We all know that diets don’t work in the long term and that a change in lifestyle, which may include a change in food habits, is the way forward.
There has been some research recently regarding vegan diets. Apparently, cutting animal products from your diet is the fastest way to lose weight and it beats other types of diet including low carbs or no carbs.
The effects can be seen from nine weeks up to 18 months after starting a vegetarian or vegan diet, say researchers at the E-Da Hospital in Taiwan.
A review of 12 studies involving 1,151 dieters who followed various kinds of vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets, showed that people who ate only vegetarian food lost 2.02kg more than those eating a non-vegetarian diet.
However, those eating a vegan diet, where all animal products such as milk and cheese are avoided, saw the biggest weight loss. They lost 2.52kg more than those on a vegetarian diet, so nearly 10lb more than those eating meat.
The researchers believe that it is not what is left out but what is put in that makes vegetarian and vegan diets so successful. Wholegrain products and vegetables have low glycaemic index values, therefore they don’t cause blood sugar levels to rise, while fruit is rich in fibre, antioxidants, minerals and nutrients. The fibre in wholegrain products also slows the digestion and absorption of foods (J. Gen. Intern. Med., 2015).
Alternatively, going on the occasional low-calorie fast for four days may extend your life and help you lose weight and additionally make you smarter.
According to the University of Southern California Longevity Institute, this four-day fast should be carried out once every three to six months. They do warn against going to extremes, so don’t try a ‘water only’ fast, and if you are diabetic don’t fast at all.
Fasting is difficult for most people, which is why the leader of the research team, Valter Longo, has devised a ‘fast mimicking diet’. This is a no-food fast, but without completely restricting food. It is a plant-based approach that allows vegetable soup, energy bars, energy drinks, camomile tea and a vegetable supplement.
Researchers believe that it is not what is left out but what is put in that makes vegetarian and vegan diets so successful
The team tested it on 19 people who carried out the diet once a month for three months. They then returned to their normal diet for the remaining 25 days of each month. At the end of the trial, their biomarkers for ageing, diabetes, heart disease and cancer had all been reduced. In earlier trials, with mice, the diet had also improved biomarkers associated with cognitive abilities (Cell Metab., 2015).
It is always good to hear about research with chocolate. Eating one small bar of chocolate every day may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to researchers in the UK. People who eat 100g of chocolate every day lower their risk of heart disease by 11 per cent and stroke by 23 per cent, compared with someone who doesn’t eat chocolate.
What surprised the researchers was that similar beneficial effects were seen whether dark or milk chocolate was eaten. This suggests that flavonoids are not the only healthy ingredient in chocolate, but that other compounds associated with dairy, such as calcium and fatty acids, may also be contributing to heart health.
The results are based on data from an EPIC-Norfolk UK (European Prospective Investigation of Cancer) survey of almost 21,000 adults living in East Anglia in the UK. Their lifestyles had been tracked for 12 years. In that time, 3,013 participants suffered from heart disease or stroke.
The researchers did warn that the amount of chocolate reported as being eaten may be underestimated. But one thing is sure: eating chocolate isn’t likely to do your heart any harm (Heart, 2015). A final word or warning: don’t get carried away and eat too much. The key is to find a happy medium.
Finally, Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disease associated with the brain. However, breakthrough research has discovered that it begins in the gut (like so many diseases).
People who have suffered for years with gut problems, such as constipation, could be showing early signs of the disease.
The infection eventually reaches the brain via the vagus nerve in the stomach, say researchers. The conventional remedy is effective but extreme and involves severing the vagus, where it enters the abdomen. This fits with previous studies where it was found there is an association between the disease and the nerve.
People who had their vagus nerve completely severed halved their risk of developing Parkinson’s, whereas those who had only a small part severed were not protected against developing the disease, say researchers.
In this study, 15,000 patients who underwent the vagus nerve surgery were studied (Ann. Neurol., 2015). The alternative is to clear up gut problems before they become troublesome by ensuring you have good flora or bacteria in the gut.
kathryn@maltanet.net