Vegan diets are generally known to help people lose weight. However, following a vegan lifestyle also offers a range of additional health benefits.
For starters, a vegan diet can help you maintain a healthy heart. In addition, this diet may provide some protection against type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.
Vegan vs Vegetarian
The main difference between vegetarians and vegans is that while vegetarians do not eat meat (including cows, pigs, chicken and fish), they do consume dairy products, eggs, or both. However, the vegan diet also excludes all products with animal ingredients.
The vegan lifestyle diet is thus more restrictive, with people having to think more about where they get all their nutrients from to ensure they meet their daily nutritional needs.
In this article, we list 6 science-based benefits of vegan diets.
It can help you lose excess weight
More and more people are turning to plant-based diets in hopes of losing excess weight.
This may not be for nothing.
Many observational studies show that vegans are generally thinner and have a lower body mass index (BMI) than non-vegans.
In addition, several randomized controlled trials — the gold standard in scientific research — report that vegan diets are more effective for weight loss than the diets they are compared to.
In a research A vegan diet helped participants lose 4kg more than a control diet over an 18-week study period.
Interestingly, participants on the vegan diet lost more weight than those on a calorie-restricted diet, even if the vegan groups were allowed to eat until they felt full.
In addition, a recent small study comparing the weight loss effects of five different diets concluded that vegetarian and vegan diets were just as well accepted as semi-vegetarian and standard Western diets.
Even if they didn't follow their diets perfectly, the vegetarian and vegan groups still lost slightly more than those who followed a standard Western diet.
Vegan diets have a natural tendency to reduce your calorie intake. This makes them effective at promoting weight loss without having to actively focus on cutting calories.
A vegan diet is richer in certain nutrients
When you switch from a typical Western diet to a vegan diet, you completely eliminate meat and animal products.
It is inevitable with the vegan lifestyle that you have to build more heavily on other foods. In case you choose a vegan diet of completely unprocessed foods, you should think of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.
Because these foods are a larger part of a vegan diet than a typical Western diet, they can contribute to a higher daily intake of certain beneficial nutrients.
For example, several studies have reported that vegan diets tend to be higher in fiber, antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds. They also appear to be richer in potassium, magnesium, folate, and vitamins A, C, and E.
“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.”
However, not all vegan diets are created equal.
For example, poorly planned vegan diets may contain insufficient amounts of essential fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, calcium, iodine or zinc. It is therefore important to stay away from the nutrient-poor, vegan fast food options. Instead, base your diet on nutrient-rich whole plants and fortified foods. You can also consider additional B12 supplements.
The vegan lifestyle seems to improve kidney function and lower blood sugar levels
Going vegan may also have benefits for type 2 diabetes and declining kidney function.
Vegans generally have lower blood sugar levels, higher insulin sensitivity and up to 50-78% less risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
In fact, studies report that vegan diets lower blood sugar levels in diabetics more than the widely recommended diets of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), American Heart Association (AHA), and National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) in the United States.
In a research 43% of the participants who followed a vegan diet were able to lower their dosage of blood sugar-lowering medication, compared with only 26% in the group who followed an ADA-recommended diet.
Other studies report that diabetics who replace meat protein with vegetable protein may reduce their risk of poor kidney function.
In addition, several studies report that a vegan lifestyle diet can completely alleviate the symptoms of systemic distal polyneuropathy – a condition in diabetics that causes sharp, burning pain.
A vegan diet may protect against certain cancers
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about a third of all cancers can be prevented by factors under your control, including diet.
For example, eating legumes regularly can reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by about 9-18%.
Research also suggests that eating at least seven servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day can lower the risk of dying from cancer by as much as 15%.
Vegans generally eat significantly more legumes, fruits and vegetables than non-vegans. This may explain why a recent review of 96 studies found that vegans benefit from a 15% lower risk of developing or dying from cancer.
In addition, vegan diets generally contain more soy products, which may offer some protection against breast cancer.
Avoiding certain animal products may also help reduce the risk of prostate, breast, and colon cancer.
That may be because vegan diets do not include smoked or processed meats and meats cooked at high temperatures, which are believed to promote certain types of cancer. Vegans also avoid dairy products, which some studies show may slightly increase the risk of prostate cancer.
On the other hand, there is also some evidence that dairy products may help reduce the risk of other cancers, such as colorectal cancer. Therefore, it is likely that avoiding dairy products is not the appropriate factor lowering the overall risk of cancer in vegans.
It is important to note that these studies are observational in nature. They make it impossible to determine the exact reason why vegans have a lower risk of cancer when following the vegan lifestyle.
But until researchers know more, it seems wise to focus on increasing the amount of fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes you eat each day, while limiting your consumption of processed, smoked and overcooked meats as much as possible.
Eating vegan results in a lower risk of heart disease
Eating fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and fiber is linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
All of these foods are generally eaten in large quantities in well-planned vegan diets.
Observational studies comparing vegans with vegetarians and the general population indicate that people according to the vegan lifestyle appear to benefit from a 75% lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
Vegans may also have an up to 42% lower risk of dying from heart disease.
In addition, several randomized controlled trials report that vegan diets are much more effective at lowering blood sugar, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels than the diets they are compared to.
This can be particularly beneficial for the health of the heart, as lowering high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels can reduce the risk of heart disease by as much as 46%.
Compared to the general population, vegans also consume more whole grains and nuts, which demonstrated both are good for your heart.
A vegan diet can reduce arthritis pain
Multiple studies have reported that a vegan diet has positive effects in people with different types of arthritis.
In one study, 40 participants with arthritis were randomly assigned to continue eating their omnivorous diet or to switch to a plant-based, plant-based diet for 6 weeks.
Those following the vegan diet reported higher energy levels and better general functioning than those following their diet does not changed.
Two other studies examined the effects of a probiotic-rich vegan raw vegetable diet on rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
Both reported that participants in the vegan group experienced greater improvement in symptoms such as pain, joint swelling and morning stiffness than those who continued their omnivorous diet.
In short
Vegan diets can provide a range of health benefits.
Unfortunately, the exact reasons why these benefits occur are largely not fully known yet.
With that in mind, until further research shows otherwise, increasing the amount of nutrient-rich, plant-based foods in your diet can probably only benefit you. Are you going to try the vegan lifestyle?
Sources including DiscoverMagazine (link), health line (link), MedicalNewsToday (link), TheGuardian (link)
