The vegetarian diet is an interesting one in terms of type two diabetes. It’s not empirically good or bad for the condition as it has both pro’s and con’s when it comes to managing it. Becoming a vegetarian isn’t going to miraculously control your blood-sugar, what it might do it help you cut down on your weight will indirectly help to combat your diabetes. We’ve drawn up a short list of the good and bad aspects of taking up a vegetarian diet in terms of type two diabetes and hopefully, when armed with the facts you’ll be able to draw your own conclusions.
Pro’s
– A lack of fish and meat in the diet means that, generally, the diet will have fewer calories than a non-vegetarian diet would have. This will help to keep your heart healthy and as people with type two diabetes are around twice as likely to contract heart disease this is great news!
– Generally there’s less processed food in a vegetarian’s diet (though this is not always the case) as diabetics should avoid these foods anyway, not having them at all will help to keep your blood-sugar under control and manage your condition much more effectively.
Con’s
– Though it might seem like it, vegetarian diets don’t guarantee good health and a lot of their protein replacements (beans, lentils etc.) can contain far too many carbohydrates than is healthy for you.
– As you’ve essentially cut out the human race’s prime protein source it may be difficult for you to get enough of this nutrient, there are some other vitamins and minerals you may also struggle to get enough of.
Whether you go vegetarian or not is entirely up to you. Providing you take care to factor in your diabetes and plan your meals the pros could outweigh the cons however, the danger is real too. Be careful and conscientious and you’ll be fine!