Vegetable Juice May Help to Lose Weight

(United Press International) Drinking at least one glass of low-sodium vegetable juice daily may help overweight people with metabolic syndrome lose weight, U.S. researchers say.

Metabolic syndrome is defined by a cluster of risk factors, including excess body fat in the midsection, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal blood lipids. If left uncontrolled it can increase risk for both diabetes and heart disease.

Study author John Foreyt of the Baylor College of Medicine said the 81 participants in the study were primarily African-American and Hispanic adults -- populations that typically have a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome.

Each group followed a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet that emphasizes eating lean meat, lower fat dairy, whole grains, vegetables and fruit daily, and keeping saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol and sodium in check.

Two of the groups were given Low Sodium V8 100 percent vegetable juice and instructed to drink one or two cups every day for 12 weeks, while the third group was not given any vegetable juice.

The researchers found that participants who drank at least 8 ounces of low-sodium vegetable juice as part of a calorie-controlled Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet lost four pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but drank no juice lost 1 pound.

The findings were presented at Experimental Biology meeting in New Orleans.

Dr. Jonny's comment: There could be several reasons why the vegetable juice helped these folks lose weight:

One, it may have cut appetite, causing those on the juice to eat a bit less even though "technically" they were following the same diet. In these experiments, it's fiendishly difficult to track every calorie of every participant, so even though both the juice group and the no-juice group got the same instructions, the juice drinkers may have eaten less.

Two, as we're finding more and more, fruits and vegetables (and their juices) may have an indirect effect on weight loss, simply by virtue of how anti-inflammatory they are. Inflammation is a component of obesity, and reducing inflammation always helps everything- and may also help with weight loss.

In any case, I've been touting fresh made vegetable (and some fruit) juice for as long as I've been writing this newsletter. And if nothing else is around, a V-8 might be a very good way to get some (though not all) of the benefits of freshly made juice. And regular consumption- along with a reduced calorie, low-sugar eating program- might even help you lose weight.