You’ve probably heard the term “plant-based diet” in your quest to get healthy and consume foods that are excellent for your body. Perhaps your young niece or coworkers have extolled the virtues of a plant-based diet. Perhaps your favourite celebrity discusses why he or she prefers to consume plant-based meals over animal-based items like meat or dairy.
A plant-based diet is one in which you eat mostly plants, such as fruits and vegetables, beans, seeds, oils, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. A vegetarian or vegan diet, in which meat or dairy is rarely consumed, is not the same as this diet. A plant-based diet, on the other hand, suggests that the bulk of your food comes from plants, with only a little quantity of animal protein.
Everyone’s plant-based diet will be different. Some people limit their protein intake to only one meal per day, while others abstain entirely from meat, dairy, and animal products. Is a plant-based diet good for you? What are the advantages and disadvantages? We’re delving into what a plant-based diet entails and if it’s suitable for you.
Advantages of plant-based diet?
While the term “plant-based diet” may appear to be a new craze, there has been a lot of study on the nutritional advantages of eating more plants and complete foods.
In several research and clinical trials, diets like the Mediterranean Diet have been found to lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some malignancies including colon and prostate cancer, and metabolic syndrome.
The Mediterranean diet consists mostly of plant-based meals, with occasional additions of fish, eggs, chicken, and dairy products, as well as restricted red meats and desserts. Researchers were interested after noticing that citizens in some Mediterranean nations, such as Greece, had far lower rates of heart disease than Americans. The researchers theorised that their diet was to blame for their low heart disease rates.
In the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet study, researchers discovered that a controlled group eating the Mediterranean Diet with added olive oil had a 30 percent lower risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from cardiovascular disease, while a group eating the diet with added nuts had a 28 percent lower risk.
A 2011 research published in Diabetes Care indicated that eating a Mediterranean diet lowered the chance of getting type 2 diabetes by 52%.
Vegetarian diets include certain health benefits for people who desire to entirely exclude animal products, such as a decreased risk of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases.
Be aware that vegetarian diets come in many different forms including:
- Semi-Vegetarian – includes eggs, dairy and a limited amount of meat, poultry and seafood
- Vegan – includes absolutely no animal produces
- Vegetarian – includes eggs and dairy, but no meat, fish, poultry or seafood
- Pescatarian – includes dairy, eggs, fish and seafood, but no meat or poultry.
Risk Factors
It is self-evident that eating more fruits and vegetables while limiting red meat consumption is beneficial to your health. However, like with everything, there are certain drawbacks to becoming a full-fledged vegetarian. When followed poorly, more strict vegan diets might increase the risk of stroke, hair loss, and depression.
According to one nutritionist, vegetarian diets may cause a “choline crisis.” Choline is a nutrient present in pork and poultry that helps the brain and other physiological processes. While vegetarian diets are low in choline, choline supplements or a few eggs per week can aid to augment the body’s choline supply.
Hair loss can occur when vegetarians significantly restrict their protein intake owing to a lack of iron, vitamin B, and zinc. Maintaining iron levels in the body requires dark leafy greens and beans, although an iron supplement may also be required. In vegetarian and vegan diets, here’s how to acquire full proteins.
Beginners also make the error of believing that all non-animal foods are OK. Fries deep fried in vegetable oil, for example, are not a good choice, but a baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon is. Although many sweets and high-sugar, high-calorie foods are vegan, this does not always imply that they are good options.
More about plant-based eating
With an estimated 90% of the population of the United States eating meat, it’s improbable that the majority of Americans would completely abandon meat consumption. The good news is that you are not required to do so. According to a 2017 study published in JAMA, simply eating more vegetables and consuming 3% less animal protein can result in a 19% decreased risk of mortality from any cause.
If you want to try a plant-based diet, there’s plenty of information available to get you started. Most doctors recommend the Mediterranean Diet as the most well-balanced and healthiest option. Discuss the plant-based options available with your INTEGRIS Health practitioner, as well as any special requirements you may have.
