We all know there are myriad benefits—to our health, the environment and (of course) animals—attached to going vegetarian. Still, for many of us, total abstinence from meat is difficult to imagine as a sustainable lifestyle choice. However, new research provides compelling motivation for trying a veggie diet for at least a spell of time if the goal is to lose weight. The (admittedly small) study, published in the Journal of The American College of Nutrition, followed 74 subjects with Type 2 diabetes. Half the group was placed on a vegetarian diet, while the other half was given a conventional, low-calorie, anti-diabetic diet. After six months, the former group lost twice as much as the latter, providing some evidence that vegetarian diets might be worth a try for those trying to shed pounds. Again, this was a small study so we suggest you take it with a grain of salt—sprinkled onto sweet potatoes, of course! Here, a few meat-free recipes to get you started should you decide the vegetarian diet is worth a whirl!
