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Low-sodium vegetable juice may help weight loss for people with metabolic s

Category: General Health

Overweight people with metabolic syndrome may do better at losing weight if they drink at least one glass of low-sodium vegetable juice per day, according to results presented at the 2009 Experimental Biology Meeting.

Comparing patients on the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, researchers at Baylor College found that participants who drank at least 8 ounces of low-sodium vegetable juice a day lost four pounds over the course of 12 weeks, while those who did not drink vegetable juice only lost one pound over the same course of time.

"Diet and body weight are key modifiable factors in changing the course of metabolic syndrome," said the author of the study, John Foreyt, PhD. He added that the study shows that simple proactive measures can have beneficial health implications.

Metabolic syndrome is defined by a cluster of risk factors that indicate increased risk for heart disease, stroke or diabetes. The components of the syndrome include excess body fat in the midsection, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal blood lipids as determined by blood tests. An estimated 47 million Americans have some combination of these risk factors. Of these, many are also overweight or obese, further increasing their risk of disease.