Plant-based diet improves mood and could reduce type 2 diabetes risk factors

[DCUK NewsBot]

Eating a plant-based or vegan diet could significantly improve psychological wellbeing and reduce risk factors of type 2 diabetes, research indicates. The UK scientists behind the trial say the findings provide more understanding of how diet is linked to mood and wellbeing, which has previously been unclear. An analysis of 11 trials found that plant-based diets lowered HbA1c levels and weight and also improved quality of life among participants. Plant-based diets have previously been found to improve insulin sensitivity in obese adults without diabetes, and reduce cardiovascular risks. The UK researchers behind the study believe their benefits could extend to helping prevent type 2 diabetes. A plant-based diet includes vegetables, nuts and seeds. They’re generally considered to be healthy because they contain lots of fibre, vitamins and antioxidants. In the trials analysed, plant-based diets were compared with other diets among 433 people in their mid-50s, on average. The trials lasted for an average of 23 weeks. Emotional and physical quality of life improvements were only observed in those on a plant-based/vegan diet, while depressive symptoms decreased significantly. Other benefits observed included reduced nerve pain (neuropathy), reduced HbA1c and blood glucose levels and improved weight loss - 5.23kg on average compared to 2.83kg among those who ate very few animal products. "Based on the evidence of the research analysis by this systematic review, it can be concluded that plant-based diets accompanied by educational interventions can significantly improve psychological health, quality of life, HbA1c levels and weight, and therefore the management of diabetes," write the researchers. While plant-based diets continue to show benefits, some fruits, legumes and whole grains which can be eaten in these diets are often higher in carbohydrate, which can negatively impact on blood glucose levels. Eating a diet low in carbohydrate and high in plant-based foods is particularly effective for reducing type 2 diabetes and managing diabetes because it keeps blood glucose well controlled. For more information visit our Low Carb Program. The study findings have been published online in The BMJ Open Diabetes Research &Care.

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[Guzzler]

Shouldn't that be 'Plant based diets plus supplements'?

 

[Indy51]

I don't believe it. There's a lot of evidence that plant-based diets actually exacerbate anxiety and depression. I wonder how the study was manipulated to get this result?

 

[AloeSvea]

From the study write-up: "There is a large body of research that suggests the association between high meat consumption and T2D.16–19 The European Prospective into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) -InterAct study20 is a large prospective cohort study which explored the role of lifestyle and genetics on the risk of developing T2D in approximately 340 000 adults from eight countries in Europe during a mean period of 11 years. The results of the EPIC-InterAct study20 show a high risk of T2D among individuals with high meat consumption, specifically red and processed meat. Moreover, after controlling and managing other risk factors for T2D (eg, smoking, physical activity, alcohol intake), the association between meat consumption and incidence of T2D remained statistically significant. This suggests the importance of healthy diet behavior in the management of T2D.

The term plant-based diet refers to eating habits that avoid the consumption of most or all animal products and support high consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, whole grains and nuts.21"

Yes, it was the roast meat that gave me Type 2, not the massive amounts of: sugar and sugar-products, processed foods, the 'new wheat' products, the deranged vegetable oils. And, the saturated fat and eggs I didn't eat since the 70s when they told me not to till after I was diagnosed... (please note - very high irony alert!)

Herr Svea, a science trained person, who likes to quote Mark Twain regarding statistics, says he read that EPIC study quite a long time ago, and was singularly unimpressed. If you look at the numbers they show, he had a very hard time seeing the co-relations, as the difference between them was really small. It's another instance of relative risk being blown up when the raw data-difference is actually very small. So says Herr Svea at any rate.

 

[kitedoc]

Over the 23 weeks one has to ask whether placebo effect might account for some of the results. How can one ensure that researchers did not deliberately or unconsciously promote the 'new' diet.
And was there a significant difference in weight loss/gain between the groups., which could account for changes and what if weight had been kept near the same in both groups?
If the diet was strictly no meat or eggs, would 23 weeks be long enough for vitamin B12 to be depleted in the this group.?
The usual figure quoted is 2 years or more, so any longterm effect of a no meat diet on mental health (say from low B12 levels) would not be apparent. So is the 23 week trial long enough?
There does not seem to be any measure of how bowel flora might have changed in both groups and whether this change might have also influenced results.

 

[Guzzler]

So a vegan diet plus suppelements plus the omission of other risk factors? Which basically tells me that the diet alone does not prove or has not proved outcome because of the other variables. Giving up the SAD alone will improve health whether that SAD is replaced by a vegan, omnivore or carnivore diet and if then one gives up or mitigates other risk variables the outcomes would be similar, no?