Replacing Meat with White Button Mushrooms Good for Weight Loss, Waist Reduction

According to a new study, substituting meat with white button mushrooms can help people lose weight.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Weight Management Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and included 73 adults who were obese.

The clinical trial lasted for a year, during which participants were kept on a diet that had white mushrooms instead of meat. The study also had a control group that didn't substitute meat. Women made up some 88 percent of the 73 people in the study.

After a year, participants who had replaced meat with mushrooms had lost about 7 pounds of weight when compared with the control group. Also, the intervention group showed improvements in body composition.

White button mushrooms are known to have antitumor, antiviral and antibacterial properties, and its consumption has been linked with an increased immunity to common infections.

Study participants had lower calorie intake and lost more weight than the group that hadn't replaced meat with mushrooms. These people had reduced inches around their abdomen (about 2.6 inches on an average) and had lower percent of body fat, according to a news release.

The study will be presented at the meeting of the American Society for Nutrition at Experimental Biology 2013 on Monday, April 22.