I hate the commercialism of his site, as has been already mentioned, but the food plan works for me. I had successfully both lost weight and achieved a great A1C on a low carb diet. Eating 40 net carbs a day, I went from 9.4 to 5.9. My cholesterol went down a bit, but not enough.
I switched to a whole food plant based diet that matches Dr. Fuhrman's recommendation. My BG dropped so much more that my CDE recommended that I go off of the last of my diabetes meds. I had reduced them to a minimal dose of metformin whilst doing low carb. I am diabetes drug free now, have great BG's. my blood pressure is much lower, and I am eagerly awaiting my next cholesterol panel to see what is happening there. I lose 1-2 pounds a week, every week. I generally eat about 200 carbs a day with about 45 grams of fibre.
My understanding of Dr. Fuhrman's diet is that it is made up what we presume to be nutritionally dense foods like vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables), legumes, nuts/seeds, and fruit. I find his limitations on starchy vegetables and grains to be too restrictive, unsatisfying, and his use of nuts and seeds to be too high in fat for me. I'm also not a huge fan for the manner in which he bases his dietary recommendations.
My preference is for the cost-effective, low fat diets promoted by Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. McDougall, Jeff Novick, etc. They offer a lot of free information online and sell no supplements as far as I'm aware. Following their recommendations has been of great benefit to my overall health; not just blood glucose control.
I would suggest seeking feedback on closed facebook groups specifically for Dr. Fuhrman, etc. for feedback lacking a lot of criticisms from people who have not attempted or sufficiently researched the diet. You'll find a lot of people who are happy to share their experiences and tips. Best of luck to you, v/prediabetic!
He makes a distinction between what he recommends for people who are just beginning and wanting to see if they can go off or reduce diabetes meds and those who are managing their diabetes without needing to adjust meds or lose lots of weight. One of the differences is the amount of seeds and nuts.
I'm quite familiar with Dr. Fuhrman's recommendations. Nowhere does he suggest "rice and fruit." He recommends vegetables, 3-5 servings of raw, unprocessed fruit daily, lots of beans, nuts, seeds. He recommends limiting animal foods & eliminating processed foods.
I've been following his plan & have lost 85 lbs. while eating & snacking MORE than I did before. I have a terrible sweet tooth & I frequently eat more fruit than recommended.
Hi I have just started this diet and have found that my BG has started to rise after I have breakfast is this normal ? I am following the breakfasts down to the letter, I am Type 2 . Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
I am a vegan and so Fuhrmanâs diet appeals to me. However, when running BG tests after meals, I discovered that starch ridiculously spikes my BG . Dr. Fâs diet is too high in starch for me, but I still have his books and I find them interesting and informative. Someone said they find Dr. F suspect because he seems to always be trying to sell people things. I find the same thing. He comes across like a used car salesman to me (while other vegan doctors like McDougall and Barnard donât give me the same impression). Someone else wrote they eat to their meter. This is what Iâm doing now â I eat âlow-carbâ (for a vegan), and must sadly stay away from starches. I test after meals and see what foods do, and avoid or limit the ones that cause spikes. I have found I have to eat under 18 g of carbohydrate per meals to keep BG at normal levels (I also use Humalog for meals and Lantus for basal). I found that eating to the meter is the best âdietâ for me.
So lack of evidence, ties to PETA and PCRM isnât a reason to question this advice? Can you share your story with diabetes? When were you diagnosed? Type 1 or 2? Did a vegan or plant based diet help?
I found the suggestions made by Dr Joel very helpful and useful in reversal of diabetes.
His hunger management anaboic and catabolic stage is the key.
Seeds and nuts and vegetables and fruits are very good to loose weight and keep hunger in control.
Eating millets in place of rice really goes well with diabetes control.
Within a month my sugar levels have come down to 98/110 FS/PPS.
In India many people have followed his diet regime and are healthy.
Hello,
Thank you for your topic. I went off the low carb diet, and tried going vegan - Dr. Fuhrman was one of the main program I followed for about a year. Unfortunately, I was constantly hungry and could not sustain the mostly vegetables way of eating. I believe this diet may work for some people who are basically very healthy, and may have normal after meal blood sugars (<than 120 1 hour after, and 140 after 2 hours after meal).
I did not have normal blood sugars after meals, ha ha ha or even before meals!!!
But I allowed myself to become lazy and not test as much as I should have.
I was ravenous ravenous and also unfortunatley, I became hypothyroid - could be my getting older, could also be because my main source of protein was TOFU and I was eating piddling little amount of protein a day - possibly 30-40 grams a day when by Atkins I need 60 maintenance, Protein power 61 maintenance, Jenny Ruhlâs site - 61-68 depending on my exercise. Please note, it has been 3 years since I did the Dr. Furman diet, (and I am trying to forget the time I spent doing it) so others can share their other experiences if it differes from mine. I also lost massive muscle mass.
I would not recommend this diet due to my personal experience. I stupidly allowed myself to be swayed by someone who was raving enthusiastically about the Vegan dietâŚit may have been perfect for that male DM2 person, but it was not perfect for me.
