The 27-year-old star, who was raised in Devon, England, explained:

"There are loads of really cool vegan places opening up [in Los Angeles] now. I've always rather sneered at vegetarian and vegan food - but a girlfriend of mine took me to a vegan restaurant and I loved it.

"People always asked me whether I diet - instead of thinking, 'I can't have this' or I can't have that', I always try to include healthier options in my world. It's about opening yourself up to healthier choices rather than restricting yourself all the time. That way, you can still indulge sometimes."

Asked what constitutes an indulge, Rosie told the Mail on Sunday

newspaper: "A good old roast dinner."

The blonde beauty also explained that she learned to cook from her mother and retains a passion for the food she was fed growing up.

She said: "I guess I learned to cook from my mum. She doesn't really enjoy it, but she's a great cook."

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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley loves a "good old roast dinner".

Evidence that vegetables the more the merrier are good for you is legion. And heres more: Researchers who analyzed studies of people put on vegetarian or vegan diets found that they lost more than seven pounds regardless of calorie counting or exercise plans.

The study published Thursday in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics comes as many people are trying to stick to or already have abandoned New Years plans to lose weight with the dozens and dozens of plans on the market.

The good news for such people is that they dont need to monitor portions or calories and still can lose weight, said one of the researchers, Susan Levin, director of nutrition education at the Physicians Committee for Social Responsibility. This is not about moderation, its about healthful choices.

Dieters could approach their diet with this idea: What is the lifestyle choice I can make thats sustainable? Levin said in a phone interview.

The researchers reviewed 15 studies focused on plant-based diets, from vegan (no animal products) to vegetarian diets in which followers eat eggs and dairy products but no meat.

Half the studies were intended to help participants lose weight; the others were to treat health concerns such as diabetes, chronic pain or arthritis.

More than half of U.S. residents are estimated to be overweight. Obesity and overweight are linked to such diseases as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Observational studies show that people who eat plant-based diets weigh less than those who dont, said the researchers, who are from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. That group, headed by Dr. Neal Barnard, has long been a vocal advocate for vegetarian diets and a supporter of animal welfare organizations.

The researchers wanted to learn whether such observations could be quantified, so they looked at studies in which people were put on vegetarian or vegan diets for at least a month. On average, people lost 7.48 pounds an average that included people who did not keep to the diet. Among those who did keep to a vegetarian or vegan diet, the weight loss was just over 10 pounds.

Fifteen studies were included in the analysis. Eleven used vegan diets, which exclude meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products. One of them prescribed a raw vegan diet, meaning no foods are cooked at temperatures above 118 degrees.

The study talks about plant-based diets; that distinction is important because vegetarian or vegan diets are not necessarily healthful: Plenty of chips, cookies, white bread are all free of animal products.

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Study finds plant-based diets lead to weight loss

Works from the Tendai Buddhist Gakuenji temple in Shimane Prefecture form the feature exhibition of Kyoto National Museums New Years show. Tradition tells that the priest Chishun established Gakuenji around the time of the Empress Suiko (554-628) though centuries passed before it was first alluded to in literary records. Arguably a famous sacred temple among Kyotos cultural elite and itinerant mountain priests in earlier days, the first official nominal reference to its existence appeared in the 1213 Mandate to Gakuenji from the Administrative Office of Mudo-ji on Mt. Hiei.

With literary authentication centuries later, the sculptural record fills in the vacuum, providing opportunity to review some of the early history of Japans sculptural development, which was based on imported models.

As an exhibition this show is small scale, and the works themselves never reach beyond hip height. The significance, however, is the emphasis on the syncretic relation between the import of Buddhism and the native Shinto in what is generally considered to be a distinctive area of Shinto religion surrounding the Izumo Grand Shrine.

Standing Buddha (seventh century, Asuka Period) is intimate in scale, not a foot tall, showing the influences of contemporary Chinese Buddhist sculpture or perhaps that of the Three Kingdoms Period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) of Korean sculpture. These were common prototypes emulated in Japan at the time, and the way the robes gather around the shoulders of the figure about halfway down the upper arm, and the lack of an obi belt, indicate foreign influences.

Later Heian Period (794-1185) comparisons can be more indicative of local and foreign rapprochements. Standing Acala Vidyaraja (Fudo Myo-o) (11th century,) has an overall smooth appearance and a general lack of detail in the modeling of the surface features such as the hair with its lotus flower or the draping that encases the carved wooden body. The iconographical features of the Wisdom King are all there, however, including the upright sword in the right hand, the lasso (kensaku) in the left, and the two fangs that protrude from the mouth one up, one down.

A 13th-century example of the same deity is invested with much greater realism in the treatment of the hair, fierce facial features and flowing garments. Now aged and black, originally the body was painted blue and the garment covered in gold foil applied using a technique called kirikane. The rippling appearance of the fabric beneath the obi was inspired by Song Dynasty (960-1279) Chinese sculpture.

Two final pieces emphasize syncretism. The bronze Standing Uho Doji (13th century), a Buddhist manifestation of the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, measures less than 2 cm tall. It was found inside a ritual Buddhist bell, the provenance of which dates to the 18th or 19th century.

An Ancient Temple of the Sanin Region: The Treasures of Gakuen-ji Temple in Shimane at Kyoto National Museum runs till Feb. 15; 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. 560. Closed Mon. http://www.kyohaku. go.jp/eng/ index.html

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Where Buddhism and Shintoism meet