Does being a vegetarian help with Type II diabetes?

absolutely! check out the book-"the ph miracle for diabetes" by dr.Robert Young phd. he is a brilliant bio-chemist that has had amazing success with both type 1 and 2 diabetics- even getting patients off insulin by simple diet lifestyle change-the healing protocol is "alkalarian vegetarian"(a diet consisting of 80-100% alkaline foods-please check it out --it really works!!!!!!

ask mom
they know best ;]

it can if you keep your intake of complex carbs...simple sugars low. and eat a good source of protein...most women don't get an adequate amount of it.

my mother is a type 2 diabetic...shes also a vegeterian...shes lost some weight and is healthy ...so i would say that going by how my mother is now ...yes it does

But the fact is that you will decrease your intake of fat and proteins but lots of fruit and vegetables will have sugar.

It promotes general health and may lower cholesterol level in the blood. Diabetes patients should avoid sugar as well as fat and oils. Eat a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. This kind of diet includes cottage cheese, fat-free milk, fish (not canned in oil), vegetables, poultry, egg whites, and polyunsaturated oils and margarines (corn, safflower, canola, and soybean oils). Avoid foods with excess fat in them such as meat (especially liver and fatty meat), egg yolks, whole milk, cream, butter, shortening, lard, pastries, cakes, cookies, gravy, peanut butter, chocolate, olives, potato chips, coconut, cheese (other than cottage cheese), coconut oil, palm oil, and fried foods.
Please see the webpages for more details on Diabetes diet and Vegetarianism.

Vegetables are certainly good for everyone and diabetics included. However it's carbohydrates that cause the biggest strain on their metabolism, not protein.

Unless you have kidney problems diabetics and especially those with Metabolic Syndrome (high b/p, obesity) have higher requirements for protein.
Another issue is the need diabetics have for Omega 3s. Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid that we all need more of in our diets. (Don't worry essential fatty acids don't make you fat. In fact they can help you loose weight. )
There are 2 kinds of Omega 3s. The body can normally convert vegetarian sources of Omega 3 (like walnuts and flax seed) to the kind that can be used by the body however animal sources such as salmon, eggs, as well as pasture-fed beef and dairy products are superior in that they don't need to be converted for the body to use them.
Furthermore diabetics (and many elderly) have a hard time with the conversion process since they lack a certain enzyme.
Unless you are drawn to vegetarianism for spiritual reasons I'd just try to find the best lean sources of naturally raised meat.

If you do maintain a vegetarian diet make sure to familiarize yourself with dense green foods such as chlorella and spirulina.
Good Luck!