Implications of Plant Foods in Weight Management: Focus on Metabolic Health

Abstract

Plant foods are important component of human diet and they are excellent source health-promoting compounds, such as amino acids, dietary fibers, complex carbohydrates, unsaturated fatty acids, as well as minerals and vitamins which have been shown to increase vitality and subsequently reduce risk of chronic disease. Importantly, eatable plants despite relatively low caloric value are nutrient-dense foods, which are rich in various phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, that have been found to be beneficial for improving metabolic health, in particular lowering systemic inflammation, increasing antioxidant capability and promoting weight loss. To date, epidemiological evidence consistently demonstrated a beneficial impact of adopting plant-based dietary lifestyle characterized by increased intake of whole unprocessed foods, including fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, pulses and legumes as well as nuts and seeds, in expense of processed meats, refined carbohydrates and added sugar foods, have potential to reduce risk of high burden diseases, such type 2 diabetes, obesity or cardiovascular disease. Consequently, to assess the most applicable composition of plant-based diets for achieving metabolic improvements, nutritional value of consumed plants should be evaluated. Therefore, accounting for differences in phytochemical content of various fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, nuts and seeds the main aim of this literature review is to assess the recent clinical evidence of their contribution to weight management, and reduction of risk factors implicated in development of chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or obesity.