Workout and Diet Advice for Women over 45

From and article on WebMD (Oct 2008) and a more recent article in the IDEA magazine it would seem that studies show that a vegan diet may do a better job of reducing cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients than a diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

In the 2008 study, participants followed either a low-fat, low-glycemic vegan diet or guidelines prescribed by the ADA – for 22 weeks. All 99 participants had Type 2 Diabetes . Both men and women participated.

The study focused on two primary measures:

• The Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) – which has been shown to have a correlation to Cardiovascular disease.  Both groups had the same starting AHEI.
• The hemoglobin A1c – a measure of blood sugar levels over a prolonged period of time.

In addition the study looked at weight reduction on both diets.

The results after 22 weeks:

• The vegan dieters saw significant improvements in their AHEI scores; the ADA group did not.  The vegan group improved significantly in every AHEI category, including increased intake of vegetables, fruits, nut and soy protein, and cereal fiber, and a decrease in trans fat intake.
• Both groups were able to reduce their weight and their hemoglobin A1c.  However, the vegan group experienced more significant reductions in both categories.

“The results of this study suggest that, if followed for the long-term, a low-fat vegan diet may be associated with a reduced risk of major chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease,” the study concludes.

What I think is interesting as well as significant is that neither diet resulted in adequate intake of vitamins D or E, or of calcium.  So when one is dieting and reducing weight and feeling great – one might well be putting bone health at risk!

If your diet is vegan – whether or not you are diabetic  you my be protected from cardiovascular disease and be at risk for breaking a hip.  Now that you know – add calcium and vitamins D and E to your diet/supplements.

And if you found this information useful leave a comment to let me know.  Come back for more health related posts.  Additionally I am awaiting permission to offer a Glycemic Index Chart on a future post – so watch out for it.