Healthful Food vs Medicines
A recent survey of over 1,000 adults conducted by Opinion Research Corporation supports clinical research on diabetes previously done by the Physicians Committee for Responsible medicine (PCRM). The survey found that the majority of Americans would rather make dietary changes (including a vegetarian diet) to treat illness than to resort to pills and other medicinal remedies.
The survey indicated that 69 percent of Americans would prefer a dietary approach, while only 21 percent preferred treating diabetes with medicine.
In his new book Program for Reversing Diabetes, Dr. Neal Barnard outlines a dietary approach to diabetes based on PCRM research, showing that a low-fat vegan diet is three times more effective than oral medication for lowering high blood sugar levels. While most clinicians have felt that patients wouldn’t be receptive to making dietary changes, the survey results show that most would actually prefer that to a lifetime of medication to control symptoms.
“A low-fat vegetarian diet offers a powerful way to control and even reverse diabetes,” said Dr. Barnard. “The idea that Americans would rather take pills than make diet changes is a myth. Americans clearly favor tackling serious diabetes with diet changes, including vegetarian diets.” The survey included roughly equal numbers of male and female adults living in the United States.
Other key findings of the survey:
- Women are more receptive to dietary changes than men. Seventy three percent of women preferred a change in diet over 17 percent for medicines. For men, the ratios were 65 percent versus 26 percent.
- People with more education and higher incomes were especially likely to favor a diet approach.
- Middle-aged Americans were more enthusiastic about diet changes. Compared with older Americans; 76 percent of the respondents aged 45 to 64 preferred diet changes. In the group over 64 years old, the figure dropped to 59 percent.
- The group least receptive to dietary change was the 18- to 24-year-olds. Yet even in this group, only 30 percent favored the use of medicines, while 63 percent favored diet changes.
- Residents of the Western states were especially likely to prefer diet changes: with 73 percent indicating a preference for dietary change versus only 17 percent for drugs.