Diabetes patients who want a thinner waistline and a fatter wallet could do worse than consider going vegan, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Published in BMC Nutrition, the Committee’s research found that people with type 1 diabetes who ate mostly low-fat vegan food needed 28% or 12.1 units less insulin a day than others, equivalent to USD$1.08 (RM4.50) less spent on the treatment.

“A low-fat vegan diet could reduce insulin use and insulin costs in people with type 1 diabetes,” the researchers say in their paper.

“The reductions in insulin use in the vegan group likely reflect improved insulin sensitivity, or how well the body responds to insulin,” they say, adding that insulin resistance is “strongly influenced by dietary fat, which can inhibit glucose from entering the cells.”

People with type 1 diabetes usually have to inject insulin every day – in contrast to those with type 2 who usually have to do no more than make sure their diet is appropriate.

Type 1 diabetes patients with insulin resistance in turn have to take more insulin than others with the same category of the disease.

But sticking to vegan food – even if less palatable for many – seemed to contribute to what the researchers list as “improved insulin sensitivity and glycemic control, and improved cholesterol levels and kidney function.”

The cost of insulin increased by 24% from 2017 to 2022, according to the American Diabetes Association – a rise that accompanied a wider consumer and food price inflation spiral that followed Covid-19 lockdowns and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“As insulin prices continue to rise, people with type 1 diabetes should consider a low-fat vegan diet, which can help improve their insulin sensitivity and reduce the amount of insulin they need, potentially saving them hundreds of dollars a year,” says Hana Kahleova, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. – dpa