It seems that more and more people are adopting a plant-based diet these days. Whether it’s doing Meatless Mondays, adding more meat-free meals to their diets or going full-on vegan, athletes, celebrities and ordinary people alike, are seeing the benefits of plant-based eating.
Vegan athletes like Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, and the Williams sisters, believe that eating plant-based has allowed them to stay at the top of their physically and mentally demanding professions.
Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Woody Harrelson, Moby, Stevie Wonder, Russell Simmons, and Miley Cyrus enjoy the health benefits of a vegan diet. The eye opening documentary, The Game Changers, features top athletes like Arnold Schwarzenegger, the world’s strongest man-Patrick Baboumian, Jackie Chan, and sprinter Morgan Mitchell (two-time Australian 400 meter champion and Olympian) who have embraced a diet free of animal products.
Every day the demand for meatless products is growing in supermarkets and well-known fast food outlets. Ever hear of the Impossible Burger? It’s an exciting time to be plant-based! You don’t have to be a top athlete or celebrity, or be a strict vegan to enjoy the health benefits of eating more plants, less meat and less processed foods. In this post, I will share five easy ways to incorporate more plant foods into your diet. If you elect to go vegan like me, fantastic! You’ll be doing yourself, animals and the planet a HUGE favor.
If becoming a vegan doesn't whet your appetite and all I manage to do is light a spark of interest and inspire a few more meatless meals, I'll feel this post was successful.
But first, why is there so much talk about plant-based eating? Is it merely hype or what's trending? Or, are there real health benefits to eating mainly plant-based and/or vegan? What’s wrong with eating a big ‘ol slab of beef anyways? No discussion on the benefits of plant-based eating would be complete without first looking at the typical American diet, commonly referred to as The Standard American Diet (SAD), which is almost devoid of eating plants and unprocessed foods.
The SAD diet is built around meats, fried foods, dairy products, white flour, lots of sugar and other unhealthy things. Think of pizza, hamburgers, fries, bacon, donuts, milk, cheese, eggs and stuff like that. These foods have excess calories, carbohydrates, protein and sodium that shorten lifespan. Plants rarely make an appearance on a SAD plate. A pharmaceutical empire in the US has been built on the bad health consequences of eating fast foods.
If you’re looking to wreck your health, the SAD will get the job done! Maybe you’ll enjoy:
· Heart disease
· Obesity
· Diabetes
· Cognitive decline
· Cancer
· Chronic inflammation
· Damage to DNA
· Cellular damage
· Reduced capacity for tissue repair
· Reduced lifespan
· Reduced physical enjoyment
· Sexual dysfunction
A plant-based, whole food diet will do the opposite of the SAD. By eating a variety of different colored vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and grains, you’re flooding your body with a host of life- saving nutrients that allow you to enjoy a longer, healthier lifespan.
· Macronutrients – fats, carbohydrates, protein and water
· Micronutrients –vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients
Plant foods, especially colorful plant foods, contain a gigantic array of protective compounds that… “detoxify carcinogens, repair DNA damage, reduce free radical formation, and facilitate the removal of toxins from the body.” (Eat for Life, Joel Fuhrman, MD, 2020)
As I write this post, we are in the midst of the coronavirus. Among those individuals most suceptible to the virus are those with chronic health conditions. Going on a plant-based diet makes a lot of sense. The proven, protective value of phytonutrients can help boost anyone's immune system. This is particularly important for those with compromised immune systems.
My person journey to eventually becoming a vegan was a process over several years. I was raised on the standard American diet (SAD). Hamburgers were my favorite food, but around 1974 I stopped eating red meat and pork when I read my first book on the dangers of pork and red meat. A couple of years later I became a vegan while dating a vegan. This lasted for about five years but I never went back to eating red meat and pork.
Then, I went back to eating lots of chicken, tuna, eggs and dairy products. I think this was mainly due to getting involved in competitive bodybuilding. It was almost a mantra that a bodybuilder needed to eat plenty of animal protein like tuna, chicken and egg whites, in order to build muscle. At the time, I didn't know enough about plant-based nutrition to realize that this was a lie.
As I learned more about nutrition over the ensuing years, I eventually gave up dairy. A few years later, I gave up chicken and fish. I hung on to eggs, and a little over three years ago I dropped them from my diet after my daughter suggested I see the movie, What The Health. The evidence in this movie destroys the myth that eggs are safe to eat.
Arriving at my current plant-based, vegan diet didn’t happen overnight. It was a process. You might decide to jump right into this way of eating or it might be a process over time. Regardless, you will be moving further away from the SAD which has no health benefits. It’s addicting and destructive. If you’re ready to move towards a better way of eating that will add years of healthy living to your life, use the tips below.
TIP #1 – Find your why
This is where you should ask yourself some questions like,
· Why do you want to eat plant-based? - (Chronic health condition? Overweight? Low energy? Live longer? Improve quality of life?)
· Have you tried plant-based eating? - (What worked and what didn’t?)
· Is your spouse/partner/kids on board? - (What kind of support do you have at home?)
· How much do you know about plant-based eating? - (How will you expand your knowledge?)
· Do you like to cook? - (If you don’t, how will you find healthy plant-based dishes? Are you willing to cook or learn how?)
· How will your social life change? - (How will this impact entertaining and eating with friends?)
· How committed are you? - (How badly do you want better health?)
I’ve had friends and clients say that they don’t like to cook. I tell them to think of cooking as an investment in their health. They get to decide what goes into their food and what goes into their body. Embrace food prep and cooking to make eating plant-based more enjoyable and healthy.
Funny man Kevin Hart was asked about his efforts to eat more plant-based foods. He said that he didn’t cook and that his chef prepared his meals. We can’t all afford a personal chef, so we need to learn how to prepare some simple plant-based meals. There are tons of pre-packaged, plant-based/vegan food options available in grocery stores. However, they’re rarely as healthy and are definitely more expensive than meals prepared at home using simple, inexpensive ingredients. There is always a price to pay for convenience.
TIP #2 – Learn as you go
The more you know, the more you grow. I would strongly suggest reading some books on plant-based/vegan eating. Check out your local library. A few of my favorite authors are Kris Carr, Joel Furhman MD, and Dr. Michael Greger. Cookbooks like Thug Kitchen will have you laughing while teaching you how to serve up some amazingly tasty and healthy vegan dishes. Eat vegan on $4 a day. by Ellen Jaffe Jones, proves that eating vegan doesn't have to be expensive. There are great documentaries on Netflix like The Game Changers, What the Health, and Forks Over Knives to name just a few.
Such sources provide excellent opportunities to develop some smarts about plant-based/vegan eating. Remember, just because you don’t eat meat or much of it, doesn’t mean you’re eating healthy. Vegans are often deficient in B12, zinc, iron and EPA/DHA if they don’t pay close attention to their diets. So the next time you plop down on the sofa to watch Netflix, get your smarts on!
TIP #3 – Move at your own speed
If you’re the kind of person who likes to jump into new things with both feet, go for it! If eating healthy is pretty new for you and you want to take things slow, that’s ok too! You have to do what’s comfortable for you. If you’re suffering from a chronic condition, i.e. obesity, heart disease, cancer or the like, don’t hesitate. Make big, healthy changes right away! You'd be amazed at the healing power of plants and whole foods. Thousands of people continue to cure chronic conditions by simply adopting a plant-based and/or vegan diet.
The SAD is highly addicting so know that:
o It will take time to reprogram your taste buds to the taste of real food.
o Lasting changes take time, effort and consistency no matter what speed you’re moving at.
o Transitioning with some processed plant-based foods might help but be REAL careful not to rely to heavily on these pre-packaged, plant-based products.
SUCCESS CAN COME ONE MEAL AND ONE DAY AT A TIME!
TIP #4 – Get Help
When my wife decided to reorganize our cupboards, drawers and clothes, she knew we needed help. So, she started reading books and watching videos by Marie Kano (the organizational Goddess). Whenever I screw up a plumbing project (which is quite often), I get help from a real plumber. Are you sensing where I’m going with this? If you want to go plant-based and have no clue where to start, get help. Professional Help! (I know an excellent health coach you can call to schedule an appointment. I mentioned some great reference/cook books and documentaries that will help. Pictured below are some of our favorite plant-based/vegan cookbooks.
Tucson vegan chef Kathy Iannacone, and I, will once again host our live Plant Fit workshops after the coronavirus goes away and it’s safe to do so. At these workshops we provide hands-on demonstrations, food tastings and practical tips for adopting a plant-based lifestyle.
Laugh along with us, make new friends and enjoy the support of those with similar goals. We show you how to smartly adopt a plant-based lifestyle. Everything from stocking your pantry to cooking delicious vegan dishes. We've also created a private facebook group for workshop attendees to get bonus information, receipes, pictures or just notes of inspiration.
Hire a plant-based/vegan Health Coach or Fitness Trainer. As a vegan Health Coach and Master Fitness Trainer, I am able to offer guidance to my clients who are wanting to go plant based. I help them get started, hold them accountable to their goals, and help them get back on track when they stumble.
My mission is to help you improve yourself both physically and mentally so that you can live life to the fullest!
TIP #5 – Have fun
Some people think that eating plant-based and/or vegan has to taste horrible. They can’t imagine that meals without animal products can be delicious and satisfying until they taste a scrumptious vegan dish. Then they are blown away! In fact, most would swear that they were eating meat. Even hard-core sugar addicts will be amazed that yummy desserts can be made using fruit and dates instead of sugar. In his book, How Not To Diet, Michael Greger, MD., states, “…you can actually change your taste buds and end up with the best of both worlds: tastes great and more filling.” It will probably take your taste buds a couple of weeks to get accustomed to the taste of desserts that are not hyper-sweetened. All in all, vegan and plant-based dishes have come a long, long way since the 70s.
Cooking with plants gives you lots of freedom to experiment and have fun. Learn how to make a few basic vegan dishes, and then try different combinations of herbs and spices to personalize them. You’re only limited by your imagination. Hate counting calories or worrying about portions? Go ahead, have fun eating as many veggies as you want. You’ll just wind up healthier and probably lose weight as well (without even trying).
Eating a healthy, plant-based, whole food diet is more important today than ever before. Even if you’re not looking to become a vegan by eliminating all animal products from your diet, eating more plant-based meals is a smart investment in your health and the future of the planet. Chronic illnesses are running rampant in our society, largely due to the damage caused by the standard American diet (SAD). The evidence is all around us. A plant-based diet has been proven to reverse many of these illnesses, whereas drugs only mange them.
You don’t have to be a master chef to make delicious, inexpensive, plant-based dishes. For me, eating plant-based is synonymous with eating vegan every meal. For you, it might mean Meatless Mondays. That’s ok. Get started today! If you need personal guidance in adopting a healthy, plant-based lifestyle, contact me. It would be my pleasure to serve you. So, why wait any longer? Grab an apron, get cooking and learn how fantastic plant-based food can taste.
Your body will thank you. Bon appetit :)
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