I have been doing a lot of searching around regarding medical conditions on the internet lately. My dad has been having some problems, he has type 2 diabetes, diverticulitis, neuropathy, high cholesterol and high blood pressure and he recently had some tests done because his prostate is enlarged. He will find out the results of his biopsy tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts. What I find interesting is how more and more evidence is pointing to a vegan diet to help prevent and even treat some of the above mentioned problems. Prostate cancer is almost directly linked to high animal fat consumption. My dad grew up on meat and potatoes and never met an animal that he wouldn’t eat. He is one of those people that go to the big game barbecues where they cook elk, rabbit, rattle snake, etc. No need to torture you all any further.

I did a search on Medscape and found that all of the problems my dad is experiencing could be cured by adopting a vegan diet. One article found that those with diabetic neuropathy could eliminate the pain by adopting a vegan diet and walking daily. Several studies have found that vegan diets eliminate the need for medications in a large portion of diabetics and a couple found that adopting a vegan diet can reduce the size of prostate tumors.

More recently an article on CNN.com found that a vegan diet was more effective in treating type 2 diabetes than the current diet recommended by the ADA.  In a study of 99 participants who were randomly assigned to either a vegan diet or the standard diabetic diet recommended by the ADA, 26% of the “standard diet” participants were able to stop taking their medications, whereas 43% of those placed on a lowfat, low sugar vegan diet were able to stop taking their medications. The study also found that more participants were able to stick with the vegan diet because it didn’t require food restriction and portion control.

What I find interesting, is that in spite of all of the evidence demonstrating the positive health effects of a vegan diet, many still perceive it as being unhealthy. The first thing people tell me when they find out that I am vegan is “make sure you take supplements so that you aren’t deficient in nutrients.” I also found it interesting in one study I read, where evidence supported adopting a vegan diet to decrease malignant tumors, the researchers still cautioned that this type of “diet” should only be followed for a short time, until the problem is resolved.