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Joel Fuhrman Books/Approach

DianaMC

DianaMC

Well-Known Member
Messages
147
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi all, has anyone used the approach in Joel Fuhrman’s books? If so, has it helped with your diabetes issues? I’m interested in knowing more about how to manage a vegan approach with diabetes or prediabetes. Many thanks for any insights and experiences shared!
 
To be honest I've never read anything of his. Does he advocate low carb vegan? If so, you need @Mel dCP to pop in.

I'm just a normal vegan, and my husband is veggie (yay! - recently). However, husband is also T2 and although he takes a low dose of metformin he is mainly diet controlled. He is veggie but he won't eat eggs or drink milk. He does still use cheese and I'm not going to moan at him; I'm pleased enough that he's veggie.


edited for spelling
 
Well, I'm low carb. I aim at 120g carb but on a day when I need comfort food that might fly out of the window..... of course sometimes I'm way under 80g.
 
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DianaMC said:
Hi all, has anyone used the approach in Joel Fuhrman’s books? If so, has it helped with your diabetes issues? I’m interested in knowing more about how to manage a vegan approach with diabetes or prediabetes. Many thanks for any insights and experiences shared!
Click to expand...
For pre diabetes and T2's it seems that no is the answer to your question.
 
Some people with type 2 who have been contributing to the veggie recommendations thread like @dms1 and @lucylocket61 who have not had a chance to respond to this thread.
They may not have followed the Joel Fuhrman approach but may have some useful insight.

Edited by Mod to remove off-topic content.
 
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Joel is an interesting character as he advocates a low carb plant based approach, which can obviously work for lowering blood sugars. This puts him sometimes into conflict with some of the hierarchy (a good thing in my view), so personally if this was my way of eating I would give his method a go.

Dr Gabriel Cousens has similarly come under fire at Plant Based events for advocating a low carb approach to treating diabetes, so again I like him. Also he has a documentary on YouTube that shows (for once (any more results?)) results:

These are groups I am a member of for low carb plant based methods (I always conduct impartial research for understanding). The pinned documents are excellent for anyone doing Keto.

Vegan Keto Made Simple
Vegetarian Keto

The above are not my recommendations as I eat in an alternative way, but are for information.
 
I did read Fuhrman's book on diabetes a while ago but wasn't fired up with enthusiasm by it. Interestingly, I recently came across the spat between him and T Colin Campbell (The China Study guy) which has made me wonder if Fuhrman's research base for his recommendations on diabetes is strong. If anyone is interested, here's a link:
 
Mbaker said:
Joel is an interesting character as he advocates a low carb plant based approach, which can obviously work for lowering blood sugars. This puts him sometimes into conflict with some of the hierarchy (a good thing in my view), so personally if this was my way of eating I would give his method a go.

Dr Gabriel Cousens has similarly come under fire at Plant Based events for advocating a low carb approach to treating diabetes, so again I like him. Also he has a documentary on YouTube that shows (for once (any more results?)) results:

These are groups I am a member of for low carb plant based methods (I always conduct impartial research for understanding). The pinned documents are excellent for anyone doing Keto.

Vegan Keto Made Simple
Vegetarian Keto

The above are not my recommendations as I eat in an alternative way, but are for information.
Click to expand...
Nicely posted.
 
Ooh, sounds interesting! If you want to drop carbs to a level where you can manage your pre/diabetes, many people follow a vegan low carb or keto (under 30g carb daily) way of eating. It’s perfectly possible, the vegan keto made simple group on Facebook is particularly useful and has tons of info in their pinned posts. Don’t let the naysayers dissuade you from even trying :)
 
It's almost enough to make me wish I did Facebook, but somehow the thought of Zuckerburg always stops me before I sign up....
 
helensaramay said:
Some people with type 2 who have been contributing to the veggie recommendations thread like @dms1 and @lucylocket61 who have not had a chance to respond to this thread.
They may not have followed the Joel Fuhrman approach but may have some useful insight.

Edited by Mod to remove off-topic content.
Click to expand...
Thanks for paging me : )

It looks like those books are just basic vegan stuff really, I have found tons of advice on here for free, so I wont be buying them. As a diet controlled type 2, I have been astonished recently at the wealth of information on here, from people who live the life, on how to be both low carb and mostly plant based.

I may not be able to be totally vegan, as recommended by the books by Joel Fuhrman, due to the carbs I would eat to get enough of some nutrition, but I can use the ideas and meals alongside other foods. I will keep testing with my meter.

It tends to be forgotten that there are a number of us who can eat a measure of carbs, and also there are some who have other medical conditions to juggle which involves some compromises in our dietary choices.
 
helensaramay said:
Some people with type 2 who have been contributing to the veggie recommendations thread like @dms1 and @lucylocket61 who have not had a chance to respond to this thread.
They may not have followed the Joel Fuhrman approach but may have some useful insight.

Edited by Mod to remove off-topic content.
Click to expand...
Agreed
 
DianaMC said:
Hi all, has anyone used the approach in Joel Fuhrman’s books? If so, has it helped with your diabetes issues? I’m interested in knowing more about how to manage a vegan approach with diabetes or prediabetes. Many thanks for any insights and experiences shared!
Click to expand...

His plan is pretty much the one I follow. I don’t know if I would call him low carb exactly. He more or less says exact macronutrient targets aren’t really important, meaning he’s not a low fat advocate. He advocates mainly legumes (and lots of them) and soy for protein, no added oils, lots of vegetables - particularly non-starchy ones. Plenty of leafy greens. Limited grains and make them whole grains only, preferably low GI ones. Add nuts, seeds, olives, avocados. Limit saturated fats, but poly and mono are fine. He says 85-90% plant based, but some (limited) dairy and eggs are fine. And limited meat, but I am vegetarian so obviously don’t do that.

I like eating this way, I think that’s very important to whatever plan you choose.

I’ll be posting my background in an intro thread soon, but in brief, I’ve been eating this way for about 18 months, since my diagnosis as a T2 and my A1c has gone from 11.8% (105 I think?) to 4.9% ( just under 30)
 
@Walking Girl - that is very interesting indeed! Thank you for posting. As I say, my husband is T2 but not fully diet controlled. What you say could be of interest to him as he likes all of the things you mention.
 
Mbaker said:
Joel is an interesting character as he advocates a low carb plant based approach, which can obviously work for lowering blood sugars. This puts him sometimes into conflict with some of the hierarchy (a good thing in my view), so personally if this was my way of eating I would give his method a go.

Dr Gabriel Cousens has similarly come under fire at Plant Based events for advocating a low carb approach to treating diabetes, so again I like him. Also he has a documentary on YouTube that shows (for once (any more results?)) results:

These are groups I am a member of for low carb plant based methods (I always conduct impartial research for understanding). The pinned documents are excellent for anyone doing Keto.

Vegan Keto Made Simple
Vegetarian Keto

The above are not my recommendations as I eat in an alternative way, but are for information.
Click to expand...

Thank you @Mbaker; that’s super helpful!
 
lucylocket61 said:
Thanks for paging me : )

It looks like those books are just basic vegan stuff really, I have found tons of advice on here for free, so I wont be buying them. As a diet controlled type 2, I have been astonished recently at the wealth of information on here, from people who live the life, on how to be both low carb and mostly plant based.

I may not be able to be totally vegan, as recommended by the books by Joel Fuhrman, due to the carbs I would eat to get enough of some nutrition, but I can use the ideas and meals alongside other foods. I will keep testing with my meter.

It tends to be forgotten that there are a number of us who can eat a measure of carbs, and also there are some who have other medical conditions to juggle which involves some compromises in our dietary choices.
Click to expand...

That’s a good point re medical conditions, @lucylocket61. As it happens, I now have a diagnosis of Ménière’s disease, for the dizziness and nausea I’ve been experiencing. At least it’s not T2 that is the cause! So I can be grateful for that. But the medication option, though good for relieving symptoms for bad episodes, worsens the condition if taken regularly (result: deafness).

So I’m looking at alternative help and have come across Ayurvedic medicine, which is helping with other problems too. It’s a whole lifestyle approach, though, including dietary adjustments. For my types of imbalances, it is recommended to use ghee and have meat soups.

Maybe vegetable ghee is an option. But I have a feeling there’s something in the meat aspect might be needed - so I either need a diet flexible enough to include it (but mostly fairly green! - hence wondering about Fuhrman’s approach) Or maybe work out some kind of veg equivalent.

I’m not a great fan of tofu (assuming it’s something in protein that’s useful in an Ayurvedic diet for Vata/Pitta issues). So far, tofu has reminded me and my husband of polystyrene the last two times I cooked it (even though it was the smoked version, which had more flavour!) Might be something not ideal in my cooking technique of course. But I find myself apologising for serving something that isn’t quite hitting the ‘delicious’ mark! (We want to enjoy our food as well as be healthy - possibly a tall order, I know...)
 
Walking Girl said:
His plan is pretty much the one I follow. I don’t know if I would call him low carb exactly. He more or less says exact macronutrient targets aren’t really important, meaning he’s not a low fat advocate. He advocates mainly legumes (and lots of them) and soy for protein, no added oils, lots of vegetables - particularly non-starchy ones. Plenty of leafy greens. Limited grains and make them whole grains only, preferably low GI ones. Add nuts, seeds, olives, avocados. Limit saturated fats, but poly and mono are fine. He says 85-90% plant based, but some (limited) dairy and eggs are fine. And limited meat, but I am vegetarian so obviously don’t do that.

I like eating this way, I think that’s very important to whatever plan you choose.

I’ll be posting my background in an intro thread soon, but in brief, I’ve been eating this way for about 18 months, since my diagnosis as a T2 and my A1c has gone from 11.8% (105 I think?) to 4.9% ( just under 30)
Click to expand...

Thank you, @WalkingGirl. That’s really helpful information. If he’s anti saturated fat, does that mean he tends to exclude or not recommend coconut oil?

Really glad to hear your positive results!

Interesting about limited dairy. I do eat Greek yogurt and mascarpone - with a few berries. These are about the only dessert options I can regularly have. I tried soya yogurt and puds for a while but discovered I had a sensitivity to soya. Got to pick my ingredient options & doses very carefully, as I do like soy sauce in cooked dishes. I swapped from soya milk to almond, to have with breakfast cereal.

I also eat some hard cheese and cream cheese, but have cut down on the softer cheeses in between (started to realise that Brie, Camembert & blue cheeses were upsetting my stomach). The vegan way seems to be gaining popularity, so I’ve been naturally curious as to its benefits. But I find that, even when I cook purely vegetarian dishes, I can feel something is missing when I also have to restrict my carb intake (which seems to suit me - or at least stops high readings on my metre and the accompanying light headedness it brings on).

It’s a bit of a minefield sorting out a good approach, as I have other issues than just prediabetes (eg Ménière’s disease, an inner ear issue which causes trouble with balance and nausea). So I really appreciate the detailed info about the Joel F approach. Is there one particular book you’ve found helpful? Thanks again.
 
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