This is what NHS choices had to say about the article.
Behind the headlines provides an unbiased and evidence-based analysis of health stoies that make the news
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/11Novem...diet-beneficial-for-people-with-diabetes.aspx
"Vegetable diet will beat diabetes: Meat-free lifestyle cures killer disease," is the typically overblown headline in the Daily Express.
But researchers actually found a vegetarian diet led to a quite modest fall in only one measure of blood glucose called HbA1C, a measure of blood glucose control.
The paper reports on a systematic review which combined the results of six trials that involved 255 people with
type 2 diabetes. They examined whether vegetarian or vegan diets improved blood glucose control compared with a control diet.
Overall, the pooled results of five of these trials found a vegetarian or vegan diet reduced HbA1c by 0.39%. There was no significant effect on fasting glucose levels, an assessment of how efficiently the body can process glucose in the short term.
This slight reduction in HbA1c is no cure. As the researchers themselves pointed out, the reduction is less than you would expect if a patient was being treated with the drug of choice for type 2 diabetes,
metformin.
This review also has various important limitations, including the variable design and quality of the six trials included. So, it does not prove that a vegetarian or vegan diet is better for a person with type 2 diabetes, and any media claims of a "cure" for the condition are entirely
This organisation is described in the publication as one that, "promotes the use of low-fat, plant-based diets and discourages the use of animal-derived, fatty, and sugary foods". This represents a potential conflict of interest in the interpretation of the results.
The study was published in the
peer-reviewed medical journal, Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy and the study is
open access, so it is free to
read the study online.
The Daily Express' coverage of the study is accurate and contains some useful background information, so it is frustrating that its headline is totally misleading, especially as it was on the front page.........."
The article is well worth reading as it puts the study into perspective and does not use sensationalism.