

Hope these guys can help? :)
 
I think the going vegetarian will still depend on what you eat. Some choose to mostly choose lower carb foods, some like my husband just cleaned up what he ate and started losing weight, some choose a high carb almost no fat option which can help with insulin resistance.

I'm not sure I am answering your question? But here is the help I can offer with some ideas of foods that are good for sugar control issues

I am a type 1 and vegan, but my husband is a type 2 and vegetarian. The key for him seems to have been controlling his junk food eating , exercise and losing weight. Portion control of certain foods etc. Learning to snack on baby carrots, mushrooms and tomatoes. Obviously filling up on broccoli and most veggies, salads etc are much better for you. My husband still likes some junk food so he is on metformin and probably will stay on it.

Here is some ideas of meals we eat

I love veggie bowls, they are fairly low carb 20-35 carbs depending what you put into them and how much you eat. You can change up the protein and seasoning as you want

I'm for easy and you can pick out the pack of mixed frozen veggies you like, I change it for variety
I take a bag of frozen veggies (usually about 16 carbs the whole bag)
add either a pack of tofu, seitan, tempeh or any of the fake meats(4-20 carbs depending what you pick)
then add seasoning, gravy, braggs aminos, nutritional yeast, spaghetti sauce, or sesame salts, or the spices you like
any pack of sauce flavoring will work and changes the whole taste of the dish

This works for stir fries too start with a bag of frozen veggies
lightly stir fry with olive oil or for some different flavors, coconut oil or sesame oil
add your choice of protein
then season to taste. I like chinese food so a favorite is sesame seeds and sesame oil with garlic and ginger added

I also love whole meal salads where I put mixed greens, green onions, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, bean sprouts, mushrooms, fake bacon or fake chicken strips, sometimes tofu, in my case fake cheese chunks or shreds, and sometimes peas, beans or a sprinkle of quinoa depending what I feel like. Of course dressing of your choice, find one you really like.

@Walking Girl is a vegetarian and a type 2 so she might be able to help?


I've also included some low carb sites for a variety of dishes
https://lowcarb-vegan.net/
https://www.staceyhomemaker.com/low-carb-vegan-recipes/
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/15475/healthy-recipes/low-carb/main-dishes/vegetarian/
https://lowcarbyum.com/category/special-diet/vegan/
https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/low-carb-vegetarian-meals/
 
Amberleigh said:
I’m currently trying some days of eating no meat or fish. Noticed my blood sugars slightly lower not greatly different. Just wondered if anyone had successfully lowered their sugars by going vegetarian?
Click to expand...

I have not eaten meat in almost 30 years, got diagnosed with T2 last year. Vegetarian or vegan diet is REALLY,REALLY, REALLY BAD for diabetes.

Meat has 0 carbs. while all plant based proteins have a ton of carbs in them. You will be struggling to get get enough proteins in a day while trying not exceeding daily carbs. It is "doable" but just makes everything so much harder.
 
Mike Sixx said:
I have not eaten meat in almost 30 years, got diagnosed with T2 last year. Vegetarian or vegan diet is REALLY,REALLY, REALLY BAD for diabetes.

Meat has 0 carbs. while all plant based proteins have a ton of carbs in them. You will be struggling to get get enough proteins in a day while trying not exceeding daily carbs. It is "doable" but just makes everything so much harder.
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Vegatarians can and do eat cheese, milk and eggs.
 
Mike Sixx said:
I have not eaten meat in almost 30 years, got diagnosed with T2 last year. Vegetarian or vegan diet is REALLY,REALLY, REALLY BAD for diabetes.

Meat has 0 carbs. while all plant based proteins have a ton of carbs in them. You will be struggling to get get enough proteins in a day while trying not exceeding daily carbs. It is "doable" but just makes everything so much harder.
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Meat actually has minimal carbs in the form of glycogen, not zero. I think it's maybe 3 or 4 grams out of the entire diet (make it 10 if you are having liver) if the entire diet is supplied from meat.
 
Ellenor2000 said:
Meat actually has minimal carbs in the form of glycogen, not zero. I think it's maybe 3 or 4 grams out of the entire diet (make it 10 if you are having liver) if the entire diet is supplied from meat.
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Not according to any nutrient profile of muscle meat I have ever seen..
but you are right that liver and some shellfish have some carbs.
That's why the appellation "carnivore" is now used over "zero carb".
 
Mike Sixx said:
Vegetarian or vegan diet is REALLY,REALLY, REALLY BAD for diabetes.
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Mike, I don’t think it is helpful to make sweeping statements like this. Whether one is vegan, carnivore or something in between, it is the formulation of the way of eating that will determine whether or not it is helpful for managing diabetes. The medication that is being taken (if any) will also need to be taken into account.

Mike Sixx said:
You will be struggling to get get enough proteins in a day while trying not exceeding daily carbs. It is "doable" but just makes everything so much harder.
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This is much more helpful. Eating low carb, especially very low carb requires a lot more planning and thought if animal products are limited or excluded, but it is not impossible.
 
Vegetarian is such a wide class of diets that there's no single answer. What you don't eat in this case (meat) will have less to do with your glucose levels than what you do eat. Keep in mind sugar is vegetarian.
 
I lowered my blood sugar dramatically by going to a high-quality plant based diet v my terrible vegetarian junk food diet. Count me in as one saying it’s really all about the total diet you are eating. I eat a lot of vegetables and legumes, and nuts/seeds, some fruits, and intact whole grains. Whole foods, rarely any processed.

Do I think you can eat meat and get good T2 results? Yes. Can you be vegan and do the same? Yes. Do what works for you.
 
Walking Girl said:
intact whole grains
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Can you tell me exactly what these are?

I see many people talk about "healthy" whole grains but have yet to have anyone actually tell me what foods these are?

Surely a "whole grain" per se is completely indigestible to the human body?
 
bulkbiker said:
Surely a "whole grain" per se is completely indigestible to the human body?
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In the days past when I ate a lot of corn on the cob, they used to pass straight through my digestive system without getting digested.
 
bulkbiker said:
Can you tell me exactly what these are?

I see many people talk about "healthy" whole grains but have yet to have anyone actually tell me what foods these are?

Surely a "whole grain" per se is completely indigestible to the human body?
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intact whole grains contain the bran, germ and endosperm. Intact whole grains need to be determined by manufacture as the names they use vary a little,, but generally include quinoa, rye, barley, Amaranth, oat groats, farro, bulgar wheat and many others. Any grain, “just off the stock” with no further processing is intact.

They are completely digestible except for the fiber which gets only partially digested in the intestines, as with any non-digestible fiber.
 
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