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5 Great Benefits to Get From a Plant Based Diet

A plant based diet includes a high percentage of food sourced from plants rather than animals. This can mean eating nuts, whole grains, lentils, peas, beans, fruits, and vegetables. But, this style of diet does not need to be strictly vegetarian.

Here are five of the health benefits that come from eating lots of plant foods:

plant based diet

Blood pressure

A plant-based diet offers a perfect source of potassium-rich foods which can help to naturally lower blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables, as well as most seeds, nuts, legumes, and whole grain include a sufficient amount of vitamin B6 and potassium for healthy blood pressure. Animal foods like meat include minimal potassium and can lead to higher cholesterol and blood pressure.

Cholesterol

A significant benefit of adopting a plant-based diet is the ability to lower cholesterol. Plants are cholesterol-free, even the more saturated types like cacao and coconut. For this reason, eating a diet that mostly consists of plant-based foods can offer a simple solution to lowering cholesterol. Great food choices to lower rates of heart disease and cholesterol include seeds, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Blood Sugar

A highly effective method to control high blood sugar is to increase the fiber in the diet. A fiber-rich diet is perfect to help with slowing the absorption of sugar in the bloodstream. An added benefit is the ability to control hunger throughout the course of the day. Also, fiber can help with balancing the level of cortisol in the blood stream, which is responsible for the feelings of stress. Many of the animal foods can have a significant hand in increasing the blood sugar level.

Cancer

A plant-based diet that includes low-fat, whole food is one of the most efficient choices for helping to cut the risk of cancer. Certain cancers like breast and colon are at great risk for those that eat a diet mainly consisting of animal foods.

Weight Loss

A diet consisting of plant-based and whole foods, with minimal processed sugars and low in fat, is certain to help with cutting weight. A further benefit comes from a diet that is high in clean and raw whole foods. Weight loss is naturally able to occur when the daily diet includes a higher percentage of vitamins, minerals, and fiber compared to proteins and animal fats. A well-planned plant-based diet has the potential to cut 4-6 pounds within a two-week period. This should also ensure you aren’t left feeling hungry.

How to Achieve Good Nutrition by Eating a Plant Based Diet

Vegetarianism and veganism are lifestyles that are defined by the eliminating of animal products from food and clothing, and opposing animal testing and cruelty. In vegetarianism and veganism, the diet is plant based and excludes meat.

While it may seem to be lacking to exclude meat in the diet, a plant based diet can actually provide all the essential nutrients a body needs to maintain good health and promote longevity.

Plant Based

A plant based diet consists of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Each of these contains all the essential nutrients that the human body needs to promote healthy digestion, cell function and repair, heart health, bone health, and even mental health. At the same time, they are low in calories, fat, and cholesterol. They help in maintaining weight while providing adequate amounts of fiber, vitamins, carbohydrates, and antioxidants.

The way to ensure there is an adequate supply of all the nutrients needed to have a healthy disposition is to vary up the plant based foods that are eaten. There are several to choose from so the possibilities for variety are better than one would expect. The diet does include salads and fresh fruit, but also consists of whole grain products, beans, oils, herbs and spices. All together, these items can be mixed and matched and prepared in various ways to get the amounts of nutrients needed for good health, without necessarily having to take supplements.

Plant based foods contain amino acids, various vitamins, protein, fiber and magnesium, an absolutely vital nutrient for good health, among others. They can be found in several foods. Some foods contain a lot of some nutrients and only a little of others, which is why variety is highly recommended for a plant based diet. Here are a few nutrients that need to be in adequate supply from food, and it is important to look out for and try to consume them at every meal.

Calcium is one nutrient the human body needs for strong teeth and bones, but it is not made or stored within the human body. To get an adequate supply of calcium, leafy greens must be a main staple of a plant based diet. These include spinach, kale, bok choy, collard, mustard and turnip greens. Almonds and hazelnuts can be added to a meal for a little extra calcium.

Iron is very important in the transport of oxygen to the organs in the body. Leafy greens are a good source of iron, but other items will provide the necessary iron as well. In order to consume enough iron on a plant based diet, foods like oatmeal, whole wheat breads, and lentils, along with several other foods. Iron rich foods should be consumed on a regular basis.

Vitamin B12 is one vitamin we need, but is not very abundant in plant based diets. B12 can be found in fortified foods and supplements. This essential vitamin plays a part in giving us energy, reduces the risk of several diseases, and helps with overall mental health, so it needs to be a regular part of the plant based diet.

The foods of the earth in their natural form are unaltered and therefore healthier for humans than animal based and cooked foods. With a bit of research and the implementation of variety, a person could successfully achieve great health and a well balanced lifestyle by adopting a plant based diet.

Following A Plant Based Diet Is Easy With Home Gardens

Many people today are turning to a plant-based diet as an alternative to diets too rich in saturated meat products, junk food, and highly processed foods. In some cases, it involves spending more time in the produce section of your local grocery store, looking for fruits and vegetables that are grown organically and spending extra money on them.

You can follow a great plant-based diet in an even better way while growing your fruits and vegetables in your own home garden. If you live in an apartment, you can start a container garden in front of a sunny window. If you have a plot of land to turn into a garden you can go big with a garden filled with healthy fruits and vegetables. You can grow almost anything in a small garden so you have the spring, summer and fall to eat off your own land.

plant-based

Vegetables Easily Grown At Home

Tomatoes lend themselves well to container gardening and can grow like wild in the good earth of your back yard. They grow and ripen all season long so you can pick what you need for sandwiches, salads, snacks, fresh sauces and even for juicing.

You can grow your own peas or beans in a container or in your backyard garden. They are rich in phytonutrients that have their maximum potency if you simply pick what you need and eat them as soon as possible; you have the greatest amount of healthy phytonutrients and antioxidants in the food shortly after picking them.

Peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and greens like Kale are great options for a home garden and allow you to reach for healthy and super fresh produce all summer long and into the fall.

Your Home Garden

If you decide to have a back yard home garden, you need to decide if you want to grow organic foods or not. Organic gardening is the best possible choice because the food is grown without pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. This means no harmful chemicals exist with the food you pick and you can even eat them straight out of the garden without having to wash them extensively.

Grow a wide variety of foods that become ripe at different times of the season:

Radishes, for example, take only a few weeks to become edible and, after pulling them up, you have room to grow a row of something else. Most people grow tomatoes and some people grow carrots, lettuce, and potatoes.

Both potatoes and squash need the entire summer to become available for eating so all you need to do is to keep them weed-free and watch them grow. In the early autumn or late summer, you can dig up the potatoes and harvest the squash. These types of produce can be kept at room temperature or in a cool place for many months so you have instant winter eating from vegetables you grew in the summer.

Lettuce and other greens can be grown and harvested all summer long for the best in salads that are high in phytonutrients and antioxidants. All you need to do is harvest some of the leaves, wash them, and enjoy them in a healthy salad with tomatoes, carrots, or radishes you grew yourself. This is the core of a plant-based diet that will give you benefits far beyond a meat-based diet.

Meat-based diets are low in antioxidants and high in saturated fats. You can get the nutrition you need from vegetables and fruits you grow yourself with a known reduction in fatty deposits in your arteries and a lesser chance for heart disease and stroke. There is a reduced risk of certain cancers with a low fat, plant-based diet.

Get Even Better Results With Composting

If you want an especially fruitful garden, consider starting a compost pile or box. All you need to do is put in vegetation and clippings from around your yard, add food scraps and paper, mixing everything with a little bit of soil. Worms thrive in the moist environment of a good compost heap so that you will soon have these things turned into rich soil that will make your organic garden thrive.

Get Started Today

There are millions of guides online for organic vegetable gardening, and many books on the topic. In reality, the best teacher is experience, so learn the initial steps, get the supplies and just do it! Remember to get the kids involved in the garden as well; it is a great learning experience, and a great opportunity to spend quality time together.

4 Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet

It is imperative to understand that most if not all of the life forms on earth have emanated from plants. The healing arts and medicine were derived from plant life. Plants (trees) provide oxygen for our very existence. If they have done all of these things for us then consuming plants should be nothing less than top priority in each household around the world. Unfortunately, we live in a meat-eating society which preaches that the only way to consume protein is through meat. Nothing could be further from the truth. When we speak of plant-based diets we are referring to fruits and vegetables.

Below are 4 benefits of consuming a plant-based diet.

plant

1. Micronutrient Power

There are two forms of nutrients of which you should be concerned. The first category is known as macronutrients. The macronutrient group includes proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The body requires a certain amount of macronutrients to function correctly on a daily basis. The second category is known as micronutrients. The micronutrient group includes vitamins and minerals. Health experts emphatically state that micronutrients are the key to life longevity. Micronutrients are only found in plant life. These guys are packed with enzymes and provide what is known as phytochemicals which are cancer fighters or popularly termed antioxidants. Most importantly, micronutrients feed your body at the cellular level and aid your biological clock. For this reason you may notice many vegans who appear twenty years younger than their chronological age.

2. You Don’t Have to Cook

The fact of the matter is that we exist and work in a society where some people work twelve hours. If you don’t have to be bothered with cooking each day after or before work then you will be a happy individual. Preparing certain foods is a job in itself. Making a brown bag lunch with a few vitamin packed herbs and a few pieces of fruit and vegetables takes little to no effort at all.

3. Lowers Cholesterol Naturally

When you consume raw fruits and veggies you do not have to worry about high cholesterol. However, when you consume a diet rich in meat you have a great chance of contracting a case of high cholesterol. Here is why. Meats are high in fat and fat plays a major role in high cholesterol. Plants have little to no fat so you will merely glean nutrients. Some meat eaters switch to a low-fat diet and fail to see lower cholesterol results. They fail to understand that a low-fat diet is of no value unless the meat is eliminated or significantly reduced. Your liver loves plants because it does not have to work as hard to regulate the cholesterol.

4. They Cleanse The Body

Inside of every cleanse on the market you will find herbs. Herbs are the true healers in the plant life regime. Not only do herbs behave as medicine but they also have a sweeping effect on the body. To make their case concrete, herbs also contain certain vitamins and minerals. Herbs will get inside of the major organs in the body and dispel the most vicious toxins. Fiber which also stems from plant life is a cleanser. If you suffer from constipation you are normally instructed to consume fiber rich plants in an effort to cleanse your system.