Many people have lost weight by switching to a vegan diet. But why does it work? Researchers have now found an answer.
Atilla Hildmann once did it: with vegan nutrition , the author has slimmed down properly – and many have nachgeeifert him successfully. But why does the herbal diet affect our body? Researchers from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) have investigated this question in a study that looked at 148 obese and overweight adults over 16 weeks.
What does vegan diet do with the body?
The subjects were divided into two groups: Group One was given the task of future low-fat and vegan to feed, Group two got no such requirements. Both groups consumed the same number of daily calories. The result: Subjects from Group One had significantly lost weight compared to those from Group Two. And not only that: Two-thirds of this lost weight was body fat. The researchers presented the results of the study at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
The new data are not the first to suggest that a vegan diet can help you lose weight. So far, the big question has been: why did the subjects get such a good result from this diet? With the new study, the scientists have come a step closer to answering this question: According to this, the concentration of certain healthy intestinal bacteria was particularly high in the subjects of the vegan group.
All the best is in the gut
Speaking to the medical platform “MedScape Medical News,” Hana Kahleova, study author and director of the PCRM says: “A plant-based diet rich in fiber improves the composition of the gut microbiome by feeding the right kind of bacteria.” The focus of the study data was on two healthy bacterial species that had multiplied during the study:
- Bacteroidetes , which are responsible for the digestion of fiber and are important for the metabolism and produce short-chain fatty acids.
- Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, which feed on fiber from plant products and are said to be associated with weight loss. In addition, this bacterium improves insulin sensitivity – which not only boosts your metabolism but also lowers the risk of diabetes (what it means to be diabetic , you’ll find out here).
Kahleova and her team now want to compare in another test, the vegan diet with other than healthy nutritional concepts such as the Mediterranean diet .
Do we all have to go vegan now?
The result of the study does not mean that in future we will all have to do without meat and other animal products completely. For many people, this is hardly sustainable – and this is exactly what nutritionists see as the most important basis for a successful diet change, regardless of whether you want to lose weight or just do something for your health. In addition, a vegan diet always runs the risk of deficient supply of various nutrients and B vitamins. Who wants to try the vegan diet, should first talk with his doctor about possible health issues.