A vegetarian diet can make you healthier, boost weight loss efforts

Eating plant-based foods can lower chances of heart disease, weight gain and chronic disease, among other benefits, show the various studies presented at Nutrition 2018.

Your mother was right, eating greens is the best way to stay healthy. Some of the latest studies from around the world were presented at Nutrition 2018 and show how eating greens can benefit you.

Eating plant-based foods can lower risk of chronic disease, weight gain and death(Shutterstock)

A study done by the Erasmus University Medical Center, in the Netherlands, says that eating plant-based foods can lower risk of chronic disease, weight gain and death. The study was done on nearly 6,000 people and found that those who ate more plant protein showed a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease during a median follow-up period of more than 13 years. The study was presented at Nutrition 2018.

Another study of 4,500 Brazilian adults found that people who regularly consume more plant-based protein were 60% less likely to show evidence of plaque in the heart’s arteries.

People following a vegetarian diet had a lower body mass index, smaller waist circumference and lower amounts of abdominal fat. (Shutterstock)

Similarly, a study done by the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health found that among South Asians living in the US, people following a vegetarian diet had a lower number of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. It included a lower body mass index, smaller waist circumference and lower amounts of abdominal fat, cholesterol and blood sugar compared to people in the same demographic group who ate meat.

The Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health showcased an analysis of changes in body weight among more than 1,25,000 adults over four-year periods. It showed that people who ate plant-based diets rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts were associated with less weight gain, while a higher intake of sweets, refined grains and fries was associated with greater weight gain.

A Tufts University study of nearly 30,000 US adults suggested that the quality of plant-based foods in the diet was more important than the quality of animal-based foods. Better choices in the plant-based components of the diet lowered mortality by 30% while higher quality animal-based components had little effect on mortality. The beneficial effect of high-quality plant-based foods was even more pronounced among people with chronic health conditions.

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