In 2021, diabetes affected 6.1 percent of the global population, and that percentage is expected to increase to more than 10 percent by 2050. According to a study in the journal Diabetes & Metabolism, the consumption of a healthy plant-based diet can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 24 percent as compared to those following an unhealthy plant-based diet. These results also applied to those that were genetically predisposed to develop diabetes or had other risk factors such as age, lack of physical activity and obesity.

The study defined a healthy plant-based diet as one that eliminates animal fats and is low in sugar, sugary drinks, refined grains and starches like potatoes. The research included more than 113,000 British participants that were observed for 12 years. In addition to a lower body mass index and waist size, the researchers noted that normal levels of triglycerides, blood sugar, inflammation and the insulin-like growth factor 1 were also associated with a lower risk of diabetes, and they surmised that a healthy plant-based diet reduced diabetes risk by improving liver and kidney function.