Healthy Plant-based diets

A  plant-based diets offers various health benefits and longer life (longevity). It’s common characteristics are
  • Include minimal additives and preservative
  • Include primarily whole foods as close to their “natural” state as possible
  • Include minimal processed and convenience foods
  • Exclude or minimal intake of animal foods
One of the common form of plant-based diets is Vegetarianism.  The basic vegetarian dietary patterns are:

  • A vegan diet really eliminates all sources of animal products. it is composed of plant foods; beans, legumes, vegetables, fruits, grains.
  • Lacto-vegetarian, lacto meaning milk, is a vegetarian type diet. That excludes all animal products with the exception of using dairy foods as part of their diet, cheeses, milks, products like that. 
  • Lacto-ovo vegetarians, ovo being egg, are vegetarians that exclude meat, poultry, fish, animal foods, but still include dairy products and eggs in their diet. 
  • Quasi-vegetarians or pescetarians are individuals that exclude poultry and meats but include fish in their diet. And they may or may not be including milk products and eggs. 
  • Far-vegetarians are quote vegetarians that really are eating almost all foods with the exception of red meat, and they exclude red meats. And this makes up actually a pretty large percentage of what people consider vegetarians. 
  •  Flexitarian, or semi-vegetarian, these are individuals that eat plant based the majority of the time. But occasionally they may have even red meat just in a smaller quantity.


Note: Vitamin B12 is only found in foods of animal origin. So vegans definitely need an extra source of vitamin B12 whether it be through supplements or whether it be through fortified foods. However vegetarians that include dairy foods, eggs are more flexible rarely is here an issue with vitamin B12 deficiency or inadequacies.
    
 

Vegetarian diets are usually


  • low in saturated fat and cholesterol
  • High in dietary fiber
  • High in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and soy
  • High in potassium, magnesium, folate
  • High in vitamin C and E
  • High in antioxidants and phytochemicals
  • High in nutrient density

 

Benefits of vegetarianism include

  • Lower Body Mass Index (BMI)
  • Lower blood cholesterol and LDL levels
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Lower risk of chronic disease including:  -obesity, heart disease, stroke, hypertension,type 2 diabetes,some types of cancer,chronic bronchitis,gallstones,kidney stones
    Healthy Plant-based diets
Studies has shown that individuals following vegetarian diets are about half as likely to develop diabetes.


Low-fat vegan diets improve glycemic control to a greater extent than conventional diabetes diets. 

Hence it is primarily attributable to greater weight loss, evidence suggests that reduced intake of saturated fats and high-glycemic-index foods, increased intake of dietary fiber and vegetable protein, and decreased iron stores mediate the influence of plant-based diets on glycemia. 


Vegetarian and vegan diets also improve plasma lipid concentrations and have been shown to reverse atherosclerosis progression. 
Plant-based foods, including fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, a favorable omega-6/omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio, and fish consumption have a protective effect against cancer.
 
On the contrary, a low intake of fruit and vegetables, high intake of red and processed meat, high intake of sodium, alcohol consumption, a diet rich in refined carbohydrates, and a high intake of total fat may increase risk of cancer.

Important tips for planning Plant based diets


1) Think about protein
2) Bone up on sources of calcium
3) Make simple changes
4) Enjoy a cookout (meat alternatives)
5) Include beans and peas
6) Try different veggie versions
7) Make small changes at restaurants
8) Nuts make great snacks
9) Get your Vitamin B12
10)  Find a vegetarian pattern for you

Sources:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index