I've been eating vegetarian for three months now - in hopes of lowering my blood sugar naturally. Eating vegetarian (no meat) and especially vegan (no animal products at all, like milk, eggs, jello made from animal bones, etc.) has been shown by some studies to improve the glucose management of some type 2 diabetics.
It isn't easy being vegetarian when you live with someone who
loves meat! But Terry is trying to be supportive - he does go to a vegetarian restaurant with me once a week. The rest of the time, when we cook, I eat only vegetables and he eats them with meat.
I eat a lot of hummus (which is bean based) as well as homemade bean and vegetable soup. I often have oatmeal for breakfast. I eat yogurt and other milk products, though I've experimented in avoiding them for a few days here and there - to see if that makes a difference...
The bad news is that my blood sugar levels haven't nose-dived. They remain quite high. That said, I also stopped taking my diabetes medication (with the knowledge of my doctor) because I was losing strength and having difficulty walking, a rare but documented negative side effect.
When I read (and re-read) the reports of the vegetarian studies, I find myself in them... I'm among "those who don't lower their blood sugar"... another documented group.
Apparently some of those have improved their blood pressure and other signs of good health. My next appointment with my diabetes specialist in late February should show me if I'm among this group.
In the meantime, I've had one positive result... I've lost a few pounds. If that trend continues, maybe an improvement in my blood sugar will follow. It sometimes does.
