The Benefits Of Turning To A Plant-Based Diet
Many people are beginning to realize how their health and the environment would be positively impacted if they turned to a plant-based diet.
People turn to a plant-based diet for many reasons, from wanting to eat healthier to preventing animal cruelty.
People who want to transition to a more plant-based diet need to be encouraged and to be offered products that will help them include more plant proteins in their diet.
Tara Haddad, the CEO of Modern Meat, explores how eating plant-based is growing in popularity and why people are switching to a plant-based diet.
What Is A Plant-Based Diet?
Whole foods, plant-based diets emphasize minimally processed foods. They limit animal products, as in the case of vegetarianism, or eliminate them entirely as with veganism.
The majority of a plant-based diet is made of vegetables, fruits, legumes, seeds, nuts, and whole grains, with other foods used sparingly if at all.
Refined sugars, white flour, and processed oils should also be avoided on a whole-foods plant-based diet.
People who want to eat plant-based diets have options when it comes to how many animal products they wish to include.
Many people who want to eat more plant-based foods continue to eat meat, seafood, egg, and dairy products on occasion. Others completely avoid all animal products.
However, if you choose to construct your plant-based diet, you will be healthier than people who consume more fatty meat products.
Better Health Benefits
Health and wellness experts agree that a diet emphasizing fresh ingredients with a minimal number of processed foods can help to support better health.
1. Helps To Lose Weight
Plant-based diets stimulate weight loss and improve people’s health.
Obesity is an epidemic around the world. Over 650 million people in the world today are obese. This figure has tripled since 1975.
People who are obese frequently eat too many animal products like fatty meats and high-fat dairy products.
A whole-foods, plant-based diet can help people lose weight and keep it off.
One of the reasons that a plant-based diet is superior for losing weight and keeping it off is the higher fiber content. Fiber keeps you feeling full longer and is associated with eating fewer calories overall.
2. Fights Heart Disease
One of the largest benefits of a plant-based diet is that it helps to combat heart disease.
People who eat a healthy plant-based diet have a much lower risk of developing heart disease than people who eat more meat and animal products in general.
3. Helps Prevent Cancer
Plant-based diets may also reduce the risk of contracting certain types of cancer.
One study found that vegetarians were significantly less likely to develop gastrointestinal cancer.
Another study found that vegetarians had a 22 percent lower risk of developing colorectal cancer.
4. Decreases The Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Plant-based diets are also associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
Since plant foods contain a higher amount of plant compounds and antioxidants, they have the potential to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive deficit.
5. Fights Diabetes
Plant-based diets also have a beneficial effect on people with diabetes. People who follow a healthy plant-based diet have a 34 percent lower risk of developing diabetes.
Vegans and lacto-ovo-vegetarians (who eat dairy and egg products in addition to plants) have a 50 percent reduction in their risk of type 2 diabetes.
Better For The Environment
A plant-based diet is better for the environment than a traditional meat-based diet. Eating a plant-based diet is associated with a smaller environmental footprint.
The production of meat and animal products is responsible for higher greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and land use. These are all factors in environmental degradation and global warming.
If traditional Western diets were shifted to a more sustainable, plant-based pattern, greenhouse gases could be reduced by 70 percent and water use could be reduced by 50 percent.
Eating local is also helpful when it comes to protecting the local economy and reducing reliance on factory farming.
Protecting Animals
Many people who consume animal products do not like to think about the consequences of their actions, but the fact remains that animals in farming operations are frequently not well-treated.
There are exceptions in small farming operations, but as a rule, meat that can be found in the grocery store has not been raised with humane principles in mind.
People who eat plant-based foods can have a clearer conscience when it comes to the treatment of animals in our world.
Even a reduction in the number of animal products consumed can make a positive difference in the world.
Eating Plant-Based For Good Health
Plant-based diets benefit not only our health but also our environment. They also help to protect animals from harm.
When switching to a plant-based diet, people can be assured that they are making a healthier choice both for their own bodies and for the planet.
Taking all of the circumstances into account, people can feel good about switching to a diet that mainly consists of plants.
We encourage shoppers to look for plant-based meat alternatives and to educate themselves on the benefits of eating a more plant-based diet.
