Plant Based versus Animal Based Diets
- Joy Nguyen
- Apr 5, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 17, 2018
What is the definition of plant-based diet?
Plant-based diets are comprised of meals made mainly from a variety of vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, and nuts, with minimal amounts of processed foods.
Many health organization is issuing some guidance on plant-based diet that is a diet high in fiber and low in fat, which can help to prevent chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and obesity.
Sometimes, the plant-based diet can still contain small amounts of lean meat and reduced-fat dairy products, that why's it is not synonymous with a vegetarian diet. In contract, the main ingredients of the diet still include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Why we need to eating a plant-based diet?
1. Prevent chronic diseases:
In countries and cultures where the majority of people eat a plant-based diet, the rates of chronic disease such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, and heart disease are extremely low. For individuals who already have diabetes or heart disease or are obese, switching to a whole-foods, plant-based diet can help them reverse or even rid themselves of these diseases and improve blood sugar
Surveys, research activities and assessments have also shown that even if you have diabetes, adhering to a plant-based diet can help to reverse the disease and improve blood sugar. That is the power of the plant!
2. Improve your mood and energy levels:
Beyond reducing your risk for cancer and diabetes, eating a diet packed with produce can actually increase your happiness levels, according to studies
So while we all know noshing on berries and broccoli is good for your physical health in the long run, it’s also good for your mental well-being. A recent 2016 study from the American Journal of Public Health found that increasing your consumption of fruits and veggies over a two year period was “equal in size to the psychological gain of moving from unemployment to employment.”
Eating plant-based food can stabilize your mood and energy levels throughout the day.
3. Makes weight control easier:
Dropping a couple pounds and improving your mood are no longer grouped with calorie counting and gimmicky diets as a plant-based diet will replace it all without any special tools or tricks. All you need is just fresh products, grains and legumes.
Instead of strict calorie-cutting, it is strongly believed that eating heaping platefuls of produce, healthy plant-based fats (including olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds), and plant-based proteins (including legumes, soy, and protein-rich grains like quinoa, farro, and bulgur) helps ease the process of maintaining your weight or losing excess weight in a much healthier way.
4. Treats skin conditions:
Hydrogenated oils, saturated fats—these are the words of skincare nightmares. You may be surprised at how clear your skin looks after only a few days without processed, refined, or hydrogenated foods.
Most importantly, it is believed that the best way to promote healthy skin is to keep ourselves hydrated and to provide essential nutrients that our bodies need such as high water content of fresh fruits and vegetables, fibre in whole grains and the healthy fats of legumes, nuts and seeds.
5. Environmental:
Not only does food consumption but also agricultural practices affect the health of our environment. Moreover, factory farming and other large-scale meat and dairy production also plays an important role in terms of climate change in modern days.
Example: - Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
- A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.
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