Kathy Freston: “Vegan Is The New Atkins”
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Kathy Freston wrote a pro-vegan article recently. Here’s a snippet:
“what is someone who wants to lose weight supposed to do? The answer is fairly simple: Switch to a diet made up of a diverse selection of foods: vegetables, whole grains (we should skip the refined carbs– South Beach gets that right, of course), beans, chickpeas, nuts, fruit, lentils, etc. A wide array of evidence shows that vegans are less likely to be overweight or obese than meat-eaters–because it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle transition. Because these foods are less calorie dense and lower in fat than animal products, and because all plant foods contain zero cholesterol, eating that way allows us to shed weight in a sustainable way.
“And a well-rounded vegan diet will provide us with a healthy mixture of complex carbs, protein and healthy fats, as well as vitamins, minerals and fiber. Because most nutrition advice is aimed at meat-eaters, it’s worth reading up a bit on how to maximize the health advantages of a vegan diet; I like the Optimal Vegan Nutrition web page. And of course we shouldn’t think that our healthy new diet means giving up tasty food–web sites and cookbooks with thousands of delicious vegan recipes abound; eating should be a celebration”
While there’s certainly some controversy regarding the promotion of veganism as a weight loss method, the fact remains that vegans DO tend to be lighter and that even the heavy ones are generally healthier than their meat-eating counterparts.
The article is a gentle reminder that veganism is a healthy weight loss method because it’s not a diet, it’s a philosophy. We’ve written about this concept here before: it tends to be much easier to decline cheese (and the extra calories, fat, hormones, pesticides, and cancer-causing agents in the cheese) when one thinks of the ethical implications of dairy cows, veal, and all their suffering than when one thinks of how good they’ll look in a bikini. Veganism becomes a lifelong commitment to animals, the environment, and one’s own health, not a temporary fad diet to lose a few pounds.
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