778-P: Positive Effects Including Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes by Making One Meal a Vegetarian Diet in Japanese—A Randomized Crossover Trial

Background: Increased vegetable intake has been reported to lower the risk of developing various diseases including diabetes. In Japan, it is recommended to intake 350 g of vegetables a day (about 4.5 servings), but it has not been achieved. The aim of this study was to investigate that achieving 350 g of vegetables by making one meal of three a day had positive effects including prevention of diabetes.

Methods: 38 staff of Asama General Hospital without diabetes participated in a randomized crossover trial. Participants maintained a meal recommended in Japan during this study period (control arm). In the intervention arm, a meal that can consume 350 g of vegetables in one meal as lunch was offered (vege-one diet (VOD) arm). They were randomly assigned either VOD arm or control arm for 3 months with one-week washout.

Result: The average age of participants at the start was 46 years old, BMI 24 kg/m2, HbA1c 5.7%, LDL-cholesterol 127 mg/dL. There was no significant difference in nutrition component, body composition and biomarker between the VOD arm and the control arm after 3 months. Within the VOD arm, the total energy and carbohydrates decreased, and dietary fiber increased after 3 months significantly (P <0.05). In the diabetes risk group (HbA1c ≧5.6%, n = 24), the decrease of HbA1c and LDL-cholesterol were noted in the VOD arm as compared with the control arm. In the VOD arm, HbA1c significantly decreased in the diabetes risk group (P <0.05). In the VOD arm, prolongation of eating time, reduction of snacking, shortening of the interval of defecation and improvement of the form of the feces were significantly shown as compared with the control arm (P <0.05).

Conclusion: This study suggested that making one meal of three with vegetarian diet could contribute to positive effects including of prevention of diabetes, improvement of eating habits and defecation status.