How does being a vegetarian reduce the risk of diabetes?!

Vegetarian diets have a higher ratio of unsaturated to saturated fats. Saturated fats are known to increase the risk of type II diabetes, but this is not one of the major influences- BMI is a much more sensitive predictor of diabetes and at least one study has shown that the types of fat consumed made no difference to diabetes risk for men with high BMI (van Dam et al., (2002). Dietary Fat and Meat Intake in Relation to Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Men. Diabetes Care vol. 25 no. 3 417-424 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content… ). Other influences include fibre intake and the quantity of refined versus whole grain carbohydrates.

What is thought to cause the increase in diabetes risk from consuming meats is the effect of saturated fats on the cell membranes. Every cell in your body is surrounded by a membrane and these are made from the fatty acids which fats are made from, so all the fats we eat are broken down into the constituent fatty acids and these are put to work in our cells. The different polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega 3, 6 and 9) have different conformations and this affects how important molecules are taken in and out of the cell. In terms of diabetes risk, this is thought to influence the way insulin is released and taken up by the cells around the body (Hu et al., (2001). Diet and risk of Type II diabetes: the role of types of fat and carbohydrate. Diabetologia Volume 44, Number 7, 805-817 http://www.springerlink.com/content/mvnf… ).

Another aspect is cholesterol which are also components of the cell membranes. There are two types of cholesterol, low (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL). Meat consumption is associated with increases in the proportion of the bad type (LDL) whereas vego diets can reduce LDL (Appleby et al., (1999). The Oxford Vegetarian Study: an overview.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 70, No. 3, 525S-531S. http://www.ajcn.org/content/70/3/525S.ab… ) and increase the good HDL (Robinson et al., (2002). Changing from a mixed to self-selected vegetarian diet – influence on blood lipids. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Volume 15, Issue 5, pages 323–329. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.10… ). This is not thought to directly affect glucose metabolism (an effect of insulin resistance) but cholesterol intake has been linked to increased insulin levels (hyperglycaemia, a major influence of diabetes) in meat eaters versus vegos (Hu et al., (2001). Diet and risk of Type II diabetes: the role of types of fat and carbohydrate. Diabetologia Volume 44, Number 7, 805-817 http://www.springerlink.com/content/mvnf… ).

One final point to consider is the nature of the available evidence. As others have pointed out, vegetarian diets can be high in fats (especially trans fats) and refined carbohydrates and hence very unhealthy. This is a more recent effect of consumption due to increased availability and marketability of vegetarian products which was less common 30 years ago when most of the long term studies looking at diabetes and other illnesses were initiated. I believe that if the consumption of processed foods by vegetarians continues to increase, the risk reduction in various diseases seen in research over the past two decades will disappear, as it is already appearing to do in the case of bowel cancer (Key et al., (2009). Cancer incidence in vegetarians: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Oxford). Am J Clin Nutr. 89(5):1620S-1626S http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19279… ).

vegan biologist

It does not. Obesity is one cause of diabetes not meat eating. Overweight vegetarians are just as susceptible to adult onset diabetes, commonly called type 2 diabetes, as overweight omnivores. And those with healthy weights / fat indexes have reduced risks for diabetes whether they are vegetarians or not. It is a myth and common misconception among vegetarians (probably caused by vegetarian propaganda) that they are somehow immune to many such conditions.

Type 1 diabetes; Insulin-dependent diabetes; Juvenile diabetes is a progressive autoimmune disease. No one is spared from it.

Diabetes has no cure, again contrary to common vegetarian propaganda. A healthy diet, vegetarian or otherwise, can help control the symptoms but cannot cure the disease. In fact aside from reducing the consumption of fat (or avoid being overweight), diabetics are also asked to avoid or at least minimize their intake of foods with high sugar content which includes fruits, vegetables and some grains, all staples of a vegetarian diet.

My understanding is that a *good* vegetarian diet includes lots of beans and pulses and these have a very low GI (glycemic index). Also vegetarians are often interested in what they eat and *may* eat less junk

I don't think there is anything about eating meat specifically that increases the risk of diabetes

A bad veggi diet is still bad
Chips, Pizza and chocolate are all usually veggi

vegetarian

Being vegetarian doesn't automatically reduce the risk of any disease. There is a lot of veg*n junk food out there. Potato chips, french fries, etc., can be veg*n, too. In fact, veg*ns are often more at risk for heart disease and stroke because they tend to have lower B12 levels.

"Homocysteine is a byproduct of protein metabolism. Elevated homocysteine levels are linked with increased risks of heart disease and stroke. From 1999 to 2003, there were many studies comparing the homocysteine levels of vegans and vegetarians who do not supplement their diet with vitamin B12 to those of non-vegetarians (more info). In every study, the vegans or vegetarians had higher homocysteine levels than the meat-eaters and in the range associated with heart disease and stroke."

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vita…

Here's a link to a vegan blog. Take time to read the comments. You'll see many of them have health issues that they blame on unhealthy veg*n food.

An excerpt:

"I should explain why I decided to really tackle the healthy vegan thing. In the past few months I have had an alarming amount of e-mails from vegans, some vegan for a LONG time who were telling me that they have gained a lot of weight, they are pre-diabetic or T2 diabetic, now have heart problems, high blood pressure and other health issues. Most of these people have been completely devastated, and a few went back to eating animals, because they were convinced it was the vegan diet that did them in."

http://veganhope.com/2011/02/08/say-good…

Humans evolved as omnivores. Our optimum diet is a blanced diet that includes some meat, some veggies, some fruit, cut back on processed carbs and limit sugar.

I'm so expert but I found a page on it.....and also there are 2 types so be a little more specific.
1 more common with obesity and
1 that can be inherited through genes.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200…

It is not clinically proved that Vegan or vegetarian can reduce risk of diabetes..

because it has an a kind of things which helps us to reduce the risk of diabetes.