What is it?
A plant-based diet is defined as “A plant-based diet consists of all minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs, and spices and excludes all animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products.” There can be variations of this diet that include eggs and dairy but still exclude meat and fish. Also, a pescatarian diet is primarily plant based but still includes fish, eggs, and dairy. Essentially, a plant-based diet includes more of a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. With plant-based diets protein is often an area of concern. Many non-animal sourced foods contain an equivalent if not close to the same amount of protein as animal protein sources.
“Atherosclerosis associated with high dietary intake of meat, fat, and carbohydrates remains the leading cause of mortality in the US.” In the Tuso study, it suggests that eating a plant-based diet can also help to reduce other common conditions that have some relationship to diet and lifestyle factors including: Diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Genetic predispositions do play a role in health conditions as well.
A plant-based diet is also a great way to increase the fiber in your diet. Fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains are all foods that naturally contain adequate amounts of fiber. Fiber is important for your GI health and has also been shown to help lower cholesterol. The Sabaté article notes that plant-based diets are more sustainable for the environment because they use few natural resources. There is a lot of manufactured processing that goes into creating the ground beef you buy in the grocery store.
Plant-based sources of protein
- Rice and black beans: this combination is considered to be a “complete protein” meaning that it contains all of the essential amino acids that would typically be found in a piece of chicken or beef.
- Quinoa: ½ cup contains about 12g protein
- Edamame: 1 cup contains about 17g protein
- Lentils: 1 cup contains about 18g protein
- Peanut Butter: 2tbsp contains about 8g protein
Other foods that are good sources of protein include nuts, seeds, and whole grains
How Can I Get Started?
- Identify what type of plant-based diet you are trying to achieve. Do you want to still eat eggs and dairy? Or possibly you still would like to include fish one or two times a week. Have an idea of what your goals are to be able to plan better.
- Start slow. Don’t cut out everything overnight, start by swapping out ingredients in meals you make all of the time. For example, in a chili recipe that typically calls for ground beef, try using lentils or black beans instead. This will give yourself time to adapt to making changes and make it a lot less stressful.
- Get creative! All of those fun recipes you save on Pinterest, it’s time to put them to good use. There are so many different ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into all of your meals and snacks. Simple ideas include having bell peppers and hummus as a snack instead of cheese and pepperoni on crackers.
- Look at your plate. When preparing to eat a meal, try to give yourself a variety of foods. Aim to include a serving of fruit, vegetable, whole grains, and protein. Instead of just whole grain pasta and sauce for dinner, try eating a side salad with it or cook peppers and mushrooms into your sauce to add more vegetables into your meal.
References
Ostfeld, R. Definition of a plant-based diet and overview of this special issue. Journal of Geriatric Cardiology. 2017 14(5): 315.
Phillip Tuso, Scott R Stoll, William W Li.Perm J. A Plant-Based Diet, Atherogenesis, and Coronary Artery Disease Prevention. Perm J. 2015 Winter; 19(1): 62–67.
Joan Sabaté, Sam Soret; Sustainability of plant-based diets: back to the future, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 100, Issue suppl_1, 1 July 2014, Pages 476S–482S