Low-Fat Vegan Diet may Help in Weight Loss
Sep 25, 2005
A diet free of animal products and low in fat may help trim the waistline without the task of strict calorie watching, a new study suggests. Researchers have found out that of 64 postmenopausal, obese women, those assigned to follow a low-fat vegan diet for 14 weeks lost an average of 13 pounds, compared with a weight loss of about 8 pounds among women who followed a standard low-cholesterol diet.
The weight loss came despite the fact that the women were given no limits on their portion sizes or daily calories -- and despite the fact that the vegan diet boosted their carbohydrate intake. It points towards the fact that greater weight loss among women on the vegan diet may stem from specific metabolic effects.
The vegan diet improved those women's sensitivity to insulin, a hormone that ushers sugar from the blood and into cells to be used for energy. This was also accompanied by an increase in the thermic effect of food -- the amount of calories the body expends to process and store food. Women who participated in the current study found out that the vegan diet is easy to follow because they were not asked to count the calories or intake.
Source: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx
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