"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Vegan nutrition shows positive effects in only 8 weeks

December 4, 2023 – People who followed a vegan eating regimen improved their health after just eight weeks in comparison with a control group who ate meat during this era, a Study published In JAMA network opened shows.

Researchers at Stanford Medicine divided 22 pairs of similar twins into two groups from May to June 2022. Both groups ate a healthy eating regimen filled with vegetables and whole grains, but one group ate a healthy amount of meat while the opposite group ate a strictly plant-based eating regimen.

Both groups got meals for 4 weeks and told which snacks to eat and which to not eat, the study said. For the ultimate 4 weeks, participants cooked for themselves following instructions from the research team. A registered dietitian was available to reply questions throughout the study, Stanford University said in an announcement Press release.

After eight weeks, the group that ate a vegan eating regimen showed lower insulin levels, lower weight and reduced levels of lipoprotein cholesterol, a protein linked to heart disease and stroke.

“The results of this study suggest that a healthy plant-based diet provides a significant cardiometabolic protective benefit compared to a healthy omnivore diet,” the researchers concluded.

Using similar twins allowed researchers to cut back variables equivalent to genetic differences, upbringing and lifestyle selections, the press release said. The twins were chosen from the Stanford Twin Registry, a database of dizygotic and monozygotic twins who agreed to take part in the research.

The study's lead creator, Professor of Medicine Christopher Gardner, PhD., acknowledged that the majority people wouldn’t go vegan, but that eating more vegatables and fruits would improve people's health.

“More important than a strict vegan diet is incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet,” he said within the press release. “Fortunately, having fun with vegan multicultural foods like Indian masala, Asian stir-fries and African lentil-based dishes can be a good first step.”