Is Eating Plant-Based Good For You

This article examines the question: Is eating plant-based food good for you?

It explores what plant-based eating is.

What are the benefits of eating plant-based, and how do you succeed?

Let’s get started.

Eating Plant-Based: The Healthiest Choice

Imagine entering 7th Heaven, a Home for the Aged in South Africa. It’s run by a dedicated and committed team caring for our parents.

Uncle Freddie Steyn is relaxing in the corner of the lounge. He has been suffering from hypertension and type 2 Diabetes for quite some time.

After 40 years of hard work, he should enjoy health and a long life. Instead, he’s gobbling lots of medication to survive.

He’s not alone in this dilemma.

Auntie Florina Lamble, although under the excellent care of the dedicated team. She is struggling with weight.

How can these two remarkable individuals change their destiny? Even at this time of their life.

They can change their lives even when over 65 to eating plant-based.

You can start at any age to reverse chronic diseases.

Why Eat Plant-Based

You might need clarification on what diet is the healthiest.

Why is that so?

The media bombards us with conflicting information on the best diet for your health.

Is it Keto? Paleo? Atkins? Vegan? Mediterranean?

However, science is precise. A diet rich in plants, not processed food, is best for health and well-being.

The reason

The overwhelming evidence states that whole plant foods are the way to go.

With social media misinformation, how do you choose the healthiest diet?

Some argue that the Mediterranean diet is more accessible and easy to stick to.

However, supporters of different diets profit from their diets.

Why is Eating Plant-Based Good For You

Michael Pollan proposed that the diet suitable for you primarily comprises plants.

But

Why is eating plant-based good for you?

On a plant-based diet, most calories come from fresh, whole plants. No one has processed these plants.

Research indicates that eating plant-based improves your health and well-being.

But wait

Let’s not jump to the research.

What are we talking about here?

What is eating plant-based?

What is Plant-Based Eating

Knowing what to eat on this diet will help you understand plant-based eating.

Food allowed on a plant-based diet are:

• Fruits and Vegetables
• Beans and Legumes
• Whole grains
• Seeds and Nuts
• Herbs and Spices
• Fermented Foods.

There are foods to avoid when eating plant-based. These are:

• Animal Products
• Refined Sugars
• Highly processed vegetable oils
• White flour
• Junk foods
• Salt and Sugar (in moderation)

Want to know the best part?

Nutrients on a Plant-Based Diet

Once you go plant-based, you get many questions. They are about nutrients in your diet.

Are you getting enough?

Eating meat has lulled the thinking of specific individuals – even to the use of common sense.

When there is no meat, they think that meal lacks enough proteins.

Is it because of lobbying of the meat and dairy industry?

They promote scary messages, like choline deficiency.

But many plants have plenty of choline.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. You also find choline in kidney beans, oats, and potatoes.

So

Is eating plant-based healthy?

Health Benefits of Eating Plant-Based Diet

Research shows that chronic diseases are increasing worldwide.

WHO states that non-communicable chronic diseases comprise three-quarters of deaths worldwide.

But, there is hope in eating plant-based food to improve your health and well-being.

Heart Health and Plant-Based Eating

A meta-analysis featuring seven prospective studies reviewed heart health in vegetarians vs omnivores.

The analysis concluded that non-meat eaters have much lower rates of heart disease and death.

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s outstanding research and program can reverse heart disease.

Research has shown that it works.

Research has proven that a plant-based diet reduces the risk of heart disease by 25%.

Dr William Li’s research on heart health is outstanding. He emphasizes the importance of blood vessels and their connection to heart health.

What foods are good for heart health?

Plant-Based Food That Protects The Heart

Eat foods that positively impact your blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol levels, and inflammation.

Eat plant-based foods.

They include leafy greens, whole grains, berries, beans, and nuts like almonds and walnuts. They also include chia and flaxseeds, avocado, garlic, and tomatoes. They protect your heart.

Does eating a plant-based diet impact type 2 diabetes?

Eating Plant-Based and Type 2 Diabetes

Studies show that a plant-based diet can help patients with type 2 diabetes. 

Eating plant-based can help them lose weight and improve their blood sugar control.

Recent studies consistently link a plant-based diet to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. This diet emphasizes all plant foods and is healthful.

Dr. Neal Barnard conducted a groundbreaking study on dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes.

The study showed that the condition is reversible for many patients.

Eating Plant-Based and Cancer

Can eating a plant-based diet reverse cancer?

Evidence-based research has shown that a diet of whole foods with lots of plants can help cancer patients.

Research also shows that plant foods may also prevent cancer in patients.

Is eating plant-based good for you?

Indeed, it is primarily in benefiting your health.

What about weight management?

Obesity and Eating Plant-Based

I was a plump baby—fat. As I grew up, people nicknamed me “Fatty Boom Boom.” But I’ve eaten only plants for four decades, including two decades on the Mediterranean diet. I’m not obese or overweight, and I have no chronic disease.

Studies also show that people who eat plant-based diets manage their weight well. They are not obese.

The British Journal of Nutrition found that diet quality is vital. It is critical to the link between diet and obesity.

Plant-based eating plays a key role.

Eating Plant-Based and Hypertension

Hypertension (HTN) has become a scourge of society worldwide.

My sister, Fairhope, passed on in 2021 due to Covid-related complications. The culprit: my sister had high blood pressure.

Unfortunately, she didn’t follow her brother’s dietary patterns. Whenever I visit her, she says I must cook for myself. She would always complain that my food was half-cooked and meatless.

Science shows that eating a plant-based diet can reduce hypertension by 60%.

High blood pressure is one of the risk factors for heart disease. One can change it. It affects millions of people worldwide.

Eating a plant-based diet can help reduce high blood pressure.

Certain plant foods, like beets, contain nitrates. The body converts them into NO, which relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow.

A Success Story

Phyllis Roberts was always concerned about her weight growing up.

Later, she had type 2 diabetes, with AIC (a measure of average blood sugar) of 7.

A doctor told her that if she did not change her diet and sedentary lifestyle, her health would get worse.

She started eating plant-based food and avoiding oil, Sugar, and salt.

Phyllis is living proof today that eating plant-based is good for you.

She has managed her weight and is no longer on medication for type 2 diabetes.

Conclusion

The question we asked was, is eating plant-based food good for you?

The article showed you scientific evidence that eating plant-based benefits your health.

What steps are you going to take?

Are you going to live a life of constant pain and inflammation, or are you going to begin eating a plant-based diet?

Leave your comment below or add your views on eating plant-based.