Nutrition, Protein, Vegetarians / 25.11.2024

Plant-based proteins have garnered significant attention in nutrition studies due to their significant health benefits and ability to protect the body from chronic diseases. Given this, it's reasonable to assume that the growing popularity of plant-based diets, which promote healthy and sustainable lifestyles, provides ample evidence of their crucial role in maintaining health and preventing heart disease, obesity, and various cancers. A vital synthesis of important discoveries has influenced the growing significance of plant proteins in health. It demonstrates metabolic benefits, aids in the prevention of disease, and has ramifications for the environment and public health.

Health Benefits of Plant Proteins

Plant proteins offer significant metabolic benefits that may reduce the risk of disease, as highlighted by McCarty in his study in 1999. He observed that, in contrast to animal proteins, which may cause an excessive release of insulin, plant proteins stimulate the production of glucagon. This mechanism effectively regulates blood sugar levels, thereby reducing the risk of obesity, heart diseases, and certain cancers, such as breast and colon cancer. Furthermore, plant proteins promote improved hormone balance, which reduces inflammation, a key cause of chronic illnesses, and helps lower lipid levels and fat storage. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Vegetarians, Weight Research / 12.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD Director of Clinical Research at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Charles University in Prague MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The vegetarian diet was found to be almost twice as effective in reducing body weight, resulting in an average loss of 6.2kg compared to 3.2kg for the conventional diet. Using magnetic resonance imaging, we studied adipose tissue in the subjects’ thighs to see how the two different diets had affected subcutaneous, subfascial and intramuscular fat. We found that both diets caused a similar reduction in subcutaneous fat. However, subfascial fat was only reduced in response to the vegetarian diet, and intramuscular fat was more greatly reduced by the vegetarian diet. (more…)
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, JAMA, Vegetarians / 24.02.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yoko Yokoyama, Ph.D., M.P.H. National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan, MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Yokoyama: We found consistent evidence that a vegetarian diet has a significant blood-pressure-lowering effect, and this was clear both in observational studies of individuals who had chosen vegetarian diets on their own and in intervention trials in which people were asked to make diet changes. Our meta-analysis included 32 observational studies and 7 controlled clinical trials. In the observational studies, vegetarian diets were associated with blood pressures that were about 7 mmHg lower systolic and 5 mmHg lower diastolic. In the clinical trials, the reductions were about 5 mmHg systolic and 2 mmHg diastolic. These are pooled averages, so for some individuals, particularly those with higher body weights or higher blood pressures at the beginning, the blood-pressure-lowering effects could be much greater. (more…)