Vegan diet helps weight loss
The article is based on new research presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Barcelona. It suggests that a 16-week vegan diet can boost gut bacteria linked to improvements in body weight, body composition and blood sugar control.
Scientists at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in Washington DC tested the effects of a vegan diet on a group of 148 people, of which 73 switched to a low-fat vegan diet for four months.
The vegan group lost a significant amount of weight (an average of 13lbs or 5.8kg) as well as improving insulin sensitivity – their bodies’ ability to absorb sugar from their bloodstream. Being more sensitive to insulin reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Gut bacteria play an important role in weight regulation and in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The authors suggest that changes to gut bacteria could have been responsible for the beneficial effects seen. The article goes on to debate whether or not the change in gut bacteria was responsible for the weight loss or not.
Whatever the precise mechanism, this adds to a large body of evidence showing how a vegan diet can help you lose and maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of diabetes.
Find out more about how a vegan diet can help you lose and maintain a health weight here.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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