Scientists from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine have found that a plant-based diet may help overweight individuals lose weight and reduce insulin resistance.
The research was published in Nutrition and Diabetes and conducted by Hana Kahleova and colleagues.
A plant-based diet consists mostly or entirely of foods derived from plants.
Such diets encompass a wide range of eating patterns that include minimal animal products and emphasize vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Some plant foods—such as tofu, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, almonds, and quinoa—are also rich sources of plant protein.
Previous research has shown that plant-based diets can be effective for treating obesity.
In the current study, researchers examined the effects of a plant-based diet on body weight and insulin resistance, with particular focus on the role of plant protein in these outcomes.
The study included 75 overweight participants who followed either a plant-based diet or a control diet for 16 weeks.
The researchers found that the plant-based diet was more effective than the control diet in improving body weight, reducing fat mass, and lowering markers of insulin resistance.
Only participants in the plant-based group experienced significant reductions in body weight, body fat, and insulin resistance.
Further analysis showed that reductions in body fat were associated with increased intake of plant protein and decreased intake of animal protein.
Specifically, lower intake of leucine was linked to decreased fat mass.
Leucine is an essential amino acid involved in protein synthesis and is abundant in animal-based foods such as chicken, beef, pork, fish (especially tuna), milk, cheese, and eggs.
The researchers also found that reduced histidine intake was associated with improvements in insulin resistance, independent of changes in body mass index (BMI) and calorie intake.
Histidine is another amino acid obtained from food and is involved in tissue growth and repair as well as blood cell production. It is commonly found in animal protein sources such as meat, eggs, and dairy products.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that a plant-based diet may help overweight individuals lose weight and improve insulin resistance.
They suggested that the benefits may stem from increased intake of plant protein combined with reduced intake of animal-derived amino acids such as leucine and histidine.
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