Are vegetarian diets the best way to lower all disease risks and maintain a low body weight?

According to media reports they are. Vegetarian diets are also endorsed by a group called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; this group and many others believes that a vegetarian diet is the diet for all mankind.This is despite the fact that the diets of various native and indigenous cultures all include animal foods.The same is true of our ancient ancestor — Paleolithic man.

To find the right answer, people like to compare our diets and intestinal tracts to other species in the animal kingdom for an indication of how we were meant to eat according to nature. They find that we fit best into the category called omnivores — animals that eat both plants and animals. So, no help there.

My experience is that many people try vegetarian diets but few are able to stick with them long term. A survey done in the UK showed that about 1 in 10 people adhere to a vegetarian diet in that country, and 8% report they have tried being vegetarian but went back to eating meat.1

Studies on vegetarians do find consistently lower rates of high blood pressure, and some studies suggest that vegetarian diets may lead to consistently lower body weight for individuals following them.2-3 But does this mean that we should all migrate en masse to vegetarian diets? In my opinion — no.

What is REALLY overlooked in the research to date on vegetarian diets is that it is conducted on the small percentage of people who choose vegetarian diets and are able to stick with them. So we don’t know yet if some people are better suited to low animal protein intake or not — though that may be the case.

The biggest health problems facing the world today are problems related to insulin resistance,4 and it has been shown that people with insulin resistance do not respond well to high carb, low protein diets — which is exactly what a vegetarian diet is.

One study looked at vegetarian diets in comparison to low fat diets that included animal protein.5 The subjects in this study were overweight or obese women with insulin resistance. They were permitted to choose whether they preferred to eat animal protein or not. Both diets were higher carb (both lower in calories and fat), with one that included animal protein and one that didn’t.

In the end, neither group had any significant changes in their lipids, triglycerides, or insulin — despite the fact that their lower calorie intake did lead to some weight loss in both groups. So, there was no magic in the vegetarian diet for the overweight and insulin resistant — like you would think there would be from reading the headlines.

The bottom line, from my perspective, is that all diets should include plenty of healthy plant foods. Whether you eat animal protein or not is a matter of preference; so far though, if you are overweight and insulin resistant, you are probably better off in the low carb higher protein category.

References

1. http://www.vegsoc.org/info/statveg.html
2. Appleby PN, et al. Pub Health Nutr 2002 Oct;5(5), 645-54.
3. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Jun;27(6):728-34.
4. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/health/11diabetes.html?pagewanted=print
5. Burke LE, et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2007, 86 (3), 588-596.

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute (formerly part of Living Longer Institute).She offers personal nutritional counseling at LMI for clients who need help with their diet in relation to illness or disease. Laura also provides educational services in the areas of health promotion, wellness, and disease prevention.To learn more, click here.]

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