A study in over 76, people found that following a healthy plant-based diet could be associated with a lower risk of breast cancer Similarly, another recent study showed that greater consumption of nutritious plant-based foods was linked to a lower risk of aggressive forms of prostate cancer, especially in men under 65 years Furthermore, a review concluded that plant-based diets could be tied to a lower risk of digestive system cancers, including pancreatic, colon, rectal, and colorectal cancers In many studies, higher intakes of fruits and vegetables have been strongly associated with a reduction in cognitive decline.

Other studies in older adults have found that plant-based eating patterns may be associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment, along with a slower decline in brain function 17 , Adopting a WFPB diet may be an effective tool in managing and reducing your risk of developing diabetes.

Another study demonstrated that plant-based diets could be beneficial for the prevention of type 2 diabetes, especially when they included nutritious plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes Plus, plant-based diets have been shown to improve blood sugar control , body weight, and cholesterol levels in people with diabetes Following a whole-foods, plant-based diet may reduce your risk of developing heart disease, certain cancers, cognitive decline, and diabetes.

Switching to a plant-based diet not only benefits your health — it can help protect the environment, as well. Adopting sustainable eating habits can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land used for factory farming, which are all factors in global warming and environmental degradation.

A review of 63 studies showed that the largest environmental benefits were seen from diets containing the least amount of animal-based foods such as vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian diets. Plant-based diets emphasizing local ingredients are more environmentally friendly than diets that rely heavily on mass-produced animal products and produce.

From eggs and bacon for breakfast to steak for dinner, animal products are the focus of most meals for many people. If animal foods are eaten, they should be eaten in smaller quantities, with attention paid to the quality of the item.

Foods like dairy, eggs, poultry, meat and seafood should be used more as a complement to a plant-based meal, not as the main focal point.

If supplementing your plant-based diet with animal products, choose quality products from grocery stores or, better yet, purchase them from local farms.

While you can consume conventional animal products, some people may choose pasture-raised, grass-fed, wild-caught, or organic products for environmental reasons or personal preferences. A healthy, WFPB diet should focus on plant foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

If animal products are eaten, they should be eaten in smaller quantities compared to plant foods. The WFPB diet is a way of eating that focuses on consuming foods in their most natural form.

This means that heavily processed foods are excluded. When purchasing groceries, focus on fresh foods and, when purchasing foods with a label, aim for items with the fewest possible ingredients.

While healthy animal foods can be included in a WFPB diet, they should be minimized. These include:. When following a WFPB diet, highly processed foods should be avoided and animal products minimized.

The following 1-week menu can help set you up for success. It includes a small number of animal products, but the extent to which you include animal foods in your diet is up to you.

However, many people following WFPB diets eat more or fewer animal products depending on their specific dietary needs and preferences.

You can enjoy many different delicious meals when following a whole-foods, plant-based diet. The above menu can help you get started. A whole-foods, plant-based diet is a way of eating that celebrates plant foods and minimizes animal products and highly processed foods. Plant-based diets have been linked to a number of health benefits, including reducing your risk of heart disease, certain cancers, obesity, diabetes, and cognitive decline.

Regardless of the type of whole-foods, plant-based diet you choose, adopting this way of eating is sure to boost your health. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? These interventional studies are usually conducted in the form of randomized trials. There are dozens of randomized trials examining how plant-based diets affect weight loss that can help answer this question.

One study had people switch from a normal way of eating to a plant-based diet and tracked their results for 18 weeks. In this study, the people who switched to a plant-based diet lost 5 pounds more than people who did not change their diet 4. Other studies have found similar results, wherein adopting an energy-restricted, plant-based diet for nine weeks resulted in 10 pounds more weight loss than in the control group 4,5.

In addition to just looking at individual intervention studies, there is also a form of research that allows you to examine multiple intervention trials at once and look to see if results hold up across numerous trials. This type of research is referred to as meta-analytic research.

Many meta-analyses have been conducted, and they also support the idea that adopting plant-based diets can lead to weight loss. For example, one meta-analysis demonstrated that a plant-based diet could lead to kg ~ pounds of weight loss 6.

Looking at observational, interventional, and meta-analytic research, it appears that plant-based diets are effective tools for losing body weight and maintaining lower body weight. But how exactly do they work? The main reason seems to be that plant-based diets are often based on how they alter caloric intake.

Generally speaking, vegan diets are associated with a lower calorie intake than other forms of plant-based diets, resulting in more significant weight loss.

Lower calorie intake is attributed to plant-based diets with higher fiber content, greater food volume, and lower energy density. One other way by which plant-based diets may lower calorie intake is that generally, they contain foods with less palatability and less food reward than standard Western Diets.

The data does indicate that plant-based diets can be useful for weight loss and weight management. However, just because they are effective does not mean they are the most effective.

The question remains of how exactly do plant-based diets compare to other diets for weight loss. Fortunately for us, plant-based approaches to weight loss have been tested head-to-head with other non-plant-based diets in large populations. One of the more well-known studies was published in and examined the effect of a plant-based diet on weight loss and compared it to the Atkins Diet, LEARN Diet and the Zone Diet.

In this study, the researchers found that weight loss was similar among all the diets, with each diet showing substantial average weight loss. Still, higher levels of variability among the weight loss participants 1, 7. Adherence played a much more critical factor in determining who lost weight than whether they followed a plant-based diet.

This study was not the only study to show this. Another very similar study found almost identical results, wherein weight loss was similar between diets and adherence explained most of the weight loss 7,8.

There are a few studies that suggest that plant-based diets may have a slight edge for weight loss. In a study comparing plant-based diets to non-plant-based diets, people who followed a plant-based diet lost roughly 3 pounds more than non-vegetarians.

However, this was only apparent in people who were not adherent, which suggests that plant-based diets may cause ad libitum calorie restriction due to the nature of plant-based diets themselves 9. If you are interested in more dieting information about weight loss and cutting fat, check out The 5 Secrets of High Fat Diets.

Over the last several decades, nutrition science has helped us understand exactly how effective they are for weight loss, how they compare to other diets for weight loss, and how precisely they might work for weight loss. We know that people who follow plant-based diets generally have lower body weights compared to people who do not follow plant-based diets.

We also know that plant-based diets can be effectively used for weight loss. However, they are not substantially more effective than other forms of dieting when calories and dietary adherence are accounted for.

Plant-based diets primarily work by lowering calories because plant-based diets generally have higher fiber content, greater food volume, lower energy density, less palatability, and less food reward than standard Western Diets.

If you like what you read and want even more, be sure to check out our course on plant-based diets. It is a selection of the overall Certified Nutrition Coach curriculum and will shed even more light on the subject. Tonstad, S. et al. Vegetarian diets and the incidence of diabetes in the Adventist Health Study Rosell, M.

Weight gain over 5 years in 21, meat-eating, fish-eating, vegetarian, and vegan men and women in EPIC-Oxford. Newby, P. Risk of overweight and obesity among semi-vegetarian, lactovegetarian, and vegan women.

Mishra, S. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of a plant-based nutrition program to reduce body weight and cardiovascular risk in the corporate setting: the GEICO study.

Mahon, A. Protein intake during energy restriction: effects on body composition and markers of metabolic and cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women. Huang, R.

Vegetarian Diets, and Weight Reduction: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Gardner, C. Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women: The A TO Z Weight Loss Study: A Randomized Trial.

JAMA , Dansinger, M. Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction: A Randomized Trial. Moore, W. Dietary adherence and acceptability of five different diets, including vegan and vegetarian diets, for weight loss: The New DIETs study.

Comparative effectiveness of plant-based diets for weight loss: A randomized controlled trial of five different diets. Nutrition 31, —

Scientists are increasingly convinced that vegetarian and vegan diets may be a particularly effective approach in the fight against obesity, as stated in a review recently published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

There are several reasons why carefully planned vegan and vegetarian diets may help you drop a size or two. To start with, the basic principle of weight loss is a calorie deficit , and plant foods tend to have low calorie density.

They are also rich in dietary fiber. Fiber keeps your appetite in check and regulates your blood sugar levels. Vegan and vegetarian diets may also have a beneficial impact on our gut health and inflammation levels — two factors that may contribute to excess body weight.

At the same time, not every diet based on fruit, vegetables, and whole grains can help you shed unwanted pounds with ease. To maximize the fat burning potential of your vegan or vegetarian diet, certain tweaks may be necessary.

Here, we discuss how to follow a plant-based diet for weight loss to get the best possible results, with tips from registered dietitian Rosie Martin. And if you are struggling to get enough protein, supplementing with the best vegan protein powder can help you easily top up your intake.

The best smart scales can help you track your progress, with high-tech insights. Highly processed foods tend to have low nutritional quality, even if they are labeled as vegan and marketed to health-conscious customers.

Many assume that all plant-based products are good for you. However, when these foods undergo intense processing, they are usually stripped of healthy nutrients, including dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Typical examples include products rich in simple carbohydrates, such as white bread, white pasta, and white rice, as well as ready meals, canned soups, and certain meat substitutes. Highly processed foods also tend to be relatively higher in calories. Rosie Martin is a U.

registered dietitian and health coach. She has worked as an NHS dietitian for four years in varying roles in acute and community hospitals. So if you want to follow a plant-based diet for weight loss, focus on fresh produce and minimally processed foods.

For instance, make sure that most of your carbohydrates come from whole grains , such as brown rice, rolled oats and quinoa. For more great examples, check out these seven healthy low carb grains to include in your diet.

If you want to follow a plant-based diet for weight loss, it is a good idea to cut down on starchy vegetables, such as corn, potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and beetroots. It is true that these foods are packed with essential nutrients and may provide many benefits to our health. At the same time, they are exceptionally rich in starchy carbohydrates.

Although they are a type of complex carbohydrates that help keep our metabolism in check, eating too much starch may get in the way of your weight loss efforts. Non-starchy vegetables are low in calories and carbohydrates, and exceptionally high in dietary fiber.

These include leafy greens, such as kale, spinach and lettuce, as well as broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, leeks, celery and cucumbers. These SCFAs help regulate our hunger hormones, control our blood sugar levels, help us feel happier, and even support our immune system.

Try to include non-starchy vegetables in every meal, and aim to fill at least half of your plate with them. This way you will significantly lower the calorie density of your diet, while getting a notable amount of dietary fiber. When following a plant-based diet for weight loss, make sure you get enough good quality protein.

Cutting down on energy-dense vegan foods like beans, peas, nuts and seeds helps decrease the overall calorie value of your diet. At the same time, these foods are particularly rich in protein. Without enough of them, it may be more difficult to get enough of this crucial nutrient.

One solution to this issue is to include more of the best vegan sources of protein in your diet, such as tofu, tempeh, and seitan. Another is to top up your intake with the best vegan protein powders. There are several reasons why protein is good for weight loss.

Fortunately for us, plant-based approaches to weight loss have been tested head-to-head with other non-plant-based diets in large populations. One of the more well-known studies was published in and examined the effect of a plant-based diet on weight loss and compared it to the Atkins Diet, LEARN Diet and the Zone Diet.

In this study, the researchers found that weight loss was similar among all the diets, with each diet showing substantial average weight loss. Still, higher levels of variability among the weight loss participants 1, 7. Adherence played a much more critical factor in determining who lost weight than whether they followed a plant-based diet.

This study was not the only study to show this. Another very similar study found almost identical results, wherein weight loss was similar between diets and adherence explained most of the weight loss 7,8.

There are a few studies that suggest that plant-based diets may have a slight edge for weight loss. In a study comparing plant-based diets to non-plant-based diets, people who followed a plant-based diet lost roughly 3 pounds more than non-vegetarians.

However, this was only apparent in people who were not adherent, which suggests that plant-based diets may cause ad libitum calorie restriction due to the nature of plant-based diets themselves 9.

If you are interested in more dieting information about weight loss and cutting fat, check out The 5 Secrets of High Fat Diets.

Over the last several decades, nutrition science has helped us understand exactly how effective they are for weight loss, how they compare to other diets for weight loss, and how precisely they might work for weight loss. We know that people who follow plant-based diets generally have lower body weights compared to people who do not follow plant-based diets.

We also know that plant-based diets can be effectively used for weight loss. However, they are not substantially more effective than other forms of dieting when calories and dietary adherence are accounted for. Plant-based diets primarily work by lowering calories because plant-based diets generally have higher fiber content, greater food volume, lower energy density, less palatability, and less food reward than standard Western Diets.

If you like what you read and want even more, be sure to check out our course on plant-based diets. It is a selection of the overall Certified Nutrition Coach curriculum and will shed even more light on the subject.

Tonstad, S. et al. Vegetarian diets and the incidence of diabetes in the Adventist Health Study Rosell, M. Weight gain over 5 years in 21, meat-eating, fish-eating, vegetarian, and vegan men and women in EPIC-Oxford.

Newby, P. Risk of overweight and obesity among semi-vegetarian, lactovegetarian, and vegan women. Mishra, S. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of a plant-based nutrition program to reduce body weight and cardiovascular risk in the corporate setting: the GEICO study.

Mahon, A. Protein intake during energy restriction: effects on body composition and markers of metabolic and cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women. Huang, R. Vegetarian Diets, and Weight Reduction: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Gardner, C. Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women: The A TO Z Weight Loss Study: A Randomized Trial. JAMA , Dansinger, M. Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction: A Randomized Trial.

Moore, W. Dietary adherence and acceptability of five different diets, including vegan and vegetarian diets, for weight loss: The New DIETs study. Comparative effectiveness of plant-based diets for weight loss: A randomized controlled trial of five different diets.

Nutrition 31, — Wing, R. Long-term weight loss maintenance. Brad is a trained Exercise Physiologist, Molecular Biologist, and Biostatistician. He received his B. from Washington State University and a Masters of Science in Biomechanics at the University of Idaho, and completed his PhD at the University of Idaho.

Currently, Dr. Dieter is the Chief Scientific Advisor at Outplay Inc and Harness Biotechnologies, is co-owner of Macros Inc and is active in health technology and biotechnology.

In addition, he is passionate about scientific outreach and educating the public through his role on Scientific Advisory Boards and regular writing on health, nutrition, and supplementation. Want to learn more in Brad's areas of expertise? Check out his NASM product recommendations.

org Fitness CPT Nutrition CES Sports Performance Workout Plans Wellness. Nutrition Plant-Based Diets For Weight Loss Are They More Effective? An Overview of the Science for Plant-Based Diets and weight loss There has been a relatively substantial amount of research on plant-based diets and how they affect human health.

Observational Research on plant based diets Observational research on plant-based diets is research that looks at what patterns emerge. Meta-Analytic research on plant-based diets In addition to just looking at individual intervention studies, there is also a form of research that allows you to examine multiple intervention trials at once and look to see if results hold up across numerous trials.

Why Do Plant-Based Diets Result in Weight Loss? Are Plant-Based Diets More Effective Than Other Diets?

References 1.