Veggies don’t help lose weight

Conventional wisdom holds that physical maintenance where diet is concerned goes like this: Greens, reds, nothing processed, moderation. On paper, it’s kind of obvious. In practice, it’s not actually practical a lot of the time. Somewhere along the way, the health-crazed status quo has decided that fruits and vegetables are the key to weight loss, and are integral ingredients in the pursuit of slimline excellence.

It’s hard to blame this kind of anecdotal thinking. All this stuff grows from the earth naturally, and nothing has to die for it to get from woodlands to table. It must be the way. Right? Except that’s not really how it is at all, says science. Researchers from the University of Alabama looked at research on weight loss and increased fruit and vegetable intake — which included data on over 1,200 people — and found that yeah, put down that turnip. It’s not helping you become Brad Pitt.

“Across the board, all studies we reviewed showed a near-zero effect on weight loss,” study author Kathryn Kaiser confirmed. “Fruits and vegetables have many benefits, and we encourage people to include them in their diets,” study author David Allison added. “Eat all the vegetables and fruit you want, but you have to cut out more calories from other foods to lose weight.”

There is a but, and that but is: The multitude of studies under review did not show that consuming excess fruit and vegetables caused weight gain. “It appears that an increase in servings does not increase weight, which is a good thing for getting more vitamins and fibre in one’s diet,” Kaiser added.

— in.askmen.com