Vegetarian diet makes you slim

Vegetarians are less likely to be overweight or obese

04.10.2012

According to the Vegetarian Federation of Germany (Vebu), a vegetarian diet can help to lose excess weight. A vegetarian or vegan diet has the potential to reduce excess weight. In addition, the slim weight can be kept better afterwards.

Vegetarians are leaner
People who are overweight often have numerous diets behind them. Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows how difficult it can be. Especially so-called "crash diets" hardly lead to a lasting success. Therefore, physicians advise against such radical diets because they provoke the so-called yo-yo effect. In the end, sufferers are a short time later even thicker than before. Nutrition experts advise instead to a permanent diet change. A vegetarian diet could offer many benefits here. Vegetarians have lower average body weight and body mass index (BMI) than people who eat meat. Obesity or even obesity is relatively rare among vegetarians and especially among vegans.

According to a recent study on "Adult Health in Germany" (DEGS) of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), two-thirds of men and 50 percent of women in Germany are overweight. "The cause of obesity is often in a malnutrition that is too rich in dietary energy, animal fats and proteins and isolated carbohydrates and it lacks fiber and phytochemicals," says nutritionist Prof. Dr. med. Claus Leitzmann: "Among the unfavorable products are sausage, cheese and other fat dairy products as well as pastries made from white flour with a high sugar content."

To stay slim, eat fruits, nuts and vegetables
In order to lose weight and stay slim afterwards, foods that are low in calories and high in fiber should be consumed. These include fresh vegetables, legumes, fruits and salads, which also boost your metabolism and make you full for longer. Vegetarians automatically access these foods and are therefore less likely to suffer from obesity than meat eaters. For example, 100 grams of animal sausage contains 20 times more calories than 100 grams of tomatoes. However, tomatoes have just as many minerals as calcium and magnesium. Thus, a herbal diet provides just as many nutrients, but have a significantly lower calorie content.

Unlike a conventional diet, vegetarians do not have to renounce, but can continue to feast and enjoy. "The vegetarian cuisine is incredibly diverse, especially in recent years, the supply in restaurants but also in supermarkets has greatly increased," said VEBU CEO Sebastian Zösch. "The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) now recommends a vegetarian diet as a permanent food."

"Plant-based nutrition is the best you can do for your body. Both to lose excess weight to keep his desired weight or prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure, "says Prof. Dr. med. Claus Leitzmann, former director of the Institute of Nutrition Science at the University of Giessen. Leitzmann: "It is well known that vegetarians are rarely overweight and suffer less frequently from the widespread diseases of affluence."

Vegetarian can be a culinary art
How versatile the vegetarian kitchen can be, is shown by the team of "VegiTV". Carsten Bergmeyer and Sebastian Bertram cook, bake and bake vegan and vegetarian dishes. "We want to show how versatile the vegetarian kitchen is," says Bertram. "Most people imagine vegetarian dishes bland and boring." That's because non-vegetarians imagine a plate of potatoes, gravy, and vegetables on which the meat is missing. "But who feeds vegetarian, cooks completely different. With our cooking show, which is broadcast on Youtube, we put the proof: Vegetarian tastes! "

30-day Veggie Diet
If you want to try a vegetarian diet and lose a few kilos, you can order a non-binding and also free "Veggi Abo" from the vegetarian federation. Information on this is also available on the Vebu page. (vebu, gr)

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