One of the biggest problems in the world right now is how a lot of people have gained weight and are constantly attempting to reduce their weight. But more often than not, their effort ends in vain and people actually end up gaining weight than losing it. One of the ways to lose weight is to take the route of a vegan lifestyle by following the vegan diet.
A vegan diet has proven to be an extremely useful weapon to combat many issues like heart disease, diabetes, and various other chronic conditions. But how good or how effective is a vegan diet for weight loss was a question that has been lingering the minds of many people. Harvard University had conducted a study in 2016 which showed that vegan dieters lost more weight than non-vegetarian dieters after a span of 18 weeks.
It was actually a significant loss of weight by vegan dieters who lost up to 5 pounds. Given below are some of the key reasons why one can follow a vegan diet and what can they gain by following a vegan diet.
Vegan diets have a higher fiber content
There was a study that was conducted in the year 1985 consisting of vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores to understand how these people consume fiber. The result revealed that vegans consumed almost 24 grams more fiber than vegetarians or omnivores who were part of that study. One of the key points in a weight loss program is to consume more fiber content.
This not only helps us to have clockwork-like bowel movements but also helps in keeping our temptation to snack at bay. In terms of body metabolism, increased intake of fiber content results in lower cholesterol levels, regulates our blood pressure, and even has anti-inflammatory properties. Thus they not aid in weight loss, they also help in keeping other things at bay.
Low saturated fat content in a vegan diet
As suggested by the World Health Organization, let us say that the total calories consumed by a person are 2000 calories. Then the person can ideally consume only 10% of the total calories that are consumed. Saturated fat is a key driver for type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease among many others. As a matter of fact, Americans tend to consume 70% more saturated fat than they are supposed to consume.
When we switch to a vegan diet, we are cutting out animal products significantly from our daily food intake thereby reducing the intake of saturated fats. When we switch to the vegan diet, the intake of unsaturated fats, good carbohydrates, fibers, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals increases thereby making the quality of life better. This can be seen as a definite result if the vegan diet is continued as a lifestyle and not as a temporary change of habit.
Vegan Diets could give you more energy
Many athletes off late have been speaking about how they have been a beneficiary of following a vegan diet. Some of them have even told that they have switched to a vegan diet and since they are seeing great results, they are planning to stick with it. The point is if the person is getting enough calories and getting enough of the good carbohydrates, their bodies can process it.
The main reason why your body can generate more energy is simple. The time taken to process animal products is much more than the time taken to process nuts, grains, seeds, beans, etc. The body thrives best on plant-based carbohydrates as they are richer in nutrients and can be easily absorbed into the system.
There are so many other benefits of following vegan diets. Some of them are it will help in reducing carbon footprint globally. Also, the resources used to produce one kilogram of rice is far lesser than the resources used to produce one kilogram of meat.
This means that we are depleting more resources in terms of quantity in order to consume one kilogram of a food item. This is definitely an alarming situation and more light must be thrown on this.
Conclusion
The vegan diet is not only a lifestyle choice but also a great way to restore your body back to health and lose weight at the same time. And the best part is you would not have to spend a fortune on your food, the gym, and of course all those weight loss treatments. While there are people who might tell you that vegan diet is bland and tasteless so you might end up binge eating and gain weight again once you stop your vegan diet, they couldn’t be more wrong.
You could always substitute any meal with a vegan substitute. Did you know that there’s something called a vegan brisket that tastes exactly the same as a regular brisket and has less than half the calories? So, get Googling for recipes and start your journey to weight loss the healthy way with a vegan diet.