A study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, pitted a low-fat vegan diet against the Mediterranean diet, which has often been touted for its weight loss potential.
©Kirsten Nunez
The vegan diet was a win, and not just when it came to weight loss. It also beat out the Mediterranean diet when it came to body composition, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol.
©Kirsten Nunez
“While many people think of the Mediterranean diet as one of the best ways to lose weight, the diet actually crashed and burned when we put it to the test,” says study author Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, in a press release. “In a randomized, controlled trial, the Mediterranean diet caused no weight loss at all.”
©Kirsten Nunez
So what did the participants eat, exactly? The Mediterranean diet consisted of fruit, veggies and legumes plus fish, low-fat dairy, and extra virgin olive oil, with a minimal amount of red meat or saturated fat.
©Kirsten Nunez
The low-fat vegan diet consisted of no animal products at all and a focus on fruit, veggies, whole grains, and beans/legumes. It included approximately 75% of energy from carbohydrates, 15% protein, and 10% fat.
©Kirsten Nunez