Protective properties of whole plant foods against diabetes include antioxidants, lipotropes, fiber, and the ability to suppress the estrogen-producing bacteria in our gut.
How May Plants Protect Against Diabetes?
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Why is meat consumption a risk factor for diabetes? Why does there appear to be a stepwise reduction in diabetes rates as meat consumption drops? Rather than something they’re avoiding in meat, maybe it’s something people are getting from plants. Free radicals may be the important trigger for insulin resistance; so, antioxidants in plant foods may help. Put people on a plant-based diet and their antioxidant enzymes shoot up. So not only do plants provide antioxidants, but also boost our endogenous antioxidant defenses—whereas, on the conventional diabetic diet, they get worse.
There are phytonutrients in plant foods that may help lower chronic disease prevalence by acting as antioxidants, anti-cancer agents, and by lowering cholesterol and blood sugar. Some, we’re now theorizing, may even be lipotropes, meaning having the capacity to hasten the removal of fat from our organs, like the liver, thereby counteracting the inflammatory cascade believed to be directly initiated by saturated fat-containing foods. Fat in the bloodstream, due to the fat we wear, or the fat we eat, not only causes insulin resistance, but also produces a low-grade inflammation that can contribute to heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Fiber may also decrease insulin resistance. One of the ways it may do that is by helping to rid the body of excess estrogen.
There is strong evidence for a direct role of estrogens in the cause of diabetes, and it’s been demonstrated that certain gut bacteria can produce estrogens in our colon. High-fat, low-fiber diets appear to stimulate the metabolic activity of these estrogen-producing intestinal bacteria. This is a problem for men, too. Obesity is associated with low testosterone levels, marked elevations of estrogens, produced not only by fat cells, but also by some of the bacteria in our gut. Our intestinal bacteria may produce these so-called diabetogens—diabetes-causing compounds—from the fats that we eat. By eating lots of fiber, though, we can flush this excess estrogen out of our bodies.
Vegetarian women, for example, excrete two to three times more estrogens in their feces than omnivorous women, which may be why the omnivorous women had 50% higher estrogen blood levels. These differences in estrogen metabolism may help explain the lower incidence of diabetes in those eating more plant-based diets, as well as the lower incidence of breast cancer in vegetarian women, who get rid of twice as much estrogen because they get rid of twice as much daily waste in general.
Either way, meat consumption is consistently associated with diabetes risk. Dietary habits are readily modifiable—but, individuals and clinicians will consider dietary changes only if they are aware of the potential benefits of doing so. The identification of meat consumption as a risk factor for diabetes provides helpful guidance that can set the stage for beneficial behavioral changes. Meat consumption is something doctors can easily ask about. Once identified, at-risk individuals can then be encouraged to familiarize themselves with meatless options.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Katie Schloer.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- H Kahleova, M Matoulek, H Malinska, O Oliyarnik, L Kazdova, T Neskudla, A Skoch, M Hajek, M Hil, M Kahle, T Pelikanova. Vegetarian diet improves insulin resistance and oxidative stress markers more than conventional diet in subjects with Type 2 diabetes. Diabet Med. 2011 May;28(5):549-59.
- A Fardet, JM Chardigny. Plant-based foods as a source of lipotropes for human nutrition: a survey of in vivo studies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013;53(6):535-90.
- G Boden. Fatty acid-induced inflammation and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and liver. Curr Diab Rep. 2006 Jun;6(3):177-81.
- N Houstis, ED Rosen, ES Lander. Reactive oxygen species have a causal role in multiple forms of insulin resistance. Nature. 2006 Apr 13;440(7086):944-8.
- S. Addanki. Roles of nutrition, obesity, and estrogens in diabetes mellitus: human leads to an experimental approach to prevention. Prev Med. 1981 Sep;10(5):577-89.
- A Leihere, A Mündlein, H Drexel. Phytochemicals and their impact on adipose tissue inflammation and diabetes. Vascul Pharmacol. 2013 Jan;58(1-2):3-20.
- BR Goldin, H Adlercreutz, JT Dwyer, L Swenson, JH Warram, SL Gorbach. Effect of diet on excretion of estrogens in pre- and postmenopausal women. Cancer Res. 1981 Sep;41(9 Pt 2):3771-3.
- H Vlassara, W Cai, J Crandall, T Goldberg, R Oberstein, V Dardaine, M Peppa, EJ Rayfield. Inflammatory mediators are induced by dietary glycotoxins, a major risk factor for diabetic angiopathy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Nov 26;99(24):15596-601.
- N Barnard, S Levin, C Trapp. Meat consumption as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Nutrients. 2014 Feb 21;6(2):897-910.
- DS Ludwig, MA Pereira, CH Kroenke, JE Hilner, L Van Horn, ML Slattery, DR Jacobs. Dietary fiber, weight gain, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults. JAMA. 1999 Oct 27;282(16):1539-46.
Images thanks to michel bish via Flickr.
Why is meat consumption a risk factor for diabetes? Why does there appear to be a stepwise reduction in diabetes rates as meat consumption drops? Rather than something they’re avoiding in meat, maybe it’s something people are getting from plants. Free radicals may be the important trigger for insulin resistance; so, antioxidants in plant foods may help. Put people on a plant-based diet and their antioxidant enzymes shoot up. So not only do plants provide antioxidants, but also boost our endogenous antioxidant defenses—whereas, on the conventional diabetic diet, they get worse.
There are phytonutrients in plant foods that may help lower chronic disease prevalence by acting as antioxidants, anti-cancer agents, and by lowering cholesterol and blood sugar. Some, we’re now theorizing, may even be lipotropes, meaning having the capacity to hasten the removal of fat from our organs, like the liver, thereby counteracting the inflammatory cascade believed to be directly initiated by saturated fat-containing foods. Fat in the bloodstream, due to the fat we wear, or the fat we eat, not only causes insulin resistance, but also produces a low-grade inflammation that can contribute to heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Fiber may also decrease insulin resistance. One of the ways it may do that is by helping to rid the body of excess estrogen.
There is strong evidence for a direct role of estrogens in the cause of diabetes, and it’s been demonstrated that certain gut bacteria can produce estrogens in our colon. High-fat, low-fiber diets appear to stimulate the metabolic activity of these estrogen-producing intestinal bacteria. This is a problem for men, too. Obesity is associated with low testosterone levels, marked elevations of estrogens, produced not only by fat cells, but also by some of the bacteria in our gut. Our intestinal bacteria may produce these so-called diabetogens—diabetes-causing compounds—from the fats that we eat. By eating lots of fiber, though, we can flush this excess estrogen out of our bodies.
Vegetarian women, for example, excrete two to three times more estrogens in their feces than omnivorous women, which may be why the omnivorous women had 50% higher estrogen blood levels. These differences in estrogen metabolism may help explain the lower incidence of diabetes in those eating more plant-based diets, as well as the lower incidence of breast cancer in vegetarian women, who get rid of twice as much estrogen because they get rid of twice as much daily waste in general.
Either way, meat consumption is consistently associated with diabetes risk. Dietary habits are readily modifiable—but, individuals and clinicians will consider dietary changes only if they are aware of the potential benefits of doing so. The identification of meat consumption as a risk factor for diabetes provides helpful guidance that can set the stage for beneficial behavioral changes. Meat consumption is something doctors can easily ask about. Once identified, at-risk individuals can then be encouraged to familiarize themselves with meatless options.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Katie Schloer.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- H Kahleova, M Matoulek, H Malinska, O Oliyarnik, L Kazdova, T Neskudla, A Skoch, M Hajek, M Hil, M Kahle, T Pelikanova. Vegetarian diet improves insulin resistance and oxidative stress markers more than conventional diet in subjects with Type 2 diabetes. Diabet Med. 2011 May;28(5):549-59.
- A Fardet, JM Chardigny. Plant-based foods as a source of lipotropes for human nutrition: a survey of in vivo studies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013;53(6):535-90.
- G Boden. Fatty acid-induced inflammation and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and liver. Curr Diab Rep. 2006 Jun;6(3):177-81.
- N Houstis, ED Rosen, ES Lander. Reactive oxygen species have a causal role in multiple forms of insulin resistance. Nature. 2006 Apr 13;440(7086):944-8.
- S. Addanki. Roles of nutrition, obesity, and estrogens in diabetes mellitus: human leads to an experimental approach to prevention. Prev Med. 1981 Sep;10(5):577-89.
- A Leihere, A Mündlein, H Drexel. Phytochemicals and their impact on adipose tissue inflammation and diabetes. Vascul Pharmacol. 2013 Jan;58(1-2):3-20.
- BR Goldin, H Adlercreutz, JT Dwyer, L Swenson, JH Warram, SL Gorbach. Effect of diet on excretion of estrogens in pre- and postmenopausal women. Cancer Res. 1981 Sep;41(9 Pt 2):3771-3.
- H Vlassara, W Cai, J Crandall, T Goldberg, R Oberstein, V Dardaine, M Peppa, EJ Rayfield. Inflammatory mediators are induced by dietary glycotoxins, a major risk factor for diabetic angiopathy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Nov 26;99(24):15596-601.
- N Barnard, S Levin, C Trapp. Meat consumption as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Nutrients. 2014 Feb 21;6(2):897-910.
- DS Ludwig, MA Pereira, CH Kroenke, JE Hilner, L Van Horn, ML Slattery, DR Jacobs. Dietary fiber, weight gain, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in young adults. JAMA. 1999 Oct 27;282(16):1539-46.
Images thanks to michel bish via Flickr.
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Title
How May Plants Protect Against Diabetes?
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Plant foods may also protect against diabetes by replacing animal foods. See my previous video: Why is Meat a Risk Factor for Diabetes?
So what if your entire diet were filled with plants? See Plant-Based Diets and Diabetes. Some plants may be particularly protective:
Unfortunately, cinnamon has fallen out of favor (Update on Cinnamon for Blood Sugar Control).
Here’s my ever-growing series on the science behind type 2 diabetes:
- What Causes Insulin Resistance?
- The Spillover Effect Links Obesity to Diabetes
- Lipotoxicity: How Saturated Fat Raises Blood Sugar
- Diabetes as a Disease of Fat Toxicity
- What Causes Diabetes?
- Can Diabetic Retinopathy Be Reversed?
- How Not to Die from Diabetes
- Benefits of a Macrobiotic Diet for Diabetes
For more on the estrogen connection, see Relieving Yourself of Excess Estrogen and Breast Cancer and Constipation.
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