Are Plant-Based Diets Adequate?
Are Plant-Based Diets Adequate?
.Hello everyone: Have you wondered if there is any benefit from going plant-based? Yes, there is and here is some information to assist your choices:
“Vegetarian, including vegan, dietary patterns were associated with reduced risk for CVD (cardiovascular disease) incidence and CVD mortality (death) compared to non-vegetarian diets. (Consider the sobering fact that CVD is the number one cause of death worldwide.)
Vegan dietary patterns were associated with reductions in CVD risk factors including blood pressure low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the ‘bad’ cholesterol) and body mass index compared to non-vegetarian dietary patterns, as well as c-reactive protein concentrations (a measure of inflammation!!) in a novel meta-analysis.”
Conclusion: Practitioners can consider recommending vegetarian dietary patterns to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors and risk of CVD incidence and mortality.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39430429/
Bottom Line: Here is another good reason to upgrade your food plan. It is certainly worth your while to move towards a Flexitarian type of food plan to protect your health, your future, and help you overcome any current health issues. Flexitarian is what the Mediterranean diet looks like, which I covered in a previous blog. Overall, the data is shifting so strongly to this model that even our USDA has commented that their recommendations are going plant-based due to the overwhelming science supporting its benefits. This approach significantly benefits the environment as well as our health is not separate at all from our planetary health…there is a good reason that our planet is called “Mother Earth” and we should take good care to respect and nourish our planet so that we can be good stewards and healthy as well. One strong step in that direction is to lower our animal-based foods by at least 50% as the research reveals that it will help both human and planetary health significantly. Do some research and see what you find. My bet is that you find this type of food plan is the optimal one, which means lower inflammation and feeling better with a safer future for one and all.
The Traditional Mediterranean Diet has been characterized by:
1. Plentiful fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains.
2. Olive oil as the principal fat.
3. Lean red meat consumed only a few times per month or in very small portions.
4. Low to moderate daily consumption of dairy products.
5. Poultry, fish and eggs consumed a couple of times per week; and
6. Moderate consumption of wine. (Low or none is actually best)
