Guest Author - Carolyn Chambers Clark, ARNP, EdD

What's the best way to lose weight if you're a postmenopausal woman?

A new study shows a high-carb, vegan diet leads to major weight loss for postmenopausal women.

A low-fat, plant-based diet is more effective at helping women lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity than one that contains meat, according to the results of a new study appearing in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

The study involved 59 overweight, postmenopausal women, was conducted by Neal D. Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), and colleagues at Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington University.

Half of the study participants followed a vegan diet; the other half followed a control diet based on National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines.

What foods can help you lose weight?

"The study participants following the vegan diet enjoyed unlimited servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthful foods that enabled them to lose weight without feeling hungry," says Dr. Barnard, the lead author. "As they began to experience the positive effects, weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity, the women in the intervention group became even more motivated to follow the plant-based eating plan."

What other evidence is there that eliminating meat and moving toward a vegatarian plan leads to weight loss?

This is not the only study to have the same conclusion. In a recent study of more than 55,000 Swedish women, Tufts University researcher P. Kirstin Newby and her colleagues found that 40 percent of meat-eaters were overweight or obese while only 25 to 29 percent of vegetarians and vegans were. Worldwide, vegetarian populations experience lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening diseases. A new study appearing in September's Journal of Urology shows that a low-fat, primarily vegan diet may slow the progression of prostate cancer.

A vegan diet is simple to follow and appeals to people who are busy with work and family, and many familiar recipes are easy to adapt. At least four studies published in peer-reviewed journals show that patients give the low-fat vegetarian diet a high rating in terms of acceptability, and that the transition only takes about three weeks or less.

For a copy of the study published in The American Journal of Medicine, contact Jeanne S. McVey at 202-686-2210, ext. 316, or jeannem@pcrm.org.

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