Vegan, vegetarian and raw: What do the doctors say?

It's January. Must be diet time, and here come all the Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers commercials. Here come, also, two mainstream studies championing vegetarian, vegan and even raw-foot eating as paths to a healthy body. Macrobiotic eating is also mentioned in one of the studies, but it doesn't get as many kudos. Both studies rank several diets according to weight-loss success, nutritional completeness, health benefits and ease. Regardless of rankings -- and whether you support popular media or not -- it's nice to see mainstream health professionals publicly supporting lifestyles that start with no meat and go from there.  Bravo, U.S. News and World Report. Bravo, Yahoo! 

http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-overall-diets. 
This ranking by U.S. News and World Report puts vegetarianism at 10 out of 25 best diets and veganism at 14 out of 25. Vegetarianism is touted for "nutritional completeness" while veganism gets lower marks because it "doesn’t offer built-in social support, and may not provide enough of some nutrients." As for the macrobiotic way of life: "Following the plan is a challenge. It’s an extreme change from the standard American diet. And it’s awfully strict."

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/weight-loss/photos/best-diets-weight-loss-2012#0. The Yahoo! study likes veganism (plain old vegetarianism isn't mentioned) more than the first study, placing it at 6 out of 16. The only caveat is that "vegans must be very committed." Veganism is a hard lifestyle to stick to, given what Americans are surrounded with and how much time and planning go into preparing meals, say the Yahoo! experts.  This study -- get this all you raw foodies out there -- ranks the raw-food lifestyle as second best, tied with Jenny Craig and second only to 1st-place dueling favorite Weight Watchers and Biggest Loser!!! 

Smoothie in community with friend and raw-food coach
Erin Maroney LaBelle. Smoothie made with
spinach, persimmon, apple, kale, carrot (tops, too)
and strawberry.

"Raw foodism traces back to the late 1800s, when Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a doctor, discovered he could cure his own jaundice by eating raw apples. Thus began a series of experiments testing the effects of raw food on human health, and the diet has continued to evolve. Most who follow the plan consume only half the calories they would eat on a cooked diet. What the experts say: The diet can deliver both short- and long-term weight loss, experts concluded, since raw foodists typically eat fewer calories than most other people. But such a restrictive, labor-intensive diet certainly isn’t for everyone."


Keep in mind, when these analysts are considering ease and convenience that not everybody lives in a town like Kent, Ohio, where there is a large community of vegan/vegetarian/raw foodies who support each other in lots of ways -- farm markets, Facebook, green smoothie happy hours, recipe sharing and vegan/vegetarian potlucks. Happy New Year!

This is "cheese," made with raw, soaked almonds.
"Chips" are thin-sliced Japanese turnips.
Made by vegan/raw expert and friend, Molly Aubuchon.