Can a Vegan Diet Cure Diabetes?

Rosa Gonzalez knew firsthand about the disasters of type-2 diabetes–a condition that results when your body stops responding normally to insulin, a hormone that pulls sugar from the bloodstream into cells, where it’s used for energy. Her uncle lost a leg to the disease; he’s one of the 61,000 people a year with diabetes who have a limb amputated because of nerve damage to legs and feet. Her aunt was on dialysis–a four-hour mechanical cleansing of the blood that took place three times a week–because type-2 diabetes had destroyed her kidneys. And every day her mother had to inject herself with the glucose-lowering hormone insulin to control advanced diabetes.

Then, at age 45, it seemed like it was Gonzalez’s turn for metabolic misery when she got the results from a routine blood test. Her A1C–a measure of long-term blood-sugar levels–was 14 percent (5 percent or lower is normal); her “bad,” artery-clogging LDL cholesterol was 153 (less than 100 is optimal); and at 5-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Rosa was officially obese. A follow-up test showed her fasting blood-sugar level was nearing 400 mg/dl (less than 100 is normal). The obvious diagnosis: type-2 diabetes. The prescribed solution: a three-drug cocktail of Glumetza (metformin), an oral drug to lower blood sugar; a statin to lower LDL cholesterol; and a diuretic to lower blood pressure.

However, Gonzalez refused these drugs–and her most recent blood test revealed a healthy A1C of 5 percent and an LDL of 78. She also dropped 80 pounds and went from a size 18 to a size 6. How did these seemingly miraculous changes happen without her taking these three medications faithfully? Gonzalez went on a low-fat, vegan diet–one that cured her diabetes and regenerated her health.

“About a year after starting the vegan diet, I had a routine appointment with my doctor, and he was floored,” says the Fredericksburg, Virginia, mom, now 47. “He told me that I no longer had diabetes. Of course, he wanted to know how I had reversed my diabetes–and I told him I owed my health to Dr. Barnard and his vegan diet, which gave me my life back.”

Next: Diet’s role in diabetes

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Tim C.

12:53AM PST on Jan 21, 2012

send a green star

KS G.

12:43AM PST on Jan 21, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Naomi A.

11:53PM PST on Jan 20, 2012

I am a diabetic through an ear infection before I turned two.
There is no way for my pancreas to produce insulin, so a vegan diet would not beneficial to me in 'curing' my diabetes.
Diet is always on the list of things for Diabetics to watch. However, I've been taught to count carbohydrates, not calories and I have found the GI system is not even taken into account.
I was told by my dietitian, that not enough test or data was available yet to make any real changes to what is currently being taught. And this is in Australia.
There will always be differing ideas and stories because we are all different and our bodies behave accordingly. Doctors and such just have to go off of the 'law of average'.

Sue H.

7:30PM PST on Jan 20, 2012

Thank you

colleen p.

4:43PM PST on Nov 6, 2011

how many other people have tired this? how many are willing to? how ,many diabetic children can we experiment this on?

maybe we need to find diabetic children with cancer and try it. also feed them any kind of hemp and marijuana tea and see if they get cured.

Annick L.

5:08PM PDT on Nov 5, 2011

Thanks for the good advices even if I'm type 1 diabetic! :)

Jennifer C.

4:58PM PDT on Jul 3, 2011

Excellent artilce. I love it. Thanks for sharing.

Lisa B.

6:23PM PDT on Jun 17, 2011

If someone is overweight they are more likely to be diabetic. They just don't produce enough insulin to cope with their body weight. Loosing weight can seem to "cure" those people. That is why doctors recommend that diabetics maintain a healthy weight. But for people like Halle Berre, loosing weight would have no effect at all. That is why I think veganism as a 'cure' for diabetes is a bogus claim. The only people it seems to 'cure' are those who could do with loosing some weight. For the rest of the diabetics out there, I am yet to see any evidence it has any effect at all.

Lynn R.

7:19PM PDT on Jun 16, 2011

I find the weight loss thing as the "reason" the diabetes is now reversed a bit week. Halle Berry one of the most gorgeous actresses out there has never been overweight while in film (that I have seen), yet, she has Type 2 Diabetes. If she is thin, how is this so?? I have just been diagnosed and my story is fairly similiar to the woman in the article, the ironic thing is my Dr has put me on a Vegan diet. So far the weight is coming off and I plan on reversing this myself. I think we tend to "poo poo" that which we don't understand or maybe just don't want to believe. But if eating a diet that has brought your blood sugar down to normal range, then indeed you have been cured and as long as you maintain the healthy eating habits you have obtained, you will stay cured. Life is about choices. Chosing to live and be healthly or chosing to do whatever you want, and then reap the consequences. It's totally a mental decision.

Nimue P.

8:01PM PDT on May 19, 2011

Me vegan. Thanks :)