While most people go vegan for animal rights, there now may be a more important reason to make your diet cruelty-free, say researchers from Taiwan.
According to new research posted in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, vegan diets also help people lose more weight than those on traditional omnivore diets, making it the best way to lose weight. In fact, vegans lose 2.52 kilograms more on average–that’s roughly 5.5 pounds.
For researchers, it once again proves that veganism is the ideal diet.
“PubMed, EMBASE and UpToDate databases were searched through September 22, 2014, and investigators extracted data regarding study characteristics and assessed study quality among selected randomized clinical trials,” write researchers in the online version of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “Vegetarian diets appeared to have significant benefits on weight reduction compared to non-vegetarian diets. Further long-term trials are needed to investigate the effects of vegetarian diets on body weight control.”
The Research
Examining 12 studies involving more than 1,100 people, researchers specifically examined the eating of those who ate vegetarian or non-vegetarian diets, focusing on how it affected their weight. All of these studies recorded how their weight changed before, during, and after they dieted.
Although all groups lost weight due to a reduction in calories, what they ate made a bigger difference, say researchers. Vegetarians on average lost around 2.02 kilograms more compared to meat-eaters; conversely, vegans lost 2.52 kilograms, about half a kilogram more than traditional vegetarians.
As for the reason why, researchers say vegan diets place a higher emphasis on eating healthy, lower-calorie foods, such as vegetables and whole grains–something that, over time, can result in increased weight loss.
“These foods also are considered low-glycemic foods, say researchers, which also reduce food cravings.
the abundant intake of whole grains, fruits and vegetables might play a role in the favorable results seen in vegetarian diets,” says Ru-Yi Huang, a researcher from E-Da Hospital in Taiwan. “Whole-grain products and vegetables generally have low glycemic index values and don’t cause blood sugar levels to spike. Fruits are rich in fiber, antioxidants, minerals and protective chemicals that naturally occur in plants. “
Bottom line? If you want to lose weight fast, don’t just count calories–go vegan too.
“Vegetarian diets are more effective than non-vegetarian diets for weight loss,” says Huang.
What This Means For You
For most people, losing weight is an everyday struggle–but now there may be an easier way to speed it up. To double your weight loss, simply eat a vegan diet instead; though the diet itself is strict, you’ll slim down fast.
Readers: Have you tried following a vegetarian or vegan diet before? If so, how did it work out for you?
Sources:
To Shed Weight, Go Vegan – ScienceDaily.com
Vegetarian Diets and Weight Reduction: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials – Springer.com
To Shed Weight, Go Vegan: Review of Vegetarian Diet Studies Highlights Benefit of Vegan-Eating Plans – Springer.com
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