title: 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.
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.
  
  
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  CRiS KCT0001771.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventative Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Yu-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.|BK21 Plus KNU Biomedical Convergence Program, Department of Biomedical Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Se-A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Kyu
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Guk
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Keun-Gyu
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji-Yun
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Eulji University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ji-Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventative Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.|Department of Biomedical Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.|BK21 Plus KNU Biomedical Convergence Program, Department of Biomedical Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Duk-Hee
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D003927:Diet, Diabetic; D000067269:Diet, Vegan; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human