Curing Diabetes: Going Vegan Works!
Diabetes, it’s a word we hear so often these days. A leading health issue around the world, diabetes has struck over 350 million people worldwide, as per the World Health Organization. Genetic makeup, family history, lifestyle and diet make people susceptible to this disease, as does obesity. Diabetes is said to be incurable, but Meenu Nageshwaran cured herself by going vegan. Now, this struck home, as we at I Say Organic has been espousing healthy eating as a cure for many things for a while now.
Meenu tells us about her extraordinary story; but before that, we wanted to sum up diabetes and its causes as simply as possible.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus, Latin and Greek words that describe a condition known colloquially in India as ‘sugar’, is when you have higher than normal levels of glucose in your blood. Glucose is pretty much our body’s favourite fuel, as it provides energy for brain function, muscular movement, body heat and more.
This sugar is converted to energy on a cellular level to help the body – and insulin is the hormone that helps individual cells absorb glucose through their membranes to process it. An apt analogy is that insulin is the key that unlocks a door that glucose uses to enter a cell. Diabetes is what happens when the ability of insulin to convince cells to open the door for glucose is consistently reduced – glucose remains in the bloodstream, causing ‘blood sugar’. This also means that your cells aren’t getting enough glucose, and your body is working to remove the glucose via your kidneys, which is why diabetics have frequent urination as a symptom.
What about low blood sugar?
Another symptom of diabetes is ‘low blood sugar’ or hypoglycaemia, where the brain is deprived of adequate energy – this condition is actually the result of diabetes treatment, and not diabetes itself.
Is there just one kind of diabetes?
The most common forms of diabetes are Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 diabetes involves a total lack of insulin, where the body’s immune system destroys the cells that release insulin. It used to be called juvenile-onset because it was most often seen in younger kids or at birth.
Type 2 diabetes is more common and becomes apparent during adulthood. It includes those people whose body has too little insulin or cannot use insulin effectively; also called insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes involves gradual insulin deficiency due to the pancreas making less and less insulin.
How can diet help? Going vegan works!
Veganism is a philosophy of living in accordance with reverence for life, by recognising that all living creatures have life and thus not harming them by eating them. Veganism excludes all animal flesh and products whether it’s fish, poultry, dairy products (animal milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt, etc.), eggs, animal gelatin, etc. Veganism can also include animal products like leather, wool, fur, silk and more.
But can a plant-based diet really impact a metabolic condition like diabetes?
Studies at the Nutritional Research Foundation, USA, offered conclusive proof that a vegan diet is 3 times more effective in controlling our blood sugar than other doctor-recommended diets.
A vegan diet is also the secret behind Meenu Nageshwaran’s diabetes reversal.
If you are aware of organic foods, then you could have known how important or healthy organic foods are! Instead of chemical fertilized food products, consume organic fruits and vegetables, organic snacks, dry fruits and seeds, beverages, and many more. While you consume organic or natural food products, they help in giving a natural taste and chemical-free collection of products. Hence, incorporating 100% organic foods helps to better absorption of vitamins and nutrients to the body.
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