A new study examined how the vegan diet and the consumption of transformed foods affect weight loss, showing surprising results
In recent years, plant -based diets have gained a lot of popularity, not only for environmental benefits, but also for the advantages they offer to health. Among these, there is the support in weight loss. But be careful, there is an aspect often neglected: not all vegan foods contribute in the same way to weight loss.
A recent study, published on Nutrition and Metabolism, He shed light on an interesting aspect. Dr. Priyom Bose’s team He analyzed how the level of processing of food affects the weight loss of those who follow a vegan diet.
The research involved 244 overweight adults (BMI between 28 and 40) aged between 25 and 75 years old. The participants were divided into two groups randomly: one followed a vegan diet, the other continued with the usual eating habits.
The researchers used the Nova system to classify foods in four categories:
The researchers analyzed the food diaries compiled by the participants and measured their weight at the beginning of the study and after 16 weeks, to determine as food of vegetable and animal origin, with different degrees of processing, they influenced differently on body weight.
The results? Quite surprising!
The main discovery of the study is that the reduction of the consumption of transformed animal foods has had a significant impact on weight loss. In particular, decreasing 50 g per day the consumption of these foods has been associated with a weight loss of about a kilo. However, the central point of the study goes beyond: although a vegan diet can encourage weight loss, the consumption of transformed vegetable foods (such as snacks or ready dishes) does not have the same effect. Indeed, the real key to obtaining a significant loss of weight is to minimize not only transformed animal foods, but also ultra-processed plant foods, instead focusing on fresh food and low fat.
In other words ,. The real difference makes it eliminate or limit ultra-processed foods, both of animal and vegetable origin.
Think about it: even if they are vegans, packaged snacks, desserts and ready dishes are still full of sugars, salt and added fats. These ingredients can make you fat, it doesn’t matter if they come from vegetable or animal sources. It is therefore better to choose fresh and unprocessed foods such as fruit, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, these should be the protagonists of our meals.
A couple of limits to consider
It must be said, however, that the study has some limitations. The participants self-portrayed what they ate, so there may have been some inaccuracies. In addition, the group of people studied does not perfectly represent the general population.
So even if the trend seems to be this, it is important to verify how much discovered with new studies on a greater and more varied sample of people.
