Vegan
works

September 20, 2019 -- An article in today's Medscape -- Vegan Diet Alters Microbiome and Insulin Sensitivity, Drops Weight -- describes a study of vegan diet outcomes. The diet called for low-fat, calorie-unrestricted, no-animal-products (vegan) eating. The control group ate an everyday, non-vegan calorie-unrestricted diet.

The outcomes:

  • Weight loss of a pound a week, on average
  • Beneficial changes in the gut microbiome
  • Increased insulin sensitivity (diabetes reduction/prevention)

The researchers write:

"Eating a plant-based diet with ample fiber changes the gut microbiome composition for the better by feeding the right kind of bacteria... notably short-chain fatty acid producing Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, [which] deliver many metabolic benefits including weight loss, increased insulin sensitivity, and fat loss, including visceral fat loss."

They caution (as they always do) that this evidence is not definitive and more study is needed before specific dietary recommendations can be made. But this is certainly support for the diet choices I've made (whole foods, plant based (WFPB)) and the outcomes I've observed in my own life (weight loss, resolution of prediabetes).

Go vegans!

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