Ask Dr Nandita
Dr. Nandita Shah is the
founder, director, and trustee
of SHARAN. She founded
SHARAN in 2005 with the
vision of helping people
connect to animals and nature
in order to heal themselves
and the planet.I was diabetic (type 2) until recently. I
researched the harmful effects of animal
products on our health and switched to
a plant-based diet. My sugar levels are
normal now. Should I still continue my
medications? - Mohit, Pune.Hello Mohit, congratulations on your efforts to reduce
your sugar levels! To completely reverse diabetes,
one needs to remove the cause of diabetes. As you
know, avoiding sugar and carbohydrates will not cure
diabetes, as that is not its cause. Though diabetes
does result in high blood sugar, the root cause of
type II diabetes is insulin resistance, which is actually
caused by fat. Animal products are full of fat, so
avoiding animal products can help reduce sugar levels.
When your blood sugar levels come down, you must
reduce your medication intake, otherwise you will suffer
from the effects of over medication. To be completely
free of diabetes, you must avoid all refined fats—oil,
vanaspati, ghee, butter, etc. Being free of diabetes
means being free of medications too! Do check out my
website (www.sharan-india.org) and YouTube channel
(SHARANIndiaLife) for information on seminars, cooking
classes, consultations, programmes, and retreats.
I’m a 28-year-old vegetarian who is
suffering from acne (pimples). Do you
think avoiding or adding certain foods
into my everyday diet can reduce the
severity of the acne? - Sonia, Pune.Hello Sonia, I’m sorry to hear you have this problem.
As you may know, acne and pimples usually occur
during puberty due to hormonal changes. They are
caused by hormonal imbalances as well as by eating
foods rich in fats and without fibre. As you know, both
vegetarians and non-vegetarians suffer from acne.
Meat and milk are full of fat and lack fibre. Therefore, I
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