LOS ANGELES: Going vegetarian can significantly reduce the risk of diabetes in African-Americans, said a new study published by the United States National Institute of Health in partnership with Loma Linda University. It argued that a vegetarian diet and excercise three times weekly can nearly eliminate the risk of getting diabetes. According to the same institute, African-Americans are twice as likely as non-Hispanic white people from being diagnosed with diabetes. “A vegetarian diet may be a way to counteract the increased diabetes risk for the black population,” said Serena Tonstad, MD, a professor at Loma Linda University and lead author of the research. The study, published in the October issue of Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, showed that lacto-ovo vegetarian blacks had a 53 percent reduced risk of diabetes when compared to non-vegetarian African Americans. Even more significant, vegan blacks had a 70 percent reduced risk of diabetes. Additionally, the study said that participants who exercised three or more times a week had a 35 percent reduced risk of diabetes. BM
