Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Why not to be vegan for some time?

Yousuf
Yousuf
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Dr Yousuf Ali al Mulla -


The incidence of diabetes mellites is a global health problem affecting 150 million people worldwide. As we know diabetes mellitus has two forms, type 1 and type 2.


In fact, that the second type is more common and account 90-95 per cent of diabetes cases and most important as it is a lifestyle related disease and as such is completely avoidable. Especially if we realise that the lifestyle, unhealthy diet and obesity were the main risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, however fortunately these factors are modifiable if we want!


Nowadays, the pre-diabetes term is ignored by the community and some time by the clinicians themselves. Actually, it is the window period where the individual can prevent the development of the disease. Pre-diabetes means the blood sugar level is higher than it should be, but not yet high enough to be classed as type 2 diabetes.


Currently, due to traditional old fashion testing (Basic lipid panel, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c), the disease is underdiagnosed, therefore undertreated. Modern tests for Insulin Resistant score and LDL sub particles are able to detect the early stages of disease and provide an opportunity for patients to intervene and reverse disease.


Tracing plenty of research and studies, were going towards the individual diet habit instead of for example, treating high cholesterol with statin medication, which unfortunately results in full blown diabetes! So, what if the individual starts whole plant based diet and weight loss (losing as little as 10 per cent of body fat) to reverse disease! Have any diabetic patient or an obese individual thought about changing the conventional diet to achieve a weight loss and hence development of diabetes mellitus.


On other hand, plenty of mastery towards that fat causing diabetes type 2! As it’s known that insulin carry glucose in our body, towards the tissue and cells, but imagine if these cells doors closed by the fat or its subtype, so how insulin can unlock the muscle cell to let the sugar in? No matter how much insulin we have in our blood, it’s not able to sufficiently open the glucose gates, and blood sugar levels build up in the blood. And this can happen within three hours!


It is obvious that reducing meat diet and milk products and replacing it with vegan strategic diet for a couple of months may provide benefits for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, obesity and ischemic heart disease.”


I would say, if an individual who sees himself as an obese person and if there is chance of developing diabetes mellitus type 2, especially if there is combined family history or being diabetes or pre-diabetes, I would advise him for a 4-month plant-based vegetarian diet, as noted in different studies that, plant-based diets are high in fiber, antioxidants and magnesium, all of which have been separately shown to improve insulin sensitivity.


Eventually we need to recognise that, that the future is in benefits of using plant-based diets for preventing and treating diabetes and other related diseases.


 Dr Yousuf is General Surgeon at the Ministry of Health, Oman. He is also a medical innovator and educator.


 If readers have any queries regarding the content in the column, he can be contacted at: dryusufalmulla@gmail.com


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