Vegan food is becoming wildly popular because of research showing its benefits in helping to prevent and reverse serious diseases, like diabetes.
There’s still a misconception out there, though, that a vegan diet is too high in carbohydrates to be safe for diabetics.
To help counter that, here’s a quote directly from the American Diabetes Association:
“Is it Safe for Someone With Diabetes to Follow a Vegetarian Diet?
“Yes! A vegetarian diet is a healthy option, even if you have diabetes. Research supports that following this type of diet can help prevent and manage diabetes. In fact, research on vegan diets has found that carbohydrate and calorie restrictions were not necessary and still promoted weight loss and lowered participants’ A1C.
“Vegan diets are naturally higher in fiber, much lower in saturated fat, and cholesterol-free when compared to a traditional American diet. The high fiber in this diet may help you feel full for a longer time after eating and may help you eat less over all. When fiber intake is greater than 50 grams per day on a vegan diet, it may help lower blood glucose levels.”
Ok – so it’s safe to be vegan if you have diabetes.
But how do you take the theoretical nutrition advice, and the thousands of recipes available, and plan out a nutritionally-balanced and complete day of food?
And how do you create a vegan meal plan when you’re worried about carbohydrate content and blood sugar balance?
I hosted a session at Learn It Live’s Diabetes Smart Symposium, and went through the basics of vegan meal planning, plus how to make protein-rich meals with low glycemic load.
Watch a recording of the session here: Preventing blood sugar spikes
If you click the photo above, you can download a PDF copy of the slides from the session, which outline the main points to keep in mind when planning vegan meals that won’t spike your blood sugar.
You might want to check out a book written by Dr. Neal Barnard, with recipes from my dear friend Dreena Burton – Cookbook for Reversing Diabetes.
And if you put your email in below, I’ll send you some low-glycemic and protein-rich recipes you can use to plan meals for yourself or your loved ones – plus some other goodies.
