Why Plant-based diet?
Plant-based diets are trending for all the right reasons. Considering the health and environmental benefits a plant-based diet offers, it is only the right step you can take towards eating clean and living healthy. While quite a lot of people have already switched over to plant-based diets, there are many out there who are still dicey about the same. If you’re one of them, this post is just for you.
We will be talking about the benefits of a plant-based diet and how to get started with it – and hope it motivates you enough to start eating and living the plant way! Let’s get started.
Benefits of a Plant-based Diet
Keeps Lifestyle Ailments at Bay
An unhealthy, animal-based food pattern is responsible for most lifestyle ailments. As animal meat is complex in its molecular structure, it becomes somewhat of a task for our herbivorous digestive system to metabolize and assimilate energy from animal food. Including salads, smoothies, freshly cut fruits in everyday diet will help keep most of the lifestyle ailments such as diabetes, heart diseases as well as cancer, at bay. As per the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, the simplest way to prevent and reverse illnesses, is to switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet.
Boost Life Expectancy
Once you start cleansing your system of all the toxins that have accumulated in the body over the years, you are less likely to fall prey to life-threatening illnesses. This, in turn, will boost your immunity and help you live longer! If you opt for a no-meat diet and go for plant food instead, it shall further increase your life by many years. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that a low meat diet boosts your life expectancy by a significant 3.6 years.
Helps to Knock Off Those Extra Kilos
Struggling to lose weight? You need to consider a plant-based diet as it greatly cuts down the risk of obesity. Those who consume a plant based diet, are more fit than those relying on animal foods for nutrition. Non-veg food contains saturated fats, trans-fats, and cholesterol, which inevitably invite the risk of cardiovascular diseases. As per a clinical trial research, vegans had the lowest body mass index (BMI) and this BMI increased as the amount of meat in the diet went up.
Great for Mental as well as Physical Health
A whole-food plant-based diet is not only miraculous for your physical health, but it has just as much of a positive effect on your mental health too. According to the International Review of Neurobiology, the importance of diet and gut health is greatly emphasized for the prevention of mental disorders. In one of the research articles, it is stated that a higher intake of plant-based foods drastically cuts down the occurrence of mental illnesses in people.
Getting Started with a Plant-based Diet
Start With Small Goals
Suddenly changing the way you eat isn’t easy – and we totally get you. Instead of a sudden transition into a plant-based diet, take it easy and go step by step. You can set small, achievable goals which help you get initiated and also keep you going. Try replacing your lunch with a plant-based meal, or you could also opt for a plant-based meal three days every week, until your body and mind are used to the new food pattern. Once you feel confident enough, take the plunge and switch to a full-time plant-based diet, for best health results!
Look for Plant-based Alternatives
Everything is easy to find if you have the will to look out for it! And that’s exactly what you need to do here. Find alternatives to meat and dairy (there are plenty available out there) so that you can counter the meat and dairy cravings that are sure to prop up every now and then.
Swap meat with plant-based alternatives like soya, tofu or even beans. Green gram sprouts salad is another power-packed meal that will provide sufficient energy levels throughout the day. These perfect plant foods will help you replenish your protein levels as well. For dairy, you can choose plant-based milk, vegan cheese and peanut butter. There’s a wide scope to fill your vegan platter with healthy, interesting foods– so go ahead, do it!
Experiment All You Wish to
If you actually look at it, your transition to plant-based foods unlocks a whole new world of food options that you never tried earlier. So instead of thinking of the sacrifice you made by quitting meat and dairy, divert your mind to all these new vegan alternatives you are about to try! We’re sure this will help – especially on days when you feel like quitting and reverting to your old habits again. Find out a list of vegan restaurants and takeaways near you, so that you are armed with all the resources to tackle untimely cravings.
Include Whole, Unprocessed Foods
The Journal of American College of Cardiology precisely describes what exactly a plant-based diet is and what food you need to consume. In gist, it says that you can include lots of fruit based recipes in your diet – you could prepare a fruit salad, juice the fruits and have a healthy smoothie or simply include fruits in a vegan dessert. Likewise, vegetables play a crucial role in your plant-based diet. Mince them, stir fry them and have them with whole-wheat bread. You could also add veggies to soups and a whole range of other recipes.
Moreover, you need to develop a habit of checking the labels of the food items you pick from the supermarket. Avoiding processed food might not be completely possible, but you sure can minimize the quantity of processed items that enter your body. The best way to do this is by reading and learning what you should be putting in your body and what not.
Summing Up
Switching to a plant-based diet is a life-altering decision. It may not be easy at the beginning, but on this journey, you will realize the positive impact of plant-based foods on your health and overall well-being. A couple of slip ups and giving into cravings is totally justified, as long as you are able to get back on track right away. Good luck, as you enter into this fresh and lively world of plant-based food!
DISCLAIMER:
The priority, in this blog, is to supply the reader with clear and unambiguous information. However, neither The New Me nor Gagan Dhawan makes promises, or guarantees regarding the completeness of the information found here. The content is not a replacement for advice of a licensed professional. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely that of the writer’s.
