Vegan or Vegetarian Diet May Help You Shed More Weight

Want to shed weight? Then you may want to try going vegan. Scientists have found that people on a vegetarian diet, and especially those following a vegan diet that includes no animal products, see better results than dieters on other weight-reducing plans.

In this latest study, the researchers conducted 12 randomized controlled trials involving 1,151 dieters who followed a specific eating regime for anywhere between nine and 74 weeks. The diets that were involved included the Atkins diet and ones recommended by the American Diabetes Association or the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program.

So what did they find? Overall, individuals assigned to the vegetarian diet groups lost significantly more weight than dieters who ate meat and other animal products. Vegetarians who followed a vegan diet lost even more weight. People following vegetarian diets that prescribe a lower than normal intake of calories also shed more pounds than those without any such limitations.

The researchers believe that the abundant intake of whole grains, fruits and vegetables may play a role in the favorable results seen in the vegetarian and vegan diets. Whole-grain products and vegetables generally have low glycemic index values and don't cause blood sugar levels to spike.

"Vegetarian diets are more effective than non-vegetarian diets for weight loss," said Ru-Yi Huang, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The findings could be useful for those looking to lose weight. By cutting meat and other animal products out of your diet, you could potentially lose more weight quickly.

The findings are published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Related Stories

Marijuana and Weight Gain: Several Factors Increase Health Risk from Cannabis

Fish and Vegetables: This Healthy Combination Lowers Mortality Risk

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).