Why plant-based diet is good for you?

The real food is a whole, one – component foods with a low additive and a high nutritional value.

“Some people think the plant-based, whole-foods diet is extreme. Half a million people a year will have their chests opened up and a vein taken from their leg and sewn onto their coronary artery. Some people would call that extreme.”

― Russell Simmons, The Happy Vegan: A Guide to Living a Long, Healthy, and Successful Life

Improve your health and weight with a naturally low calorie, high – nutrient density, vegetable diet.

Create dozens of simple, healthy and optimal healthy food combinations for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Whether you’re interested in reducing animal products such as meat and dairy products or removing them from your diet, or whether you’re looking to adopt a vegan diet in a healthy way, this article will educate, inspire and empower you to know how to eat well with confidence.

You can enjoy many delicious meals when you follow a vegetable and whole food diet.

Vegetable diets provide all the proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health and are often higher in fibre and phytonutrients.

Olive oil, nuts and walnut butter, seeds and avocado are particularly healthy options.

Beans and cereals are protein on a vegetable diet, and they are also high in carbohydrates.

Foods such as dairy products, eggs, poultry, meat and seafood should be used more than a supplement to a vegetable – based meal, not as a major focus.

Coconut milk is rich in saturated fats and therefore low – fat milk is a better choice for daily use.

A Whole-Foods, Plant-Based Shopping List^[1]

Is plant-based diet good for diabetes?

Studies among people with type 2 diabetes show, that a vegetable diet has proven to be more effective in reducing blood sugar levels than a conventional diabetes diet.

In fact, studies show that the risk of type 2 diabetes is 62 percent lower for people who eat a healthy, vegetable diet, compared to people who eat a diet with high animal or high processed foods, even with changes in body weight and other risk factors.

Doctors should consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients, especially with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease or obesity.

Research on the risk of overweight and food groups and diet models shows that a vegetable diet seems to be a reasonable approach to preventing obesity in children as well.

In addition, 43 percent of people on the low – fat vegan diet were able to reduce their medications, compared to 26 percent of those on the American Diabetes Association diet.

Although vegetarian diets are associated with a lower risk of several chronic diseases, different types of vegetarians may not have the same health effects.

Plant-Based Diet: Benefits for Health

There is a lot of research to support the reduced risk of chronic diseases with healthy eating habits, such as the Mediterranean Diet and DASH ( dietetic approach to stopping high blood pressure ), which are mainly vegetable, but include some animal products.

According to studies patients who adhere to low – fat, whole – grain and vegetable diets had almost no major heart events during the study period (0.6 % ), 93 % supported improvements in chest pain and coronary disease.

In addition to exercise and healthy body weight, eating patterns full of grains, beans, fruit and vegetables have shown spectacular benefits in preventing and treating type 2 diabetes.

Patients with kidney disease may require a plant – based diet with special limitations, such as fruits and vegetables rich in potassium and phosphorus.

People who eat a strict vegan or vegetable diet do not consume any animal products, including all dairy products (milk, cheese, yoghurt, cream, butter, etc. ), meat, poultry and fish.

Vegetarian diets and lifestyles can lead to weight loss and lasting health consequences.

A review of 12 studies that included more than 1,100 people found that those assigned to plant-based diets lost significantly more weight — about 4.5 pounds (2kg) over an average of 18 weeks — than those assigned to non-vegetarian diets^[2].

According to another study comprised 200,000 people who followed a healthy plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts they took health benefits.

The effect of a plant-based diet consists of a significantly lower risk of developing heart disease than those following non-plant diets^[3].

Vegetarians who eat fish had the biggest protection against colorectal cancer, with a 43 percent reduction in risk compared to non-vegetarians^[4].

SUMMARY

Following a whole-food diet, plant-based diets can reduce your risk of developing heart disease, certain cancers, cognitive decline and diabetes.

A healthy diet must focus on vegetable foods such as vegetables, fruits, hole grains, vegetables, nuts, and seeds^[5].

Cited Sources:

1. Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet Guide. T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.
2. Vegetarian Diets and Weight Reduction: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Huang RY, Huang CC, Hu FB, Chavarro JE.
3. Type of Vegetarian Diet, Body Weight, and Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes. Serena Tonstad, MD, PHD,Terry Butler, DRPH, Ru Yan, MSC, and Gary E. Fraser, MD, PHD
4. Vegetarian dietary patterns and the risk of colorectal cancers. Orlich MJ, Singh PN, Sabaté J, Fan J, Sveen L, Bennett H, Knutsen SF, Beeson WL, Jaceldo-Siegl K, Butler TL, Herring RP, Fraser GE.
5. Whole-Foods, Plant-Based Diet: A Detailed Beginner’s Guide. Written by Jillian Kubala, MS, RD on June 12, 2018.