Why Live a Plant Based Lifestyle?
For millennia, generations have known the importance of healing foods. Food nourishes our bodies. It gives us energy so we can have stamina throughout the day. It provides us with vitamins and minerals to keep our bodies working properly. But, not all food is created equal.
We all know we should eat more fruits and vegetables. And yet, what do we reach for when we are hungry?
Sugary snacks?
Nutrient void foods?
Food we ‘think’ is healthy because of packaging?
It is easy to be confused. The diet industry is over $250 billion dollars and growing. There is always a new diet or gimmick.
Eating plant-based food is not a fad, diet, or gimmick. It is a lifestyle.
Eating real, whole, plant-based food is better for your health, better for the environment, and better for the animals.
What does real, whole, plant-based food mean? It is food that is nutrient-dense. Food, that when you hear the name, you see a picture in your mind's eye. Ingredients such as fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains. Food that is not processed. It is food that when you hear the name it is something you can pronounce and know by sight. It is food that you eat by season, sourced as locally as possible.
This is a way of life, not a diet. I can tell you first-hand diets don’t work. I have been on 100’s of diets. I have lost and gained the same weight over and over and over. When we diet we don’t learn how to eat well. We don’t learn how to nourish our bodies. The same is (sometimes) true when we go vegan. Vegan eating doesn’t always equate with nutritious eating. Oreos are vegan, and I think we can all agree that while tasty, they are not nutritious.
How is it better for you?
Eating in this way can dramatically change your health.
You will feel energized - Food fuels your body. The less energy it takes your body to process food, the more energy you have to use throughout your day. Eliminating animal products lightens your body’s workload and allows you to have more energy.
You can age gracefully - The high water content in fruits and vegetables hydrates your body. Nutritious plants provide vitamins and minerals that will make your skin glow. Reduced intake of processed foods will alleviate puffiness and bloating.
You could lower your risk for and reduce symptoms of chronic disease - Chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, and dementia are the nation’s leading causes of death and disability. Half of all American adults currently suffer from chronic disease, with one in four people suffering from two or more. Whole, real food will nurture a healthy microbiome, strengthen your immune system and reduce inflammation, thereby creating a healthier body.
You can eliminate brain fog - Plant food creates a better flow of blood to the brain, allowing important nutrients and oxygen to increase focus and concentration.
When you eat whole, real, plant-based food, your body is nourished with vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytonutrients, and healthy fats that all work together to make your ‘insides’ run smoothly and your ‘outsides’ glow.
Eating in this way can dramatically change our world.
You can reduce carbon emissions - Less meat consumption equals less carbon emissions. Emissions from producing beef and lamb are more than 250 times higher than those produced from plants. Livestock produces over 100 other types of polluting gas, negatively affecting the air quality, the oceans and the atmosphere.
You can help conserve water - It takes over 2,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat; this compared to about 25 gallons for a pound of wheat or about 50 gallons of water for a pound of produce.
You will reduce your carbon footprint - Reducing your intake of meat will reduce your personal carbon footprint in the world. This is one area you personally can make a difference in a big way. Becoming a vegetarian will reduce your carbon footprint by half.
You will help improve the oceans and save marine life - There are over 500 dead zones in the ocean. A dead zone is an area at the bottom of the ocean that is depleted of oxygen; marine life can not live. The biggest cause for this is runoff from fertilizer, industrial pollutants and sewage. Further, commercial fishing kills many marine life species as ‘by-catch”. Large fishing nets destroy coral reefs, kill sea turtles and dolphins and wreck many marine life habitats.
When you eat whole real plant based food you are making a positive impact on our world. You are helping to create a sustainable environment for future generations.
How is it better for the animals?
Eating this way reduces animal suffering.
You will help reduce factory farming - Animals born into the life of factory farming exist in a cruel and painful environment. If you are truly interested in learning about factory farming, just google it. No gory photos or videos are here. But understand that unless you hunt and kill your own food, animal flesh sold in any store went through the factory farming process.
You are living with more compassion - eliminating and/or reducing the amount of animal products you consume can save the lives of over 100 animals per year. Compassion will overflow into other areas of your life.
You are eliminating unnecessary additives to your body and animal bodies. Animals raised in factory farms are given numerous antibiotics, steroids, hormones and supplements to increase growth rate. Whatever is put into the animal goes into your body if you eat it. And whatever goes into the animal's body has detrimental effects to the animal such as engorged (chicken) breasts and body parts, making it impossible for an animal to live a normal life.
When you eat whole, real, plant based food, you are cutting your own carbon footprint, and allowing crops to be grown to feed people instead of animals.
When you eat whole, real, plant based food, every single day, every single meal, you have a chance to make healthy, nutritious, choices that affect not just you, but the world around you.
What you choose to put on your plate makes a difference. And yes, it is a choice. Every single day, at every single meal, you have the opportunity to make choices that serve you, the planet, and the animals better. No matter where you are on your journey to eating more nutritiously we want to help! We want to inspire you to try new foods, look at your plate differently and show you just how easy and delicious living a plant-based lifestyle can be.
Unleash your inner veg with a vengeance!
Additional Resources
Don’t just take our word for it -- here are some quotes from reputable and verifiable sources for additional reading:
In a combined report from the WHO and Farm and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) it is reported that, “Households should select predominantly plant-based diets rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits, pulses or legumes, and minimally processed starchy staple foods. The evidence that such diets will prevent or delay a significant proportion of non-communicable chronic diseases is consistent.” 1
The Center of Disease Control (CDC) reports that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a decreased risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some cancers. Research also has found that replacing foods of high energy density (high calories per weight of food) with foods of lower energy density, such as fruits and vegetables, can be an important part of a weight-management strategy. 2
According to the Mayo Clinic, “A plant-based diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes and nuts, is rich in fiber, vitamins and other nutrients. And people who don't eat meat — vegetarians — generally eat fewer calories and less fat, weigh less, and have a lower risk of heart disease than non vegetarians do.
Even reducing meat intake has a protective effect. Research shows that people who eat red meat are at an increased risk of death from heart disease, stroke or diabetes. Processed meats also increase the risk of death from these diseases. And what you don't eat can also harm your health. Diets low in nuts, seeds, seafood, fruits and vegetables also increase the risk of death.” 3
The British Nutritional Foundation states that, “Well planned vegetarian and vegan diets can be nutritious and healthy.” 4
The American Diabetes Association reports that. “Vegetables are good for everyone, and they’re even more important if you are a vegetarian who has diabetes. A 2012 study of people with type 2 diabetes (who all got about the same amount of calories from carbohydrates) found that those who ate 150 grams or more of leafy greens (that’s about 2 to 4 cups) each day, whether they were eating meat or not, had significantly lower average blood glucose levels over a three-month period.
And excluding meat altogether seems to offer benefits of its own. One meta-analysis (a scientific review of published studies) suggests that a low-fat vegetarian diet can bring A1C levels down. Another study shows a relationship between eating even a modest amount of red meat and higher rates of type 2 diabetes.
Overall, the existing body of research suggests that people with type 2 may benefit from a thoughtfully developed vegetarian eating plan, one that focuses on foods that are high in fiber and have a low glycemic load, which measures the quality and amount of carbohydrate in a food. Some good picks include beans and lentils, greens, and whole grains. The studies suggest a meatless diet can play a role in improving blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride numbers as well as maintaining a healthy weight. Research shows that vegetarians tend to weigh less than meat eaters, and weight control is a central part of type 2 diabetes management, according to the American Diabetes Association’s 2017 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes.” 5
- It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including fowl) or seafood, or products containing those foods. This article reviews the current data related to key nutrients for vegetarians including protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12. A vegetarian diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, supplements or fortified foods can provide useful amounts of important nutrients. An evidence- based review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals. The variability of dietary practices among vegetarians makes individual assessment of dietary adequacy essential. In addition to assessing dietary adequacy, food and nutrition professionals can also play key roles in educating vegetarians about sources of specific nutrients, food purchase and preparation, and dietary modifications to meet their needs. 6
- World Health Organization (WHO) reported that eating more of a plant based diet is one of the four top actions to reduce health risks from climate pollutants. 7
- “Growing numbers of people now understand that diets rich in whole-grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables – with reduced consumption of meat and smaller quantities of high-fat and high-sugar foods – are good for our bodies,” explains lead author Carlos Gonzales-Fischer of FCRN. He said that there is ample evidence showing that such diets have much lower environmental impacts than the unhealthy and unsustainable eating patterns that are increasingly prevalent today. “So by eating well for our own personal health, we’re also doing right by the planet – in essence, it’s a win-win,” he added. Anna Lartey, Director of FAO’s Nutrition and Food Systems Division, stressed that Sustainable Development Goal 2 makes a clear link between the needs for healthy nutrition and sustainable agriculture. “It’s time that dietary guidelines reflect that relationship,” she said. 8
1 http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/Y2809E/y2809e08.htm
2 https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/strategies-fruits-and-vegetables.pdf
3 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/meatless-meals/art-200481 93
4 https://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/helpingyoueatwell/veganandvegetarian.html
5 http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2017/jan-feb/the-vegetarians-dilemma.html
6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19562864
7 http://www.who.int/en/news-room/detail/22-10-2015-new-report-identifies-four-ways-to-reduce-health-risks-fr om-climate-pollutants
8 https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/05/529712-un-study-urges-governments-develop-guidelines-promote-winwin-diets
Inspiring confidence to thrive in a plant-based lifestyle!
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Globally Delicious aims to provide information that is accurate and research-proven. Globally Delicious, Terrie Price, and any other affiliates and team members are NOT medical professionals. You should always consult your physician or other medical professionals before implementing any advice, information, or suggestions to change your diet or fitness regimen. All information contained on this website is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical condition. Globally Delicious is not responsible for any medical conditions, health issues, or wellness problems that may occur before, during, or after using our advice. Participation at any level is at the risk of the individual. All content provided is for informational and educational purposes only. For more information, please contact Terrie at [email protected].
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