Aired 09/09/08

Clinical researcher and author Neal Barnard, M.D., is one of America’s leading advocates for health, nutrition, and higher standards in research. As the principal investigator of several human clinical research trials, whose results are published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals, Dr. Barnard has examined key issues in health and nutrition.

Neal Barnard is the founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Dr. Barnard is also president of The Cancer Project, a nonprofit organization advancing cancer prevention and survival through nutrition education and research.

If you have diabetes or are concerned about developing it, this program could change the course of your life. Although diabetes is a serious illness that all too often leads to heart problems, nerve damage, blindness, stroke, or kidney failure, it doesn’t have to be that way.

A new book by nutrition researcher Neal Barnard, M.D., outlines a completely new dietary approach to preventing, controlling, and even reversing diabetes. The program is based on a series of research studies Dr. Barnard and his colleagues have conducted over the years, the latest funded by the National Institutes of Health. Published in the August 2006 issue of Diabetes Care, that study found Dr. Barnard’s program to be three times more effective than the American Diabetes Association dietary guidelines at controlling blood sugar.

The studies also show that by adopting a low-fat vegetarian diet—free of all animal products and added vegetable oils—individuals can lower their cholesterol, reduce their blood pressure, and lose weight. Best of all, the diet doesn’t demand one count calories, cut portion sizes, or give up all carbohydrates. On the contrary, you can eat as much as you want.

The book explains how the diet actually alters what goes on in an individual’s cells. Rather than just compensate for malfunctioning insulin, like other treatment plans, Dr. Barnard’s program helps repair how the body uses insulin. It also includes helpful tips on adopting a plant-based diet and more than 50 delicious and easy-to-make recipes