Plant-based Vs Meat-based low carb diet: Which is better for weight loss?

Weight loss and retaining the ideal weight is quite a struggle for most people that continues throughout their lives. While watching what you eat is best for maintaining good health, for many people, it is unavoidable as they tend to quickly gain weight. Of late many people are cutting down carbohydrates from their diet and many even are trying to eliminate carbs from their daily meals.

But to ensure that they do not lose vital nutrients due to low-carb or no-carb diets such people then turn to meat as replacement. Contrarily the latest research suggests that it can be a wrong move as not meat-based but plant-based foods can help you to lose weight and sustain it for the longest time.

Low-carb dieters eating animal protein gained more weight

It has been found by research published in JAMA Network Open that dieters who ate low carbohydrates and mostly relied on proteins procured from animals added more weight after some time as compared to those who included foods such as whole grains and non-starchy vegetables.

The author of the study, Qi Sun, MD, ScD who works as an associate professor in the Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition said in the press release, “The key takeaway here is that not all low-carbohydrate diets are created equal when it comes to managing weight in the long-term.”

Animal-based low-carb diets lead to weight gain over time

It has been observed that people following a low-carb diet put restrictions on eating foods that are rich in carbs such as starchy vegetables, fruit, pasta, and bread, and divert their focus on eating foods that are rich in fat and protein. Research has confirmed that low-carb diets do lead to rapid weight loss however, more research is needed to examine how eating plant-based foods can affect weight in the long run.

For the above study, the researchers obtained clinical data from 123,000 generally healthy medical professionals who were a part of some health-related studies that started during the 70s and 80s and are ongoing.

The participants are mostly from the age group of 25 to 65 years of age and 80% of the participants were women. The research showed that people who were on plant-based diets and eating low but healthy carbohydrates and fats gained weight slowly over a long time whereas those who relied heavily on animal products as well as refined carbohydrates gained weight quickly.