Reverse Diabetes Diet

What a gift it was hearing Dr. Neal Barnard speak this week in Auckland, New Zealand.  I’ve seen him on DVD several times and am familiar with his terrific work but nothing beats getting to see these nutritional heavy hitters in person.

Brilliant presentation, lots of info, lots of laughs, easy to implement suggestions and ALL accomplished with in an hour.  Uplifting to see it done so well.

First a bit about Neal Barnard, M.D.  He is a nutritional researcher, health advocate, and author of over a dozen books including The Power of Your Plate (1990), Food for Life (1993), Eat Right, Live Longer (1995), Foods That Fight Pain (1998), and The Reverse Diabetes Diet. (2007).

His peer reviewed clinical research looking at the effects of a low-fat vegan diet on diabetes is groundbreaking.  In fact his suggested diet shows greater improvements in lipid control in type 2 diabetic patients then a diet based on the American Diabetes Association’s guidelines.

The good news he gives is that you can reverse diabetes (along with many other medical problems) AND eat all you want if you simply follow a low fat diet by:

1) Going Vegan. That means NO animal products . . . at all.  Animal products are both high in fat (yes, even skinless chicken) along with the fat being unhealthy saturated fat.

2) Going low fat also means no added oils and keeping seeds, nuts and avocados to a minimum.   Barnard explains that it’s the fat sitting inside our cells that interferes with insulin’s action.  His research shows that when you get rid of the fat inside the cells (through diet) you can reverse type 2 Diabetes.

3) Sticking with low glycaemic foods. This is simply a measurement of how rapidly any given food releases sugar into the bloodstream.  Higher numbers indicates that sugar is absorbed quickly.  An example he gives is bread (white or whole wheat) is high because it release quickly (as a result of the air pockets created by the yeast) while whole-wheat pasta is slower to release.  To find more information on the glycaemic index go to: http://www.glycaemicindex.com/

Dr. Barnard gave three suggestions for beginning a healthy diet that make a lot of sense to me.

1) Spend the first week “shopping,” meaning check out and sample vegan food to find what you like so you have several dishes to choose from.  (Great source for recipes is: http://www.pcrm.org/health/Recipes/)

2) Commit to giving it a 3-week trial to experience the results.  He says most people can stick to it for three weeks and that is enough time for the benefits to kick in.

3) Most important, check with your Dr. because changes happen so fast that you may need to modify medications.

Dr. Barnard’s book The Reverse Diabetes Diet lays out a very easy to follow plan and most important, answers any question you may have about following it.

The following is a modification of my favorite recipe from this book.

Broccoli Stir-Fry in Bean Sauce

This is quick, tasty, fiber-rich and packed with healthy phytonutrients.

1 teaspoon of finely chopped or grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
½ cup of cooked black or azuki beans
1 tablespoon of tamari (traditional soy sauce)
1 bunch of broccoli
1 large onion, cut into 6 wedges and layers separated
½ cup water
1 ½ teaspoon corn flour dissolved in 4 oz cold water.

Mash the ginger, garlic, beans and tamari together in a small bowl.

Divide the broccoli florets into bite-size pieces.  Peel and chop the stems into 1 cm (1/2 inch) pieces and stir-fry with onions and florets in water over high heat (4-5 minutes) until broccoli is crisp tender.

Turn down heat and add ginger and corn flour mixture and stir until the sauce is thickened.  Serve immediately.

Makes 4 side servings or 2 mains.