By: Rachel Nannola
Unlike other “diets”, there is good reasoning behind switching to a plant-based diet. Plant-based diets have been proven to prevent and even reverse multiple nutrition-related diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and high cholesterol. A plant-based diet is essentially what it sounds like: a nutrition plan that revolves around eating mostly non-animal products, including whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
A recent study conducted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, however, found that not all plant-based diets do well for our health. The reason for this is that there are tons of foods out there that are non-animal products but are still unhealthy. During this study, they found that people who followed a plant-based diet low in animal foods were associated with a 20% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. They further studied this to find that eating a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a 34% lower type 2 diabetes risk. However, eating a less healthy plant-based diet consisting of refined grains, potatoes, and sugar-sweetened beverages was linked to a 16% increased risk for type 2 diabetes. This shows that eating a plant-based diet has great health benefits but only if healthy foods are included and unhealthy ones are excluded the majority of the time.
Some other benefits of plant-based diets are the high amounts of fiber, antioxidants, unsaturated fats, and various other micronutrients contained in plant foods. It’s been shown that even taking a few steps toward eating more of a plant-based diet can help extend your lifespan. So, if you’re interested in eating more plant-based foods, try picking just one day a week to start. Need some ideas? Check out some of these recipes for inspiration!
Sources: