Vegan Nutrition with Marty Davey

Marty Davey is a Registered Dietitian and has a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Marywood University. She became a vegetarian in 1980 when she discovered that the chemicals in American meat made them unsellable to Europeans. She and her husband have raised their son as a vegan. She teaches nutrition and has a private practice specializing in assisting clients transitioning to a plant-based regime step by step. Her website is martydavey.com

Fish Oil Substitute

My Ob-Gyn said I had high liver function, high triglyrides, diabetes and hypothyroidism and told me to get more info from my primary. My primary doctor said I was in the high end of normal range and I was only pre-diabetic. So she put me on Metformin for the diabetes and fish oil for my liver function. I feel bad about taking fish oil three times daily, but I don't want to jeopardize my health either. I am on it for three months then she will check my blood work again. Any suggestions?

Article continues below

Here's a quick sub for the fish oil. Get the oil from the same place the fish do - algae. There are a number of companies that grow micro-algae in a lab and put it in vegan caps. I'm sure you can find them either via a search engine or Vegan Essentials. Full Disclosure - I make no money from Vegan Essentials, I just can usually find what I am looking for there.

If you are overweight, lowering your weight usually lowers your glucose floating around your bloodstream. The main thing I would check in your diet is the fat content. Recent studies have shown, and I am a researcher on a current study looking at this, that fat and not carbs may have more to do with diabetes and the cell's inability to function correctly. I would get rid of 90% of the concentrated oils in your diet. By this I mean the stuff that comes in a bottle, tub or stick.

Look at the nutrition label on the packaged foods you eat. Check out the amount of calories per serving. Then, look at the amount of calories from fat. The amount of calories from fat should be no more than 20% of the calories per serving. Here's an example:

My favorite cookies

Calories per serving: 100
Calories from fat: 30

Oops, my fav cookies has 30% of calories from fat. Bummer. I'll feed them to my husband who eats anything.

The fat vs. carb diabetes theory says that instead of insulin not reacting to glucose pounding on the door of the cell to get in, fat actually gums up the lock so insulin can't open the door no matter what. When you drop the fat, it's like taking Goo Gone to the lock and dissolving the gum.

There are recipes on my website and a host of websites cooking without oil. Pump up the spices if you miss some fat flavor. Foods gain flavor when sauteed with broths, wine or juices.

If you decide to make these changes be sure and tell your physician. You may find that your glucose becomes more stable and that you don't need the meds. This is a common occurrence, but not universal.

And the fish will thank you.

Get your own personal nutrition consultation with Marty here.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

See full index of questions

Sponsors: