Study: Vegan Diet Helps Eliminate Diabetic Pain

A new study shows that adopting a vegan diet can help those with type 2 diabetes reduce the pain and numbness caused by the disease. Conducted by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), California State University East Bay, and the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, researchers placed 17 diabetic patients on a low-fat vegan diet for 20 weeks. Participants reported not only a reduction in pain and improved blood circulation, but they lost an average of 14 pounds. According to PCRM President Neal Barnard, MD, “Dietary intervention was easy to prescribe and easy to follow.” With an average lifetime cost of $85,200 to treat type 2 diabetes, Barnard also notes the affordability of a vegan diet, saying that “steel-cut oats, leafy greens, and lentls are widely available at most food markets and fit well into most budgets.”