Diet or diabetes: You decide.
Nearly 30 million people in the U.S. — or 1 in 11 — have diabetes. Diet is a crucial tool for managing the disease, and weight loss can help people who are overweight prevent Type 2 diabetes. Prevention is particularly important when you consider that diabetes brings complications such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, plus increased risk for heart attack and stroke, kidney disease and blindness. Consider one of the U.S. News 2017 Best Diabetes Diets, as evaluated by nutrition experts:
#1 DASH Diet
The DASH diet — Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension — was designed to curb high blood pressure, but chances are, it can help prevent and manage diabetes, too. It’s generally viewed as an ideal eating pattern for both, and it echoes dietary advice touted by the American Diabetes Association. “Because it’s flexible, the diet can be tailored to many individuals who need specific diet regimens,” one U.S. News panelist said. In a small study published in 2011 in Diabetes Care, researchers reported that people with Type 2 diabetes reduced their levels of A1C and fasting blood sugar after eight weeks on the plan.
#2 (tie) Mediterranean Diet
Fruits, veggies, whole grains. Fish and seafood. Oh yeah, and wine. The Mediterranean Diet is a healthy all-around choice, and one study, for example, found that about 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease could be prevented by adopting the approach. Another study suggests the Mediterranean diet can help prevent diabetes, since the short chain fatty acids the diet promotes are linked to a decreased risk of the disease.
#2 (tie) Vegan Diet
Going vegan will likely help you lose weight and fend off chronic diseases like diabetes. Research suggests the approach can lower A1C levels, and a small pilot study published in 2015 in Nutrition & Diabetes suggests it can help ease diabetes-related nerve pain. Late last year, even the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics released a position statement declaring vegetarian diets — including vegan ones — to be healthy, nutritionally adequate and potentially able to prevent and treat diseases including Type 2 diabetes.
#4 (tie) The Engine 2 Diet
Experts were impressed with The Engine 2 Diet, a low-fat, vegan plan designed to prevent and perhaps reverse the diseases caused by the so-called Standard American Diet, including diabetes. It will almost certainly help you lose weight, which can stave off Type 2 diabetes. Plus, one study found that those on a similar diet were able to ease up on their diabetes medications and lower their A1C hemoglobin levels. “Plant-based foods,” one reviewer pointed out, “can help with heart disease and manage blood sugar levels.”
#4 (tie) The Fertility Diet
Yes, it’s aimed at promoting fertility, but surprise: The Fertility Diet is also a good choice for people aiming to prevent or manage diabetes. The plan, which promotes 10 healthy steps, discourages the bad carbohydrates that can exhaust the pancreas by forcing it to make extra insulin the body doesn’t need — setting the stage for Type 2 diabetes. It’s “a sensible approach based on research,” one expert said, with progressive steps that can make adopting it easier.
#4 (tie) The Flexitarian Diet
The Flexitarian Diet marries flexibility with a vegetarian eating plan — eat like a vegetarian most of the time, but when the urge for a double cheeseburger hits, go for it. Cutting back on meat will likely help you lose weight, which means you stand a better chance of staving off diabetes. Plus, vegetarianism is linked to a lower diabetes risk, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
#4 (tie) Mayo Clinic Diet
The Mayo Clinic Diet aims to recalibrate eating habits and promote weight loss. It emphasizes the right foods, discourages the wrong ones and mandates physical activity — all good standards for diabetes prevention. The guidelines mirror those of the American Diabetes Association, and our expert panelists said the plan is better than most other approaches for those worried about diabetes.
#4 (tie) MIND Diet
The MIND Diet — which blends two all-star plans, the DASH and Mediterranean Diets — is designed to prevent Alzheimer’s disease with brain-healthy foods such as leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts, beans and whole grains. While research focuses on brain health, the plan’s parent diets may have diabetes-preventive effects. “It is really the Mediterranean diet,” one expert said, “But with a new name.”
#4 (tie) Ornish Diet
Experts applauded the Ornish Diet as a way to prevent or control diabetes, giving it an impressive rating in this category. The plan’s basic principles of emphasizing whole grains and produce and shunning saturated fat and cholesterol are right in line with American Diabetes Association guidelines. And in one study, Ornish dieters decreased their A1C levels by 0.4 percentage points after a year, which was considered meaningful.
#4 (tie) Vegetarian Diet
Going vegetarian can help shed pounds and fend off chronic diseases, including diabetes. A meat-free eating plan will likely help you lose weight and keep it off, which can stave off Type 2 diabetes. Research links vegetarianism with a lower diabetes risk, and the American Diabetes Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics agree it’s a healthful option.
#11 (tie) Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet aims to boost physical and mental health, provide a steady supply of energy and reduce the risk for age-related diseases like Type 2 diabetes. The approach draws from a Mediterranean-style diet thought to help stave off or reverse metabolic syndrome, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Plus, it’s mostly vegetarian, which the American Diabetes Association considers a healthful option that can help prevent and manage diabetes. Nearly all of the group’s top 10 “superfoods” for diabetes are well-represented on Weil’s diet.
#11 (tie) Weight Watchers
Want to eat your cake and be able to prevent or manage diabetes, too? Weight Watchers — which offers specific plans for people with diabetes and prediabetes — allows dieters to strategically indulge using a point system. One yearlong randomized controlled trial of 563 American adults with Type 2 diabetes found that nearly twice as many people who followed Weight Watchers and received counseling from a certified diabetes educator met their A1C level treatment target than those who received standard diabetes nutrition counseling and education. Weight Watchers participants were also more than twice as likely to reduce their diabetes medications. The program also led to greater weight loss and more reduced waistlines.
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The Best Diets to Stave Off or Manage Diabetes originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 01/04/17: This story has been updated to reflect the 2017 U.S. News Best Diets rankings.
