Insulin Sensitivity and Vegetarianism

by Michael Greger, M.D.

Impaired insulin sensitivity sets people up for a whole host of life-threatening problems, including obesity, hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes. It is also thought to be at the heart of so-called syndrome X (now called metabolic syndrome) affecting 50 million Americans.[10]

A new study in China compared the insulin sensitivity of vegetarians and meateaters, and even though the vegetarians were on average years older than the meateaters, the vegetarians were significantly more insulin sensitive. Yet another clue to explain why vegetarians have so much less cardiac mortality. And the longer the research subjects were vegetarian, the better their values became.

The researchers summarize: "In conclusion, the vegetarian diets had significant beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity of subjects in a low-risk population. The degree of beneficial effects appeared to be correlated with years on a vegetarian diet."[11]

It seems vegetarians are sensitive in more ways than one. :)

REFERENCES

[10] JAMA 287(2002):356.
[11] European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58(2004)312.