Vegan Diet Helps People With Type 1 Diabetes Cut Insulin Costs
A low-fat vegan diet that doesn’t limit calories or carbohydrates could help people with type 1 diabetes reduce insulin use and insulin costs, according to new research by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in BMC Nutrition.
Insulin is a hormone that helps move glucose (sugar) from the blood into muscle and liver cells to be used as energy. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin because their body doesn’t produce enough.
Some people with type 1 diabetes may need to take additional insulin, because they have insulin resistance, a condition in which cells don’t respond well to insulin and glucose remains in the blood.
Insulin resistance is strongly influenced by dietary fat, which can inhibit glucose from entering the cells.
The new research, which is a secondary analysis of a 2024 Physicians Committee study, compared the effect of a low-fat vegan diet to a portion-controlled diet on insulin use and insulin costs in people with type 1 diabetes.
Author's summary: Vegan diet reduces insulin costs by 27% for type 1 diabetes patients.