Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Jun 2;11(6):e0155918.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155918. eCollection 2016.

Effect of a Brown Rice Based Vegan Diet and Conventional Diabetic Diet on Glycemic Control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A 12-Week Randomized Clinical Trial

Yu-Mi Lee  1 , Se-A Kim  2   3 , In-Kyu Lee  4 , Jung-Guk Kim  4 , Keun-Gyu Park  4 , Ji-Yun Jeong  4 , Jae-Han Jeon  4 , Ji-Yeon Shin  5 , Duk-Hee Lee  1   2   3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of a Brown Rice Based Vegan Diet and Conventional Diabetic Diet on Glycemic Control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A 12-Week Randomized Clinical Trial

Yu-Mi Lee et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: Several intervention studies have suggested that vegetarian or vegan diets have clinical benefits, particularly in terms of glycemic control, in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, no randomized controlled trial has been conducted in Asians who more commonly depend on plant-based foods, as compared to Western populations. Here, we aimed to compare the effect of a vegan diet and conventional diabetic diet on glycemic control among Korean individuals.

Materials and methods: Participants diagnosed with T2D were randomly assigned to follow either a vegan diet (excluding animal-based food including fish; n = 46) or a conventional diet recommended by the Korean Diabetes Association 2011 (n = 47) for 12 weeks. HbA1c levels were measured at weeks 0, 4, and 12, and the primary study endpoint was the change in HbA1c levels over 12 weeks.

Results: The mean HbA1c levels at weeks 0, 4, and 12 were 7.7%, 7.2%, and 7.1% in the vegan group, and 7.4%, 7.2%, and 7.2% in the conventional group, respectively. Although both groups showed significant reductions in HbA1C levels, the reductions were larger in the vegan group than in the conventional group (-0.5% vs. -0.2%; p-for-interaction = 0.017). When only considering participants with high compliance, the difference in HbA1c level reduction between the groups was found to be larger (-0.9% vs. -0.3%). The beneficial effect of vegan diets was noted even after adjusting for changes in total energy intake or waist circumference over the 12 weeks.

Conclusion: Both diets led to reductions in HbA1c levels; however, glycemic control was better with the vegan diet than with the conventional diet. Thus, the dietary guidelines for patients with T2D should include a vegan diet for the better management and treatment. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effects of a vegan diet, and to identify potential explanations of the underlying mechanisms.

Trial registration: CRiS KCT0001771.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Enrollment of participants in the study.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Levels of HbA1c (mean ± SD) at baseline and at 4 and 12 weeks in individuals with type 2 diabetes following a vegan or conventional diet recommended by the Korean Diabetes Association.
(A) All participants. (B) Participants with mean compliance ≥9.0/10 points.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Evert AB, Boucher JL, Cypress M, Dunbar SA, Franz MJ, Mayer-Davis EJ, et al. Nutrition therapy recommendations for the management of adults with diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2013;36(11):3821–42. 10.2337/dc13-2042 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bantle JP, Wylie-Rosett J, Albright AL, Apovian CM, Clark NG, Franz MJ, et al. Nutrition recommendations and interventions for diabetes: a position statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care. 2008;31 Suppl 1:S61–78. 10.2337/dc08-S061 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cao Y, Mauger DT, Pelkman CL, Zhao G, Townsend SM, Kris-Etherton PM. Effects of moderate (MF) versus lower fat (LF) diets on lipids and lipoproteins: a meta-analysis of clinical trials in subjects with and without diabetes. J Clin Lipidol. 2009;3(1):19–32. 10.1016/j.jacl.2008.12.008 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barnard ND, Katcher HI, Jenkins DJ, Cohen J, Turner-McGrievy G. Vegetarian and vegan diets in type 2 diabetes management. Nutr Rev. 2009;67(5):255–63. 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2009.00198.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yokoyama Y, Barnard ND, Levin SM, Watanabe M. Vegetarian diets and glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2014;4(5):373–82. 10.3978/j.issn.2223-3652.2014.10.04 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances