Vegetable Entrees in Nitrogen Balance and Obesity Studies
The first study was designed to evaluate by the nitrogen balance method the protein quality of a pure-vegetarian diet containing about 6 grams of nitrogen per day. The group as a whole maintained nitrogen equilibrium the average being - 0.11 grams of nitrogen per day. Two subjects were not in nitrogen balance, however, factors other than diet may have contributed to these results and are discussed in the thesis. Hemoglobin, serum cholesterol and total serum proteins did not change significantly during the study. The average true digestibility of 5 of the subjects was 85 percent. It was concluded that this pure vegetarian diet containing 6 grams of nitrogen was adequate to maintain nitrogen balance in most of the subjects. In the second study a low-carbohydrate lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet high in unsaturated fat was fed to eleven obese women to determine the effect of such a diet on weight loss, serum cholesterol levels and degree of ketosis. A satisfactory rate of weight loss was attained in each subject, with an average weight reduction of 2.6 pounds per week for the group. Serum cholesterol levels were lowered significantly and there was no marked ketosis in any subject. The diet in general was well accepted, with an apparent minimum amount of hunger for this calorie level.
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition, Molecular, Genetic, and Biochemical Nutrition, Diet Therapy; Vegetables; Nitrogen; Body Weight
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