Weight Loss Advantages of Vegetarian Diets

Research has shown people following a typical vegetarian diet consume, on average, around 500 fewer calories daily than their meat-eating counterparts. Interestingly, the research showed that they actually ate more food than non-vegetarians.

This can be attributed to the fact that vegetarians' diets are comprised mainly of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are starchy, fiber-rich foods, and are naturally low in fat. Examples of complex carbs are legumes and other vegetables and grains.  Remember, every 3,500 calories cut equals one pound lost. If you do the math, it's easy to see that a 500 calorie-a-day deficit will lead to one pound of weight loss a week!  Whether you're a veggie or a carnivore, a calorie cut is a calorie cut.

Obesity

“Among Seventh-day Adventists (SDA), 40% of whom follow a meatless diet,
vegetarian eating patterns have been associated with lower body mass index (BMI).
In the Adventist Health Study, which compared vegetarians and nonvegetarians within the Adventist population, BMI increased as the frequency of meat consumption increased in both men and women (4). In the Oxford Vegetarian Study, BMI values were higher in nonvegetarians compared with vegetarians in all age groups and for both men and women (112). In a study of 4,000 men and women in England comparing the relationship between meat consumption and obesity among meat eaters, fish eaters, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and vegans, mean BMI was highest in the meat eaters and lowest in the vegans (153). BMI was lowest in those lacto-ovo-vegetarians and vegans who had adhered to their diet for 5 years or longer. Factors that may help to explain the lower BMI among vegetarians include differences in macronutrient content (lower protein, fat, and animal fat intake), higher fiber consumption, decreased alcohol intake, and greater consumption of vegetables.”

From:  Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets J une 2003 Volume 103 Number 6

Lose Fat = Lower Your Risk of Obesity

The American Heart Association and many other dietary experts agree vegetarian diets lower your risk of obesity.  “Most vegetarian diets are low in animal products. They’re also usually lower than nonvegetarian diets in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol. Many studies have shown that vegetarians seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer.

”Vegetarian diets can be healthful and nutritionally sound if they’re carefully planned to include essential nutrients.

Protein : You don't need to eat foods from animals to have enough protein in your diet. Plant proteins alone can provide enough of the essential and non-essential amino acids, as long as sources of dietary protein are varied and caloric intake is high enough to meet energy needs. Whole grains, legumes, vegetables, seeds and nuts all contain both essential and non-essential amino acids. You don't need to consciously combine these foods ("complementary proteins") within a given meal.

Soy protein has been shown to be equal to proteins of animal origin. It can be your sole protein source if you choose.

Iron : Vegetarians may have a greater risk of iron deficiency than nonvegetarians. The richest sources of iron are red meat, liver and egg yolk -- all high in cholesterol. However, dried beans, spinach, enriched products, brewer's yeast and dried fruits are all good plant sources of iron.

Vitamin B-12 : This comes naturally only from animal sources. Vegans need a reliable source of vitamin B-12. It can be found in some fortified (not enriched) breakfast cereals, fortified soy beverages, some brands of nutritional (brewer's) yeast and other foods (check the labels), as well as vitamin supplements.

Vitamin D : Vegans should have a reliable source of vitamin D. Vegans who don’t get much sunlight may need a supplement.

Calcium : Studies show that vegetarians absorb and retain more calcium from foods than nonvegetarians do. Vegetable greens such as spinach, kale and broccoli, and some legumes and soybean products, are good sources of calcium from plants.

Zinc : Zinc is needed for growth and development. Good plant sources include grains, nuts and legumes. Shellfish are an excellent source of zinc. Take care to select supplements containing no more than 15-18 mg zinc. Supplements containing 50 mg or more may lower HDL ("good") cholesterol in some people. “

      From:   http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4777

Observational studies suggest that a plant-based diet is inversely related to body mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity.

Design: Data analyzed in this cross-sectional study were from 55,459 healthy women participating in the Swedish Mammography Cohort. Women were asked whether they considered themselves to be omnivores (n = 54257), semivegetarians (n = 960), lactovegetarians (n = 159), or vegans (n = 83), and this question was the main exposure variable in this study. In secondary analyses, we reclassified women as lactovegetarians on the basis of food intakes reported on the food-frequency questionnaire.

Results: The prevalence of overweight or obesity (BMI ) was 40% among omnivores, 29% among both semivegetarians and vegans, and 25% among lactovegetarians. In multivariate, adjusted logistic regression analyses, self-identified vegans had a significantly lower risk of overweight or obesity [odds ratio (OR) = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.69] than did omnivores, as did lactovegetarians (OR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.85) and semivegetarians (OR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.62). Risk of overweight or obesity remained significantly lower among lactovegetarians classified on the basis of the food-frequency questionnaire (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.78).

Conclusions: Even if vegetarians consume some animal products, our results suggest that self-identified semivegetarian, lactovegetarian, and vegan women have a lower risk of overweight and obesity than do omnivorous women(meat-eating). The advice to consume more plant foods and less animal products may help individuals control their weight.

From:  The Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA (PKN and KLT), and the Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, Department of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (AW)                                                                 

 Health Risks of Low-Carbohydrate Diets === Atkins Diet Dangers... 
         from Physicians Committee on Responsible Medicine
         see info link at:   http://www.atkinsdietalert.org/advisory.html