Transitioning to a vegan, plant-based diet was hands-down one of the best decisions I have ever made. I did not truly understand the connection between the food I ate and how it affected my body until I fully removed meat and dairy from my diet and started adding in a variety of nutrient-dense plant foods. My energy levels increased and my post-workout recovery time decreased. My menstrual cycle, which had always been heavy and painful, shortened and improved tremendously. My stomach, which ailed me constantly since childhood, seemed to strengthen as the aching reduced and bowel movements became more normal. These are just a few of the many benefits I’ve personally experienced from consuming a plant-based diet. 

Over the years I’ve heard and witnessed countless testimonies of near-miraculous transformations from people who have ditched the Standard American Diet (SAD) in favor of a healthier way of eating. The best part is that there’s nothing mystical about the transformational potential of plant-based eating; it’s all backed by science.

What is a plant-based diet?
“Plant-based” is an umbrella term that encompasses a number of dietary patterns that heavily (or completely) rely on plant foods.

• Vegan diets exclude all meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, and often, honey. Veganism also stresses an ethical component that takes animal exploitation and environmental considerations into account.
• Vegetarian diets exclude all meat, fish and seafood but may include eggs and dairy.
• Pescetarian diets include fish, seafood, dairy, and eggs, but exclude meat and poultry.
• Mediterranean diets stress plant-based foods but also include fish, eggs, low-fat dairy and poultry in small amounts occasionally, while meat consumption is rare. Olive oil is a prevalent component of this diet as well.
• Flexitarian diets focus primarily on plants while occasionally incorporating small amounts of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs and dairy.

Each of these diets incorporate varying amounts of animal products, but plant foods serve as the foundation of the diet. As a general rule of thumb, the closer you get to a diet based on primarily whole, plant-based foods, the more health benefits you’ll reap.

What are the health benefits of a plant-based diet?
Studies have shown that fruit and vegetable consumption is linked to a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, and all-cause mortality. (Source) The converse is also true: not eating enough fruits and vegetables increases your risk of developing and dying from certain chronic diseases. 

​DID YOU KNOW?

“Low fruit consumption results in more than 1 million deaths from stroke and more than 500,000 deaths from heart disease worldwide every year, while low vegetable intake results in about 200,000 deaths from stroke and more than 800,000 deaths from heart disease per year". (Source)

​Eating a diet rich in a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, nuts and seeds has been proven to:

• Lower blood pressure
• Lower cholesterol
• Prevent type 2 diabetes
• Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease 
• Reduces risk of erectile dysfunction
• Protects against breast cancer
• Protects against colorectal cancer
• Protects against prostate cancer
• Protects against cancers in general​
• Alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
• Reduce obesity and promote healthy weight loss
• Reduce risk of asthma and improve asthma control
• Prevent Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia
  
• Promote healthy gut bacteria
• Reduce risk of death from all-cause mortality

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what diet rich in whole, unprocessed plant foods can do for our health. More studies are being conducted on the benefits of plant-based diets for numerous additional chronic health conditions.

Why are plant-based diets so beneficial?
Plant foods are jam-packed with nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that our bodies need to function optimally. Plants also exclusively contain fiber and disease-fighting phytonutrients that cannot be found in meat or processed junk food. As a matter of fact, certain “plant-based” diets that include heavy amounts of processed junk foods can be detrimental to health as many of the nutritious components have been stripped from the food during processing. They also contain many unwanted ingredients like excess saturated fat, sodium and refined sugars. It's food that comes packaged in its most natural, whole form that provides the body what it needs to protect against disease.

Going plant-based can be a massively rewarding journey as you explore a variety of new foods while also seeing significant improvements in health. If you've been thinking that it's time for you to pay more attention to how you eat, then start piling on the plants!

Ready to get started on transitioning to a plant-based diet? I can help!

Let's Go Plant-Based

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Want to learn more? Check out the video below from NutritionFacts.org’s Dr. Michael Greger
showing how most Americans are dying from preventable, food-related diseases.