Good News for the Vegetarian in You!
by Whitney Barns
Let’s admit it; plenty of us out there are looking for a quick fix to those soft love-handles left over from last holiday season. When you think about weight loss, you may roll your eyes, throw back your head and complain that nothing ever works! This is a common complaint among many people, whether they consume a “normal” omnivore diet, a vegetarian diet, a vegan diet or something somewhere in between.
Many people have seen the “Got Milk” advertisements informing the public of milk’s ability to assist in weight loss, as a part of a healthy diet. The ad campaign claims that the nutrients in milk, along with a low calorie diet, will help a person to lose weight from body fat and shrink the waist. So what about those who don’t drink milk, whether due to allergy or intolerance, type of diet, or plain old preference? There’s good news for you! A recent study found that equal weight loss from fat can be achieved from making soy milk a staple part of your diet in just the same way cow’s milk can.
In the study, a relatively small number of overweight and obese women with approximately the same body compositions were randomly assigned to incorporate three cups per day of either cow’s milk or soymilk into their diets. Since previous studies had found high calcium intake to be inversely related to low body fat and weight, the soy milk was Light Silk soy milk, which is calcium fortified. To make all factors equal, protein was added to the soymilk to equal the composition of cow’s milk. The women’s personal energy requirements were determined at the beginning of the study, and then 500 calories were deducted to induce weight loss in both groups of participants. No nutritional supplements were allowed and caffeine intake remained constant at pre-study intake levels (for those coffee addicts out there!) throughout the duration of the study. Exercise schedules were monitored to make sure that no participants increased their level of activity because although exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, it is not always the focus of losing weight!
By the end of the eight week study, “the average weight loss of participants receiving soy milk and skim milk was 9.4 lbs. and 8.3 lbs., respectively. Reductions were equally seen in changes in weight, fat percentage, abdominal circumference, and fat free mass between soy milk and skim milk groups. This small study conducted using women just like you provides some encouragement that healthy weight loss can occur with low intake or no intake of cow’s milk—it only takes the simple substitution of soy milk with plenty of calcium and a healthy, reduced calorie diet! More thorough studies involving soy products and weight loss are still to come, so until then, keep your body healthy, your belly happy, and your taste buds tingling!
To help you on your way to a slim and healthy body, it is recommended by the USDA to consume 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products. Each cup of fat-free milk contains 90 calories, 9 grams of protein and 310 milligrams of Calcium—that’s 30% of your daily needs for calcium! Calcium can also come from other dairy sources, such as yogurt, cheese and many others. For those of you who drink soy milk instead, the Light Silk soy milk from the study mentioned above, as an example, contains 70 calories per cup, 6 grams of protein, and 30% of your recommended intake of calcium for the day! Drink your way thin by including 3 cups of one, or some of both, of these calcium providing drinks as part of a regular, low calorie diet, then just watch your waistline shrink!
To view abstract to original article, click here. (http://www.adajournal.org/article/PIIS0002822307014745/abstract)
Let’s admit it; plenty of us out there are looking for a quick fix to those soft love-handles left over from last holiday season. When you think about weight loss, you may roll your eyes, throw back your head and complain that nothing ever works! This is a common complaint among many people, whether they consume a “normal” omnivore diet, a vegetarian diet, a vegan diet or something somewhere in between.
Many people have seen the “Got Milk” advertisements informing the public of milk’s ability to assist in weight loss, as a part of a healthy diet. The ad campaign claims that the nutrients in milk, along with a low calorie diet, will help a person to lose weight from body fat and shrink the waist. So what about those who don’t drink milk, whether due to allergy or intolerance, type of diet, or plain old preference? There’s good news for you! A recent study found that equal weight loss from fat can be achieved from making soy milk a staple part of your diet in just the same way cow’s milk can.
In the study, a relatively small number of overweight and obese women with approximately the same body compositions were randomly assigned to incorporate three cups per day of either cow’s milk or soymilk into their diets. Since previous studies had found high calcium intake to be inversely related to low body fat and weight, the soy milk was Light Silk soy milk, which is calcium fortified. To make all factors equal, protein was added to the soymilk to equal the composition of cow’s milk. The women’s personal energy requirements were determined at the beginning of the study, and then 500 calories were deducted to induce weight loss in both groups of participants. No nutritional supplements were allowed and caffeine intake remained constant at pre-study intake levels (for those coffee addicts out there!) throughout the duration of the study. Exercise schedules were monitored to make sure that no participants increased their level of activity because although exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, it is not always the focus of losing weight!
By the end of the eight week study, “the average weight loss of participants receiving soy milk and skim milk was 9.4 lbs. and 8.3 lbs., respectively. Reductions were equally seen in changes in weight, fat percentage, abdominal circumference, and fat free mass between soy milk and skim milk groups. This small study conducted using women just like you provides some encouragement that healthy weight loss can occur with low intake or no intake of cow’s milk—it only takes the simple substitution of soy milk with plenty of calcium and a healthy, reduced calorie diet! More thorough studies involving soy products and weight loss are still to come, so until then, keep your body healthy, your belly happy, and your taste buds tingling!
To help you on your way to a slim and healthy body, it is recommended by the USDA to consume 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products. Each cup of fat-free milk contains 90 calories, 9 grams of protein and 310 milligrams of Calcium—that’s 30% of your daily needs for calcium! Calcium can also come from other dairy sources, such as yogurt, cheese and many others. For those of you who drink soy milk instead, the Light Silk soy milk from the study mentioned above, as an example, contains 70 calories per cup, 6 grams of protein, and 30% of your recommended intake of calcium for the day! Drink your way thin by including 3 cups of one, or some of both, of these calcium providing drinks as part of a regular, low calorie diet, then just watch your waistline shrink!
To view abstract to original article, click here. (http://www.adajournal.org/article/PIIS0002822307014745/abstract)
posted by Margie Geiser, MBA, RD, NSCA-CPT at
10:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home