03/15/21 Without meat, milk and eggs to optimal weight
On the occasion of Obesity Awareness Day, Animal Friends Croatia encourages going vegan
- A vegan diet is more effective in encouraging weight loss than the Mediterranean diet
March 16 is marked Croatian Obesity Awareness Day, which affects more than 700 million adults worldwide, while in Croatia every second person over the age of 18 is overweight, and every third child aged eight is obese.
Dr. med. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), led a revolutionary new study on the impact of diet on body weight. He states that a low-fat vegan diet has caused significant and consistent weight loss and shown better results for weight, body composition, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol levels compared to the Mediterranean diet and is more effective for weight loss due to its association with increased fiber intake and reduced calorie intake as well as reduced-fat consumption.
Animal Friends Croatia points out that studies prove that a vegan diet can prevent and treat heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney failure, hypertension, obesity, and a series of other ailments. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, professor emeritus of food biochemistry at Cornell University, in "The Chinese Study", according to many, one of the most important books on nutrition ever written and one of the most comprehensive studies of human nutrition of all times, also answers the question of how to stop the obesity epidemic: "I find veganism an ideal way to eat. It is primarily low in calories and thoroughly reduces the risk of disease. In addition, we have not seen any shortcomings in veganism.”
A study based on data from the World Health Organization and John Hopkins University in the US also found a link between obesity and mortality from Covid-19 - as many as 90% of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic were confirmed in countries with high rates of obesity. Therefore, obesity is not only a medical problem but also a financial one as it increases healthcare costs more and more.
Dr. med. Caldwell Esselstyn pointed out that some people think the vegan diet is extreme, but that half a million people a year end up with open chests, a vein removed from a leg, and sutured to a coronary artery, which other people would call extreme. Animal Friends Croatia agrees that the severe health consequences of eating foods of animal origin are very extreme. They say that the vegan diet is intended for everyone, not just vegans and that the path to health and longevity is through a varied diet based on plant–based food, which with their composition and rich nutritional value benefit people of all ages.
"The analysis of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that obesity can be associated with a decline in life expectancy of as much as three and a half years in the next 30 years in Croatia. Obesity and other diseases and premature death can be prevented by a varied diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, seeds, and nuts that provide all the nutrients for optimal health, which also affects the preservation of the environment and the prevention of suffering and death of animals," concluded Animal Friends Croatia.
They invite everyone to sign up for the 30-day Vegan Challenge at www.veganopolis.net and to see that the vegan diet is an effective ally in the fight against obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and digestive diseases, in the prevention of tumor development, and in the bolstering of immunity, energy, and vitality of the whole organism.