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Benefits of a Vegan Diet: Health and Wellness Benefits of Being Vegan

How the Health Benefits of a Vegan Diet Affect People Living with Diabetes

The Diabetes Care website from the American Diabetes Association recently shared information on a clinical trial that concluded, “both a low-fat vegan diet and a diet based on ADA guidelines improved glycemic and lipid control in type 2 diabetic patients. These improvements were greater with a low-fat vegan diet.” A vegan diet not only helps people manage diabetes more easily, it is also known to help fight cardiovascular disease as well.

According to Nursing Degree the health benefits of a vegan diet and “eating nuts and whole grains, while eliminating dairy products and meat, will improve your cardiovascular health. A British study indicates that a vegan diet reduces the risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Vegan diets go far in preventing heart attack and stroke”. READ MORE A vegan diet not only helps adults living with diabetes, but children can benefit as well.

Increased Antioxidants – One of the many benefits of a Vegan Diet

The U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health website shares studies regarding the health benefits of a vegan diet. One study on antioxidants, completed at the Department of Clinical Nutrition at the University of Kuopio in Finland, concluded that “compared with the omnivores, the vegans had significantly higher blood concentrations of beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E, as well as higher erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity.” “The present data indicate that the ‘living food diet’ provides significantly more dietary antioxidants than does the cooked, omnivorous diet, and that the long-term adherents to this diet have a better antioxidant status than do omnivorous control subjects,” the article continues.

Vegan Benefits – Studies on How a Vegan Diet Can Help Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis

Multiple studies completed on the affects of a vegan diet on rheumatoid arthritis have been done as well. At the Department of Physiology at the University of Kuopio in Finland doctors “tested the effects of an uncooked vegan diet, rich in lactobacilli, in rheumatoid patients randomized into diet and control groups.” “The results showed that an uncooked vegan diet, rich in lactobacilli, decreased subjective symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis,” the article continues, “Large amounts of living lactobacilli consumed daily may also have positive effects on objective measures of rheumatoid arthritis.” READ MORE

Another study at the Department of Rheumatology at the Karolinska Institute at Huddinge University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden found “A vegan diet free of gluten improves the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis: the effects on arthritis correlate with a reduction in antibodies to food antigens.” In addition to arthritis, a study at the Department of Physiology at the University of Kuopio in Finland concluded that a “vegan diet had beneficial effects on fibromyalgia symptoms at least in the short run.” READ MORE