Feeling sick? Try this for a change: Go vegan.
A new study published in the Nutrition Journal says that people who ate a vegan diet for just 7 days significantly improved their health–including reducing their blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids.
Better yet, these effects were amplified in those who were overweight or obese.
“The burden of Western disease can be dramatically reduced by eliminating animal-source foods and vegetable fats from the diet and replacing those foods with low-fat, plant-based foods,” say researchers. “This kind of dramatic, early success can be important for maintaining patients’ motivation to adhere to the diet.”
In the study, a total of 1615 participants were enrolled and given a strict vegan diet, which they adhered to for a total of 7 days. The foods selected for this study were vigorously tested, and contained no animal byproducts, as well as being low in fat and processed foods. No limitations were placed on how much food they could eat however–in fact, they were encouraged to eat “as much as possible.”
After the study ended, researchers looked at what changes occurred to any health markers–and indeed, the changes were significant. For those who followed the vegan diet for 7 days, they all reduced health factors linked to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, including high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood lipid readings.
In addition, they also lost weight.
“From eating such a diet for 7 days, the participants lost a median of 3 pounds and had significant improvements in blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar,” say researchers. “The patients who were the most overweight and had the most unfavorable biomarkers at baseline had the largest favorable responses.”
However, researchers did not examine how this diet affected the participants’ health factors over a longer period, though they do note they plan to look at this in the future. In conclusion, they say these findings deserve “further study,” and may provide a way for health professionals to tackle certain health problems more quickly without having to use medications.
“In conclusion, in this retrospective study, we observed that an energy-unrestricted low-fat, starch-based, vegan diet consumed in a controlled environment for 7 days resulted in substantial favorable changes in commonly tested biomarkers that are used to predict future risks for cardiovascular disease and metabolic diseases,” say researchers. “The results also suggest a model for a cost-effective therapy to offer patients commonly seen in medical practices today.”
What This Means For You
We all need pick-me-ups–and perhaps your health could too. To keep your health in check, just going on a 7 day vegan diet could make a dramatic difference in your health, and chances are you’ll lose weight too. Luckily, its short time duration means this diet is easy to follow as well.
Readers: Do you think it’s a good idea to go on a vegan diet? Why or why not?
Sources:
Could a Short Term Vegan Diet Improve Overall Health? – FoodNavigator.com
Effects of 7 Days on a Ad Libitum Low-Fat Vegan Diet: The McDougall Program Cohort – NutritionJ.com
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