[dydde]

Steven Hagstrom
"My name is Steven Hagstrom and I have been a type 1 diabetic for 16 years. I am insulin dependent and I wear a pump. I control my diabetes through insulin, diet, and some yoga. "This past year, my wife and I attended Katherine’s “Food For Life” class and we decided to go vegan. Since then, we’ve noticed several changes in my insulin activity and usage. Primarily, we’ve noticed a significant decrease in the amount of insulin used for eating. I haven’t eliminated the need for insulin, but I have significantly reduced it. Insulin is affected through weight and fat. Through this vegan diet, I’ve reduced my weight by over 40 pounds (about 15 percent of my body weight, from 250 to 210 pounds). This decrease in weight has greatly increased the efficiency of the insulin I take. Since diabetes is a progressive disease, I see this as an activity that will increase my life span and decrease my reliance on insulin. The amount of insulin I require has dropped from 60 to 40 units per day, about a 33 percent decrease since I became vegan.
I’ve been noticing that the longer I maintain my vegan diet, the better it gets. To the point where some days, I only require 30 units. There’s no question in my mind that the vegan lifestyle has been substantially effective in decreasing my dependence on insulin.
- Steven Hagstrom, “Food For Life” Cancer & Diabetes Student, Fort Worth, Texas (Nov. 20, 2010)