A plant-based diet can improve insulin secretion and incretin hormones for people with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published Tuesday in Nutrients.
In a randomized crossover trial, researchers compared the effects of a plant-based meal to a meal containing meat on the hormone levels of a group of 20 people who have diabetes type 2. The meals consisted of either a tofu-based veggie burger or a meat-based burger and contained the same amount of calories and ratio of macronutrients.
The results show that participants' postprandial secretion of insulin increased more after the plant-based meal than the meat-based meal. Secretion of incretin hormones also increased more after the vegan meal. Those hormones amplify the release of insulin after a meal.
Beta-cell function parameters also improved. Beta cells synthesize, store, and release insulin after the vegan meal. Beta-cell function is typically diminished in those who have diabetes.
Hana Kahleova, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, said: " With diabetes rates rising, this study offers hope that a solution could be close at hand: the food on our plates."
"The results add to the evidence that a plant-based diet should be considered a frontline treatment for type 2 diabetes," Kahleova wrote in the study published in the journal Nutrients. In the United States today, more than 114 million adults have either diabetes or prediabetes.
