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A study has found that a vegetarian diet that focuses on low-carb foods is more helpful in reducing carbon emissions than a vegetarian diet that does not consider carbohydrate intake significantly.
A research team led by Professor David Jenkins from the Department of Nutrition at the University of Toronto, Canada, published a study on the 26th (local time) in the Journal of the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, an international scientific journal, that a vegetarian diet that focuses on foods low-carb comes with far fewer carbon emissions than a regular vegetarian diet.
The research team divided 164 participants with type 2 diabetes into two groups and asked them to eat an entirely vegetarian (vegan) diet excluding foods derived from animals and a vegetarian (lacto-fo) diet including eggs and dairy products for 3 months each. .
The vegan diet reduced carbohydrate intake by increasing the proportion of fruit, vegetables and plant-based protein foods rather than grains. The lacto-ovo diet did not strictly limit carbohydrate foods. The calories (kcal) in both diets were 60% of the recommended calories for men and women.
After 3 months, both groups of participants had lost weight. The vegan diet group lost an average of 5.9 kg, and the lacto-ovo diet group lost an average of 5.2 kg.
The level of glycated hemoglobin (haemoglobin A1c), which determines the risk of diabetes, also decreased by 1% in both groups. The higher the level of glucose in the blood, the more glycated hemoglobin is produced. If it is more than 7%, it is considered a risk stage for complications of diabetes. Medication is usually required to reduce the level of glycated hemoglobin by 1%.
The researchers also noted potential greenhouse gas emissions from both diets. Based on the data that measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced in the process of processing each food included in the two diets, the emissions were calculated for three months. As a result, the group that ate the low-carb vegan diet emitted 0.63 kg less carbon dioxide (CO2) per day on average than the group that ate the lacto-fo diet.
Professor Jenkins said, “The low carb vegetarian diet and the overall vegetarian diet were effective in terms of weight loss and blood sugar control.
