Trying a Low-Carb Diet for Diabetes

In 2019, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. My doctor told me to eat a low-carb, high-protein diet, so I started doing Atkins, with a lot of meat and prepackaged foods.

At a routine eye exam a few months later, my eye doctor noticed that I had clumps of cholesterol in one eye. I was immediately sent to the hospital for a carotid artery scan, which found that the small artery on the left side of my face, eye, and brain was around 60% clogged with plaque buildup. I was scared! My doctor wanted to put me on a statin for cholesterol and metformin for diabetes. I knew there had to be a better way.

Swift Results on a WFPB Diet

I began researching different diets and found How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn, MD. I immediately adopted a whole-food, plant-based diet, free of oil. Within just five weeks, my total cholesterol dropped 60 points, from 290 to 230. Within six months it dropped to 184, and my A1C dropped from 7.1 to 5.9, all without medication—all from just changing what I was eating! I also lost 36 pounds.

Still Plant-Based and Thriving 5 Years Later

Since making the switch five years ago, I’ve maintained normal cholesterol levels and reversed Type 2 diabetes. At age 55, I feel the best I ever have! I also became certified in plant based nutrition and cooking to help others take control of their health with a WFPB way of eating. I am so grateful that now I can share my story and help educate others about the power of lifestyle medicine. I believe that it’s the solution for preventing and reversing many of the chronic diseases that we face today.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post On a High-Carb Diet, I Reversed Type 2 Diabetes and High Cholesterol appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

The shift in diet garnered several significant results: 22 of the patients (37%) achieved total remission, while the number of patients who needed to use glucose-lowering medications dropped from 40 to 29. Additionally, the number of insulin prescriptions within the group fell from 4 to 1 after the changes in diet were made.

“The two key characteristics of WFPB diets that support Type 2 diabetes remission are lower total energy and lower total fat, which lead to reduced energy intake,” says Micaela Karlsen, PhD, senior director of research for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and a lead researcher on the study.

The concept of eating low energy density foods—that is, foods with a low calorie count—is a popular and proven method for long-term weight loss. This approach allows a person to eat a relatively large volume of food without gaining weight because the ingredients aren’t highly caloric and are often filled with hunger-busting properties such as fiber. In a 2020 statement, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine elaborated on how this technique can support Type 2 diabetes remission by saying that “the three factors of decreasing fat, increasing fruits and vegetables, and increasing water content have been shown to decrease caloric content,” which supports healthy blood sugar levels. Eating a WFPB diet naturally includes many low energy density foods, making it a prime lifestyle choice for people battling diabetes.

This new study adds to a growing body of research that supports using a WFPB diet to prevent, halt, or even reverse the negative health effects of Type 2 diabetes. A 2021 study which looked at data from nearly 42,000 Seventh-day Adventists (many of whom are vegetarian or vegan) discovered that vegans within that group had a 62% decreased risk of developing diabetes compared to the meat eaters. More recently, a 2023 study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that a WFPB diet decreased the likelihood of premature death in Type 2 diabetes patients.

The CDC reports that more than 37 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10), and Type 2 diabetes makes up 90–95% of those cases. While medications are a major component of Type 2 diabetes care, growing research supports the evidence that lifestyle interventions—including a WFPB diet, exercise, decreased substance use, and proper sleep—can have similarly significant health outcomes as pharmaceutical interventions.

“We need to do more research to see if there are differences in remission rates among different populations,” says Karlsen. “But we do know that behaviors like a low-fat, whole food, plant-predominant lifestyle and moderate exercise have positive benefits for blood glucose, and are likely to help everyone.”

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

The post New Study Confirms Plant-Based Diet Can Promote Type 2 Diabetes Remission appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

How did your upbringing influence your interest in plant-based diets?

Sharon Palmer: My parents both came from farming families, which meant that we grew a lot of our own food when I was young. We had a huge garden, we canned and preserved things, we made homemade bread—nothing came in a package. I was interested in nutrition and health from a young age, so I went through the plant-based nutrition program at Loma Linda University in California. The people in [Loma Linda] are one of the longest-living populations in the U.S., and it was later designated a Blue Zone. I wasn’t vegan right off the bat, though. I was a pescatarian after college, and then I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and then I went vegan in 2011. As a dietitian writing about the benefits of a plant-based diet, I felt like I needed to do it for my research, and it really was a turning point for me because I realized it wasn’t hard to maintain. I felt amazing, and I knew this way of eating had the best outcome for my health, for the environment, and for animal welfare.

What changes did you notice in your own health after going vegan?

SP: I felt really light, like my body wasn’t weighed down, and my digestion was more effective. And now here I am at my age, and I have such great health markers. My blood pressure is low, my blood cholesterol is low, and my inflammatory markers are low. I’m getting older now, and I’m not dealing with all the things that most women [my age] are already being treated for. I believe eating plant-based really lowered my risk for developing chronic disease.

As an RDN, what has been your experience with treating diabetes?

SP: Throughout my 20-year career as a dietitian I saw an enormous amount of patients with diabetes. And the number has just been increasing over the years. We used to call Type 2 diabetes “adult-onset diabetes” because it typically happened after someone turned 40, but now it’s happening much earlier. It’s an epidemic. And it’s not just a problem for people who already have diabetes: There’s also a huge amount of people who have prediabetes or are dangerously close to it. So I feel like when we talk about preventing diabetes, it’s a concern the majority of us need to consider. The cool part about lifestyle intervention is that what’s good for diabetes is also what’s good for your heart, your brain, your kidneys, your liver—it’s good for everything. Going plant-based is not just a diabetes-specific diet. We should all be eating like this.

How did you prepare for writing your new book?

SP: I did a ton of research, a literature review, and I attended as many conferences as I could on the subject before sitting down to write. I interviewed colleagues and scientists who are leading the way with published research in this arena. For example, Neal Barnard’s research found that vegan diet could increase beta cell function, improve insulin [sensitivity], and facilitate better blood glucose levels for people who already had Type 2 diabetes. He also found that diabetics patients who were on oral medications and/or insulin were able to get off their meds after 25 days on his program. But diabetes is so particular; each individual responds to certain treatments and medications and programs differently, so my book isn’t a one-size-fits-all prescription. It includes a lot of information about the power of plant-based diets and provides different strategies so people can adjust it to meet their own needs. It would be great to use in conjunction with your healthcare professional so you can develop a personalized plan.

What are the most important elements you think about when creating and testing new recipes?

SP: I test all my recipes at home in the kitchen. I am constantly thinking of new ideas. A big inspiration for me are the seasons, what’s fresh and available in the stores. I’m a big advocate of local foods, sustainable foods, and shopping at the farmers market. When I’m creating recipes I’m thinking, “Are these ingredients in season together, and what kind of flavors would go best with them?” I also try to make sure all the recipes are approachable, affordable, and that they call for ingredients you can find in any typical grocery store.

Are your recipes oil-free?

SP: I use a small amount of oil in my recipes, but not all of my recipes. It’s very easy to omit the oil to make it fit with your specific dietary needs.

You have a master’s degree in food sustainability. How does that inform your work?

SP: I’ve always been fascinated with how food grows, and how we’re taking care of the environment through the things we eat. I studied at Green Mountain College in Vermont for two years looking at the entire food system and how it impacts the planet. It not only further informed my knowledge on the eco-friendly benefits of plant-based diets, but it also highlighted the nuances in our food system around feeding an ever-growing population and how to curb climate change. I co-founded an organization called Food and Planet, which has a goal of empowering health care professionals to advance sustainable food systems. Our mission is to educate health care professionals so they can function as a trusted touchpoint for explaining to consumers how to eat more sustainably. This could include topics like what to buy at the grocery store, how to know where your food comes from, how to reduce food waste, etc.

What would you say to someone who wants to go plant-based to manage their diabetes but isn’t sure how to start?

SP: I would let them know that this is such a holistic diet for your whole body, and the research in this area is continuing to grow. When you have diabetes you really have to take care of your body more than the average person, so you have to work a little bit harder. Your health care professional is a key piece of managing the disease, but the most important thing you can do for your health is to take care of yourself every single day. What you’re eating, how you’re moving, whether you’re reducing stress—all these things are part of a holistic lifestyle. And that’s powerful because it means that you have control over your own health. I also hear from a lot of people who are contemplating going plant-based that they’re afraid they will miss something. But there are over 20,000 edible species of plants on the planet, and those are the ingredients that add the color and texture and aroma to your plate. Because there’s such amazing diversity in the plant world you’re not going to have less, you’re going to have more.

Try Sharon Palmer’s Raw Purple Power Salad recipe, excerpted from The Plant-Powered Plan to Beat Diabetes!

The post Beating Diabetes with Diet: Sharon Palmer’s New Guide Provides an Approachable Plant-Based Plan appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

1 in 3 Americans have prediabetes. Most don’t know they have it.

According to CDC estimates, more than 37 million Americans are living with diabetes. Roughly 90–95% have Type 2 diabetes, a serious chronic condition that can lead to heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and vision loss. An additional 96 million are headed down the same path with prediabetes.
The good news is Type 2 diabetes can be prevented and reversed with basic lifestyle changes. In this webinar, best-selling author and physician Neal Barnard, MD, cuts through the confusion about diet and diabetes and presents proven, drug-free strategies for preventing and reversing this dangerous disease.

Watch The Replay

Originally aired March 22, 2023

The post Webinar: What Causes Type 2 Diabetes (It’s Not Sugar!) and How to Reverse It, With Neal Barnard, MD, FACC appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Exercise didn’t work, either. I always maintained gym memberships. I had a walking buddy, with whom I walked religiously during warmer months. At one time, I could bench-press more than my 15-year-old son and do 25 consecutive flat-backed pushups, but I still weighed 175 pounds.

At 52, I decided to go vegan, but I ate a lot of highly processed vegan junk foods. Around that time, I gave up on losing weight. It was simply too much work to try to keep the weight off.

Stumbling Across a Surprising Solution

A few years ago, my doctor began pushing me toward statins to lower my cholesterol, as well as medications to address my prediabetes. I was already on medication to lower my blood pressure. I desperately wanted to avoid more meds. Then I met someone who told me that he lost 70 pounds by eating only potatoes. Potatoes?! I was shocked: Didn’t potatoes make you fat? He told me about The Starch Solution by John McDougall, MD. This sounded like the type of thing I could do. I went home and read everything I could about Dr. McDougall and learned about the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet. I wanted so badly not just to lose weight but to lower my cholesterol, lower my blood pressure, and prevent Type 2 diabetes.

I decided to jump into a WFPB diet. I stuck to it strictly from the outset, because I wanted the weight loss and the health gains, and I didn’t want anything to pollute the results.

I knew that the results would take some time, and that was OK. It was more about learning how to do this every day and maintain the lifestyle for the long run. So I focused on learning to be happy with what I ate. Weaning off of highly processed foods wasn’t easy, and the first week was really hard, but the second week got a little easier, and from there my palate adjusted pretty quickly. I found that following a WFPB diet strictly, rather than “dabbling” in oil and ultraprocessed foods, was helpful, as it helped my taste buds adjust rather than stay hooked on unhealthy stuff.

A month after starting this way of eating, I had my annual checkup. My doctor was shocked, saying I’d had the largest drop in LDL cholesterol she had ever seen in her career that wasn’t due to medication. My blood pressure was normal, and my A1C was fine, too: I was no longer prediabetic.

The diet resolved some other issues I’d struggled with, like sleep apnea and headaches, and I even noticed a difference in my skin. In the past, the heels of my feet were thick and cracked. Sometimes, if the cracks opened too much, it would get very painful to walk. After going WFPB, they became more supple and soft, with no more fissures! That was a big relief.

Staying Committed to the WFPB Lifestyle

Today I’m 65 years old and don’t need any medications. I lost 44 pounds in the first year of eating WFPB and 10 more pounds the second year, and I’ve maintained most of that weight loss in the year since. I feel that I still have about 15 pounds to lose. As an older postmenopausal woman, it’s coming off extremely slowly. Because I’m trying to lose weight, I limit heavier WFPB-compliant foods such as whole grain bread and tofu.

I’ve had some age-related arthritis flare-ups, but they went away almost as quickly as they came. Added sugar and salt both seem to aggravate my arthritis, so I’ve also done the hard work of eliminating those from my diet. Going salt-free has been a struggle. However, I’m in support groups with many people who assure me that it gets easier as your palate adjusts.

Getting Better Together

My husband adopted a WFPB lifestyle about a year after I did, after suffering a heart attack. He’s lost 70 pounds. He also ditched migraines, heartburn, gastric reflux, and arthritis pain, and his chronic eczema is almost gone. Since he’s a heart attack survivor, he still has to take statins, but he’s hoping he might eventually be able to get off of those. Because of the cardiovascular disease, my husband and I have been strictly following the dietary recommendations of Caldwell Esselstyn, MD. That means eating six servings of greens every day, 365 days a year.

My daughter was so impressed with our health transformations that she decided to give WFPB a try, too, and she’s lost 40 pounds. All three of us have much more energy. My husband and I now look forward to walking our dog 2 to 4 miles a day (or more, if we have time). We take lots of rigorous hikes.

I’m so excited by all this renewal, I started a group online to share recipes, tips, and progress. My WFPB friends and family members love the way we eat, because we just feel so much better.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post I Beat Heart Disease and Lost 44 Pounds in 9 Months Without Portion Control appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

1. You’ll reduce inflammation in your body.

If you are eating meat, cheese, and highly processed foods, chances are you have elevated levels of inflammation in your body. While short-term inflammation (such as after an injury) is normal and necessary, inflammation that lasts for months or years is not. Chronic inflammation has been linked to the development of atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases, among other conditions.

In contrast, plant-based diets are naturally anti-inflammatory, because they are high in fiber, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients, and much lower in inflammatory triggers such as saturated fat and endotoxins (toxins released from bacteria commonly found in animal foods). Studies have shown that people who adopt no meat diets can dramatically lower their level of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation in the body.

2. Your blood cholesterol levels will plummet.

Elevated blood cholesterol is a key risk factor for heart disease and strokes, two of the leading killers in the United States. Saturated fat—primarily found in meat, poultry, cheese, and other animal products—is a major driver of our blood cholesterol levels. Cholesterol in our food also plays a role.

Studies consistently show that when people go plant based, their blood cholesterol levels drop by up to 35% . In many cases, the decrease is equal to that seen with drug therapy—with many positive side effects! People who require cholesterol-lowering drugs can further slash their cholesterol levels and cardiovascular risk by adopting a plant-based diet.

Whole-food, plant-based diets reduce blood cholesterol because they tend to be very low in saturated fat and they contain zero cholesterol. Moreover, plant-based diets are high in fiber, which further reduces blood cholesterol levels. Soy has also been shown to play a role in lowering cholesterol, for those who choose to include it.

3. You’ll give your microbiome a makeover.

The trillions of microorganisms living in our bodies are collectively called the microbiome. Increasingly, these microorganisms are recognized as crucial to our overall health: not only do they help us digest our food, but they produce critical nutrients, train our immune systems, turn genes on and off, keep our gut tissue healthy, and help protect us from cancer. Studies have also shown they play a role in obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and liver disease.

Plant foods help shape a healthy intestinal microbiome. The fiber in plant foods promotes the growth of “friendly” bacteria in our guts. On the other hand, fiber-poor diets (such as those that are high in dairy, eggs, and meat) can foster the growth of disease-promoting bacteria. Landmark studies have shown that when omnivores eat choline or carnitine (found in meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy), gut bacteria make a substance that is converted by our liver to a toxic product called TMAO. TMAO leads to worsening cholesterol plaques in our blood vessels and escalates the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Interestingly, people eating plant-based diets make little or no TMAO after a meat-containing meal, because they have a totally different gut microbiome. It takes only a few days for our gut bacterial patterns to change – the benefits of a plant-based diet start quickly!

4. You’ll change how your genes work.

Scientists have made the remarkable discovery that environmental and lifestyle factors can turn genes on and off. For example, the antioxidants and other nutrients we eat in whole plant foods can change gene expression to optimize how our cells repair damaged DNA. Research has also shown that lifestyle changes, including a no meat diet, can decrease the expression of cancer genes in men with low-risk prostate cancer. We’ve even seen that a plant-based diet, along with other lifestyle changes, can lengthen our telomeres—the caps at the end of our chromosomes that help keep our DNA stable. This might mean that our cells and tissues age more slowly since shortened telomeres are associated with aging and earlier death.

5. You’ll dramatically reduce your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes.

An estimated 38 percent of Americans have prediabetes—a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. Animal protein, especially red and processed meat, has been shown in study after study to increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes. In the Adventist population, omnivores have double the rate of diabetes compared with vegans, even accounting for differences in body weight. In fact, in this population, eating meat once a week or more over a 17-year period increased the risk of diabetes by 74 percent! Similarly, in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and Nurses Health Study, increasing red meat intake by more than just half a serving per day was associated with a 48 percent increased risk in diabetes over 4 years.

Why would meat cause type 2 diabetes? Several reasons: animal fat, animal-based (heme) iron, and nitrate preservatives in meat have been found to damage pancreatic cells, worsen inflammation, cause weight gain, and impair the way our insulin functions.

You will dramatically lessen your chances of getting type 2 diabetes by leaving animal products off of your plate and eating a diet based in whole plant foods. This is especially true if you eat whole grains, which are highly protective against type 2 diabetes. You read that right: carbs actually protect you from diabetes! Also, a plant-based diet can improve or even reverse your diabetes if you’ve already been diagnosed.

6. You’ll get the right amount—and the right type—of protein.

The average omnivore in the US gets more than 1.5 times the optimal amount of protein, most of it from animal sources.

Contrary to popular perception, this excess protein does not make us stronger or leaner. Excess protein is stored as fat or turned into waste, and animal protein is a major cause of weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, and cancer.

On the other hand, the protein found in whole plant foods protects us from many chronic diseases. There is no need to track protein intake or use protein supplements with plant-based diets; if you are meeting your daily calorie needs, you will get plenty of protein. The longest-lived people on Earth, those living in the “Blue Zones,” get about 10 percent of their calories from protein, compared with the US average of 15 to 20 percent.

7. You’ll make a huge impact on the health of our planet and its inhabitants.

The benefits of not eating meat extend beyond your own body. Animal agriculture is extremely destructive to the planet and is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a leading cause of land and water use, deforestation, wildlife destruction, and species extinction. About 2,000 gallons of water are needed to produce just one pound of beef in the U.S. Our oceans are rapidly becoming depleted of fish; by some estimates, oceans may be fishless by 2048. The current food system, based on meat and dairy production, also contributes to world hunger—the majority of crops grown worldwide go toward feeding livestock, not feeding people.

Equally important, animals raised for food are sentient beings who suffer, whether raised in industrial factory farms or in farms labeled “humane.” Eating a plant-based diet helps us lead a more compassionate life. After all, being healthy is not just about the food we eat; it’s also about our consciousness—our awareness of how our choices affect the planet and all of those with whom we share it. So if you’re still wondering, “Is eating meat bad for you?” The short answer is yes—for you, and for our entire ecosystem!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

This article was originally published on Jan. 12, 2016, and has been updated.

The post 7 Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Meat appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

About two years ago, I happened upon the WFPB lifestyle while searching for information to help my 82-year-old mother with her neuropathy. I came across the documentary Forks Over Knives, which prompted me to dig deeper. I watched The Game Changers, What the Health, and Cowspiracy, and I bought whole-food, plant-based cookbooks, as well as books written by plant-based doctors. I took volumes of notes.

One of the books I read was Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr., MD. It took me back to my childhood. When I was 6, my dad had his first heart attack. He was just 29 years old. In 1986, he had his second one. While he was recovering in the cardiovascular intensive care unit, I stayed overnight at the hospital. I remember a nurse called my room in the middle of the night to tell me that my dad was in cardiac arrest; I ran through the long halls of the hospital, and when I finally got to my dad’s room, I witnessed the respiratory care team putting him on a ventilator. He died a week later. He’d just turned 50.

Decades later, as I read Dr. Esselstyn’s book, I cried, wishing my dad could have had access to this life-saving information. And though I’d set out to research all this for my mom’s sake, it resonated with me on another level: I knew it was time for me to change my own diet, too.

Facing the Music

I hadn’t been to the doctor in years; I was afraid of stepping on the scale or learning what my lab results might indicate. But in March 2021, with some nudging from my husband, I made an appointment for a physical exam.

At the doctor’s office, I sheepishly stepped onto the scale and found that I weighed 212 pounds. Then the nurse took my blood pressure, which turned out to be high. My doctor ordered my labs. I told him that starting the next morning, I was going to leave the standard American diet and move to a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle, free of refined sugar, oil, and added salt (aka “SOS-free”). My doctor supported my decision.

My bloodwork came back, and as expected, my lab results were concerning. My total cholesterol level was 282, my LDL was 189, and my triglycerides were 205. On top of this, my A1C was 6.5, indicating Type 2 diabetes.

The way I looked at it, I was my own perfect test subject as I embarked on my new lifestyle. I bought a monthly planner for meal planning and grocery shopping, a new scale, and a new blood pressure cuff. I was empowered by all of the reading and studying that I’d done, and I was very excited to put what I had learned into practice. Would it work?

The hardest part for me was not having a mentor in my life who was following a WFPB lifestyle, someone who could help me with my questions. I had to figure this all out on my own, for the most part. But I am forever grateful to the authors of the numerous books and cookbooks and documentaries that helped me to understand.

I monitored my blood pressure and weight, and I documented everything in my monthly planner. I continued this every week, being 100% compliant to a plant-exclusive, SOS-free diet.

Bringing Mom Along

Two months into my new lifestyle, my mother came down with COVID-19 pneumonia and was admitted to intensive care. I told her we’d be ready to come pick her up as soon as she was better. Meanwhile, I busied myself making plant-based meals to stash in her freezer. I bought her all the same cookbooks that I’d bought for myself. I stocked her pantry with plant-based staples. Finally, five long days later, my mom was discharged from the hospital. She had her first whole-food, plant-based meal and loved it! She told me how much her body craved healthy food like this while she was in the hospital.

In 18 Months, a World of Difference

March 26, 2023, will be my second anniversary with the WFPB lifestyle. I’ve completely normalized my cholesterol and triglyceride levels. I have reversed my Type 2 diabetes; my A1C is now 5.4. My blood pressure is excellent. As a nice side benefit, I’ve lost 80 pounds and have a healthy BMI.

Mom is now plant-based, too, and so is her devoted husband, who is 80 years old. Being able to help them both improve their health is a very good feeling. We enjoy sharing plant-based recipes, cooking techniques, and delicious meals.

This has seriously been the easiest lifestyle change that I have ever made. I feel so healthy, and I feel empowered knowing I’m doing all I can to protect myself from the No. 1 cause of death in women: heart disease.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

The post On a Healthy Plant-Based Diet, I’ve Reversed Type 2 Diabetes and Sky-High Cholesterol appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Affecting 1 in 3 adults, metabolic syndrome is fairly common in the United States. A constellation of conditions, it puts people at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and other serious health problems, like atherosclerosis. The good news? Simple lifestyle changes and healthy habits can reduce that risk and may even be able to reverse the damage that has already been done.

What Is Metabolic Syndrome?

Doctors have long been interested in uncovering a connection between obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Metabolic syndrome, also known as Syndrome X or insulin resistance syndrome, emerged as a way to describe shared underlying characteristics.

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Metabolic Syndrome Symptoms

You may be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome if you have at least three of the five following conditions.

• A large waist circumference: You have an “apple-shaped” body, or your waist circumference measures greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men.
• High blood glucose (sugar): Your blood sugar measures 100 mg/dL or more, or you take medicine for high blood glucose.
• Low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol: Your HDL levels are less than 40 mg/dL for men or less than 50 mg/dL for women.
• High levels of triglycerides: Your triglyceride levels measure 150 mg/dL or more, or you take medicine for high triglycerides.
• High blood pressure: Your blood pressure measures 130/85 mmHg or more, or you take medicine for hypertension.

Risk Factors

A variety of traits, conditions, and lifestyle behaviors put you at greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome. The following may occur on their own or in combination with other risk factors.

• Excessive fat in and around the abdomen
• Inactivity (less than the recommended 150 minutes per week of exercise)
• Too much or too little sleep (more than 10 hours or less than six hours)
• Smoking and/or heavy alcohol consumption
• Age: Your risk increases as you get older.
• Gender: Men are at a greater risk than women, although women are more likely to have low HDL.
• Ethnicity: Metabolic syndrome is most prevalent among Hispanic adults.
• A family history of diabetes or metabolic syndrome
• Insulin resistance, which occurs when cells don’t respond normally to insulin
• Polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that causes cysts to grow on the ovaries
• Chemotherapy: Women treated with chemotherapy before or after breast cancer surgery are at a higher risk.

How Does Diet Affect Metabolic Syndrome?

“Metabolic syndrome is certainly very much impacted by diet,” says Nicole Harkin, MD, FACC, founder of Whole Heart Cardiology. “The central component to it is weight gain which is often created by a combination of genetic factors, a sedentary lifestyle, and then dietary factors that really go into developing insulin resistance and a body weight that’s above ideal.”

A primary culprit, she says, is the standard American diet, which tends to be rich in highly processed foods.

A 2021 study published in Liver International investigated the connection between ultra-processed foods and metabolic syndrome. A total of 789 male and female participants (59 years old on average) received a food frequency questionnaire, an abdominal ultrasound, body measurements, blood pressure measurements, and fasting blood tests. Researchers found that eating more ultra-processed foods was associated with higher odds for metabolic syndrome and its components—hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL.

Another culprit, according to at least two studies, is the high consumption of red meat and processed meats.

On the flip side, evidence shows that a whole-food, plant-based diet can play a protective role against metabolic syndrome. Not only is it low in saturated fat; it’s also high in fiber, which could be effective in the management of metabolic syndrome for its ability to control body weight through its effect on satiety (among other health benefits). And research indicates that eating greater quantities of fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome.

How to Reverse Metabolic Syndrome

“While [metabolic syndrome] might sound like a scary diagnosis, it’s definitely something that you can turn around with lifestyle changes,” says Harkin.

A healthy diet and regular exercise are keys to doing just that, according to a 2007 study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Researchers divided 335 metabolic syndrome patients aged 45 to 64 in northwest Italy into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group reduced saturated fat intake and increased polyunsaturated fat and fiber intake, along with exercise levels. After 12 months, researchers saw weight, waist circumference, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation), and most metabolic syndrome components decrease in the intervention group and increase in the control group.

“Getting an adequate amount of exercise is a great part of preventing and reversing metabolic syndrome,” says Harkin.

And it doesn’t need to be vigorous exercise, which may be especially challenging for overweight or more sedentary individuals. Instead, according to a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, even moderate exercise, such as walking about 12 miles per week, can sufficiently improve metabolic syndrome. Alternately, the American Heart Association recommends 30 to 60 minutes per day of moderate-intensity physical activity supplemented by two days per week of resistance training.

“If you lose somewhere between just 5–10% of your body weight, that can really improve your insulin sensitivity and reverse some of the cardiometabolic abnormalities that we see in association with metabolic syndrome,” says Harkin.

Real-Life Success Stories

By adopting a healthier lifestyle, it’s possible to avoid and even reverse metabolic syndrome and its risk factors. For inspiration, check out the following first-person testimonials from individuals who have—with the help of a whole-food, plant-based diet—done just that:

• I’m Reversing Metabolic Syndrome on a Plant-Based Diet
• I’ve Normalized Sky-High Triglycerides and Begun Reversing Kidney Disease in Just 12 Weeks
• What a Plant-Based Diet Did to My Cholesterol, Blood Sugar, and Triglycerides
• From Cheese-Loving Vegetarian with Sky-High Blood Pressure to Whole-Food, Plant-Based and Healthy
• What Giving Up Meat, Dairy, and Processed Foods Did for My BMI, Blood Pressure, and Cholesterol

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

The post Metabolic Syndrome and Diet: Here’s What You Need To Know appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Giving Plant-Based a Try

One day while looking for something to watch on TV, I came across the Forks Over Knives film. I thought that I might as well give that a try, since nothing else had worked. I’m an all-or-nothing type of person, so I dove head first into the transition. I immediately stopped eating meat, seafood, dairy, oil, and highly processed foods.

Within a few weeks, I started experiencing pretty consistent weight loss. But what surprised me the most was how my body felt: I had lost weight in the past, but I always felt bad during the process. This was the first time that I actually felt better. Within the first week of transitioning I noticed that my knees no longer hurt when I climbed the stairs. The swelling in my ankles went away. I had a much greater range of motion in my shoulders. It was at this point that I realized this would be how I lived my life from now on.

A Brighter Future

When I first started eating this way, I set a goal of losing 100 pounds, but I didn’t set any deadline for myself. I decided that, as long as I was making progress, it didn’t really matter when I hit my target weight. Almost two years after I started eating a plant-based diet, I hit my goal the day before my son’s wedding, when I weighed in at 165 pounds!

Eating a plant-based diet has most definitely changed my life. I can now see a future, where before I really didn’t. I have developed a real love of cooking and began gardening and growing some of my own food, which is just wonderful. I no longer need to wear a CPAP machine at night, because I am no longer being treated for sleep apnea. I feel better about the imprint I am making on our planet by not eating animals. And I have much more energy now.

When I started eating this way, I began to walk and found real joy in my time on the various trails. I am now making plans to walk the 500-mile pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago in Spain. That has been on my bucket list for many years; there would have been no way I could have done this at my old weight.

When people see me now after having not seen me for a few years, they are amazed at the physical transformation. When I tell them how I did it I often hear things like, “Oh, I could never do that,” or “I couldn’t give up cheese.” I tell them that I thought the same things and that if I could do without then I was positive they could as well. The thing that really helped me was to reframe how I look at things. Instead of dwelling on things that I had to give up, I concentrated on things that I was gaining: better health; delicious recipes; new clothes; and longevity. Transitioning to a plant-based diet has been one of the best gifts I could have ever given myself!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post I Went Plant-Based, Said Goodbye to 100 Pounds, Prediabetes, and My CPAP Machine appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Recent scientific research is putting old biases to rest and proving once and for all that these tasty tubers deserve a spot on your plate. From fueling your brain to building muscle mass, take a look at how potatoes and their starchy counterparts are an essential component of a nourishing whole-food, plant-based lifestyle.

In this article you’ll find:

• What Are Starchy Vegetables?
• Is Starch Bad for You?
  • Starchy Veggies and Blood Sugar
  • What About the Glycemic Index?
• Are Potatoes Bad for You?
• Comprehensive List of Starchy Vegetables
• Comprehensive List of Non-Starchy Vegetables
• The Bottom Line

What Are Starchy Vegetables?

Vegetables are categorized into two main groups—starchy and non-starchy. Starch is a type of complex carbohydrate that is made up of glucose molecules (sugar) that form during photosynthesis. When consumed, the digestive system breaks down the starchy vegetable to its glucose building blocks for use as energy throughout the entire body. Apart from fueling cellular functions, starchy whole foods are a critical aspect of a good diet because they often contain a hearty dose of fiber. Fiber not only promotes healthy gut bacteria and regular bowel movements; it’s also been heavily linked to healthy BMIs and a host of other health benefits.

There are three main types of starch:

• Rapidly digestible starch (RDS): Primarily found in highly processed foods, including white rice, white bread, and sugary snacks. (Interestingly, potatoes have been found to be high in RDS only while hot and freshly cooked; as they cool, much of their RDS transforms to SDS.) The body rapidly breaks down the glucose molecules present in RDS and uses it for energy, which can quickly spike blood sugar levels.
• Slowly digestible starch (SDS): This type of starch has a more complex structure than RDS, which means it’s broken down into glucose by the body at a much slower pace. These foods provide plenty of energy but they don’t spike glucose levels in the bloodstream as quickly as RDS. SDS exists in cereal grain, whole grain bread, cooked and cooled potatoes, legumes, and root vegetables.
• Resistant starch (RS): This type of starch isn’t digested in the small intestine. Instead it’s fermented in the large intestine and cultivates beneficial gut bacteria without spiking glucose levels in the bloodstream. Common sources of RS include raw bananas, partially milled grains, corn flakes, and other cooked and cooled items like whole grain bread.

Is Starch Bad For You?

Starch is not bad for you. In fact, starch is an essential part of our diets, as it’s broken down into glucose that every cell of the body (especially the brain) uses as fuel. But not all starchy foods are equal: Ultraprocessed foods are typically high in rapidly digestible starch and added salt, sugar, and fat, while lacking essential nutrients. By contrast, starchy whole plant foods—such as fruits, legumes, whole grains, lentils, and the veggies listed below—come packaged with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Health experts agree that fiber plays an important role in preventing heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and constipation. The Mayo Clinic recommends that women eat between 21 to 25 grams of fiber a day while men should aim for 30 to 38 grams a day. A medium potato baked with the skin on contains 4 grams of fiber, making it an excellent source of this crucial dietary component.

From a cooking standpoint, starchy foods are also beneficial for whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) eaters because they can be used to thicken soups or add creaminess to sauces without using fatty animal products or oil. Foods rich in SDS or RS keep your stomach satiated for longer so you don’t overeat or experience an energy crash that can occur when you consume foods rich in RDS.

While starchy vegetables contain more calories per pound than non-starchy vegetables, they’re much lower in calories per pound than highly processed foods and animal products, and their ample fiber content will keep you feeling full for longer. This concept, known as calorie density, is central to why a whole-food, plant-based diet is so effective for losing excess weight: It allows you to eat large volumes of food without exceeding your caloric needs. Your body will simply know when it’s time to stop noshing.

Starchy Veggies and Blood Sugar

One reason that starchy vegetables (especially potatoes) get such a bad rap is that people with diabetes are often cautioned against eating carbohydrate-rich foods because they have the potential to spike blood sugar. However, high blood sugar is not the cause of diabetes—rather, it’s a symptom of insulin resistance, which is caused by excess dietary fat in the body. This excess fat prevents the uptake of glucose into cells to be converted into energy and instead keeps it circulating in the bloodstream. Fatty foods, not starchy foods, increase insulin resistance and can drastically worsen the symptoms of diabetes over time. Learn more about insulin resistance here.

What About the Glycemic Index?

You may have heard of the glycemic index (GI) as a method for measuring whether a food will spike your blood sugar. But recent research calls into question the reliability of this metric for determining whether certain foods are healthy for people who have diabetes. The glycemic index doesn’t take into account the quantity or type of macronutrients in a food, the presence of other foods in the same meal, the status of your gut microbiome, or your level of insulin sensitivity, as Robby Barbaro, MPH, and Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, explain in Mastering Diabetes: “Starchy vegetables tend to be higher on the glycemic index; however, they don’t spike your blood glucose if you eat them in combination with other fiber-rich foods, allowing you to eat them in abundance as part of a very healthy, low risk diet. …The glycemic index is a good indication of how energy-dense foods are which can be helpful in planning out your pre- or post-meal insulin, but they’re not a perfect system for planning out healthy eating.”

Are Potatoes Bad for You?

While they can certainly be prepared in unhealthy ways—such as oil-drenched french fries or salty potato chips—potatoes in and of themselves are not unhealthy; in fact, they’re incredibly nutritious and are foundational to a whole-food, plant-based diet.

Still, because of misconceptions around starch, many nutritional studies have categorized potatoes as unhealthy, grouping them with fruit juices, sweets, candy, and soda. But new research is correcting the record. A study published in Frontiers in Nutrition in May 2022 analyzed the nutritional composition of potatoes and more than 2,400 other carbohydrate-rich foods, measuring the ratios of fiber, potassium, sugar, and sodium. They found that “in all cases, starchy vegetables including potatoes were far removed from candy, sweet bakery goods, sweetened beverages, sugars, snacks and sweets.”

To put it simply: Potatoes are more nutritious than you think.

“Starchy vegetables are often not even viewed as vegetables and are routinely removed from high-quality food categories in nutrition research,” says lead author Adam Drewnowski, PhD, researcher at the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington. “That view is now challenged by the new nutrient profiling methods. Now that we have formal measures of carbohydrate quality that we can agree on, it is time to put starchy vegetables back where they belong. There is no need to demonize ‘bad’ vegetables when the American diet could do with more produce of all kinds.”

Potatoes are a perfect example of why, when your diet consists primarily of whole plant foods, there’s no need to worry about eating for specific nutrients. One medium-size russet potato baked with the skin offers 25% of the Food and Nutrition Board’s daily recommended intake of potassium, 35% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, and 40% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin B6, along with 4 grams of fiber. Although potatoes might not come to mind when you think of protein, they are a decent source of the macronutrient (4.5 grams per potato), and an April 2022 study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found potato protein to be just as effective as milk-based protein in building muscle mass.

Comprehensive List of Starchy Vegetables

Not sure what counts as a starchy vegetable? Here’s a list of the starchy veggies you’ll most commonly find at the grocery store:

• Acorn squash
• Butternut squash
• Cassava
• Corn
• Green peas
• Kabocha squash
• Lima beans
• Potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Sweet potatoes
• Taro
• Yams

Comprehensive List of Non-Starchy Vegetables

Balance out your plate with these tasty non-starchy vegetables for a well-rounded diet:

• Artichoke
• Artichoke hearts
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
• Green beans
• Hearts of palm
• Mushrooms
• Okra
• Onions
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Rutabaga
• Salad greens (chicory, endive, escarole, lettuce, romaine, spinach, arugula, radicchio, watercress)
• Sprouts
• Summer squash
• Sugar snap peas
• Swiss chard
• Tomato
• Turnips
• Zucchini

The Bottom Line: Starchy Vegetables Are Your Friend

Starchy vegetables are a critical aspect of a healthy diet because they offer energy, fiber, and key nutrients that our bodies rely on to thrive. A WFPB diet rich in starchy veggies and other whole plant foods is one of the most effective tools for managing your weight, preventing heart disease, reducing your risk of certain cancers, and living longer.

Not sure where to start? Check out our recipe roundup of 47 Spectacular Spud Recipes to Supercharge Your Day!

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

The post Are Potatoes Good For You? Everything You Need to Know About Starchy Vegetables appeared first on Forks Over Knives.