Lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other life-threatening diseases occur among vegetarian populations worldwide.

Neal D. Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and colleagues at Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington University conducted the research.

Unlimited Servings

Half of the 59 participants -- all of whom were overweight, postmenopausal women -- followed a vegan diet. The other half followed a control diet based on National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines.

"The study participants following the vegan diet enjoyed unlimited servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other healthful foods that enabled them to lose weight without feeling hungry," noted Dr. Barnard.

The simplicity of a vegan diet appeals to many people who are busy with work and family -- and familiar recipes often are easy to adapt.

"As they began to experience the positive effects -- weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity -- the women in the intervention group became even more motivated to follow the plant-based eating plan," Dr. Barnard observed.

Swift Transition

Previous research has shown that populations following a plant-based diet are far less likely to be overweight or obese.

Forty percent of meat-eaters were overweight or obese, compared to only 25 to 29 percent of vegetarians and vegans, in a recent study of more than 55,000 Swedish women conducted by Tufts University researcher P. Kirstin Newby and colleagues.

Lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other life-threatening diseases occur among vegetarian populations worldwide.

A low-fat, primarily vegan diet may slow the progression of prostate cancer, indicates a new study in the Journal of Urology.

Patients give the low-fat vegetarian diet a high rating in terms of acceptability, according to at least four studies published in peer-reviewed journals. The transition to a vegan diet generally takes about three weeks or less.