5 Underrated Benefits of a Plant-Forward Lifestyle
I don’t remember the exact moment when I ditched my low-carb lifestyle from college and officially considered myself “plant-based”.
But let’s back it up.
The year was 2010. I was a college undergrad, and enamored with the counter-cultural vibe of the “paleo” movement... I was intrigued by the idea that “everything we knew about nutrition was wrong.”
Fat was good, carbs were evil, and grains and beans were toxic. Up was down.
I would read blog post after blog post, and they all sounded like experts. Surely, THIS is why everyone in Westernized nations are sick? We’d been duped by the idea of “healthy whole grains” and now it was time for a revolution!
Fast forward 4 years.
I was a graduate student researcher in a nutrition laboratory, focused on healthy aging. And I just remember thinking to myself, while taking a bite of a delicious chickpea and vegetable curry, “I can’t believe I used to think grains and beans were ‘toxic’.”
Like I said… I don’t know where or how it happened.
I just remember feeling like I’d “woken up” in that moment and realized that I was plant-based.
It’s About More Than Personal Health
Truth be told, there were a lot more reasons than just the physical health benefits of a plant-based diet that caused me to change my tune.
When I was eating “paleo”, I just wasn’t eating in a way that aligned with my values.
I was literally afraid of certain foods (which seemed dumb to me, even then), I was eating lots of animal products that I knew had a higher carbon footprint than I was comfortable with, and I was constipated. (Okay, maybe that doesn’t have to do with my core values, but it was uncomfy).
So yeah, switching to a plant-forward lifestyle was about more to me than how I looked and felt (although it also made me look and feel better, too).
And while each of these sections should prooooobably be a blog post in of itself, I want to share an overview of the top 5 perks of a plant-forward diet that finally convinced me to add more plants to my plate.
1. It Keeps Us Healthy
Okay, it’s a LITTLE about personal health. :) Let’s be honest, right?
Like most people, one of my main motivations for changing my diet (especially initially) was to feel good.
On the low-carb lifestyle, I was sluggish, felt like I was always fighting low blood sugar, was constipated and more.
Switching to plants gave me energy, helped me feel fuller for longer, gave me AMAZING bowel movements (TMI? Welcome to talking to a dietitian) and made me more satisfied with my lifestyle all around.
Thousands of studies demonstrate the power of plant-predominant diets to increase longevity, and decrease the risk of all chronic diseases including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and even cancer [1,2].
Plant-based diets are also more likely to help people lose excess body fat and maintain a healthy weight by being filling and naturally less calorie dense [3] than diets high in animal products.
And remember – this applies to plant-predominant diets, not just strictly vegan or vegetarian! So even adding more whole plant foods into your lifestyle can have huge health benefits down the line.
2. It’s Better for the Environment
I’ve got more reason now than ever to want to protect the planet… I’m going to be a mama soon. Baby girl is coming in April 2023 (ready or not Mom)!
Since becoming pregnant, I feel even more urgency to leave our world in a habitable state for my little girl.
Most experts agree that reducing our consumption of animal products is one of the most impactful personal choices [4] we can make to reduce our carbon footprint, especially in the case of swapping beef for plant products.
Eating plant-based protein sources like beans, legumes and whole grains typically use less energy, water, and emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than traditional animal proteins.
Not to say there isn’t nuance here – eggs and poultry are more sustainable than dairy and beef [5], for example.
But overall, feeding plant calories to animals, just to then harvest the animals for calories, is less energetically efficient than just getting those same calories from the plants.
Don’t worry, I see your hand back there – what about regenerative farming, you ask?
I’m actually a HUGE fan of regenerative farming! I think it can help sequester carbon (or get us closer to net neutral), is great for the animals and also for the land.
But I also know this: We can’t produce meat at our current levels of consumption regeneratively (even most animal-based diet advocates agree with that, and if they don’t – sorry, but they’re fudging the numbers).
So regardless of whether regenerative farming is part of the solution, the fact remains – we need to rely LESS on animal products, and MORE on plants, to give our kids a more sustainable future.
3. It Promotes Animal Welfare
As someone who’s not vegan OR vegetarian, speaking to this might strike some of you as strange.
Yes, I eat animals and animal products on occasion. But I still care deeply about the quality of life that these animals lived before they crossed my plate. (And yes, you can do both.)
If you’re vegan or vegetarian for ethical reasons that involve you NOT consuming meat, or animal products in general, I respect that!
But I also think we can all agree that a LOT of people eating FEWER animals is better than waiting for the world to adopt our exact values... objectively, this shift still contributes to animal welfare as a whole (i.e. less animals are being eaten). And it’s much more likely to be adopted across the board than a strictly vegan diet, for example.
Personally, I’m lucky to live in an area where I can purchase meat from a local, regenerative farm. My husband and I are part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that gives us a 5-lb ration of pastured meat from pork, lamb or chicken each month (they send whatever they have available so nothing goes to waste).
We also hunt, and any meat secured this way is in alignment with our values as well.
Can’t access the highest quality meat where you live? Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good. Every upgrade matters. Even choosing organic vs. conventional meats, or buying from a local farm every once in a while, can make a huge difference if we all do it!
4. It’s Cost Effective
Who says healthy eating has to be expensive? Probably the people trying to eat a half pound of grass-fed steak at every meal.
Plant foods are CHEAP, my friends.
If you’re looking to cut your grocery bill, try swapping some of your meat and dairy products for plant-based alternatives.
I mean, even organic tofu is only $2.99 a package where I live, and gives me 3 servings of cancer-fighting plant-based protein!
Canned and dried beans are even cheaper and full of not only protein but healthy fiber, too. Can’t ask for better.
And that grass-fed steak that will run you $24.99/lb?
Well, you can choose to keep that in the rotation if you like, but you’ll be able to afford that higher quality meat more comfortably if you’re already eating more plants. ;)
5. It’s Flexibile
In my view, finding the eating style that’s best for us and that helps us maintain our bodies’ best weight is a balance between how we feel physically, mentally and emotionally.
When I was avoiding carbs like the plague, my mental health was just… not good.
I felt too obsessed with “perfection” and limited when it came to enjoying the fun foods that I used to love, like the homemade pies that my mom makes with love every Thanksgiving.
Plant-forward nutrition gives us the gift of flexibility – there’s no dogma of any “off limits” foods, no unnecessary restrictions. It doesn’t force us to forgo important cultural foods, travel experiences or special occasions.
All foods can fit depending on what you wish to include. And finding that balance in my life certainly feels like something to celebrate.
Since “admitting” to myself that I was plant-based back in grad school, it felt like my whole world opened up.
I finally felt relaxed and confident in espousing an eating pattern that truly aligned with my deepest values, and was accessible and inclusive for all.
And I truly believe that plant-forward eating has something to offer everyone, whether your goals are to improve your health, protect the environment, embody kindness, eat well on the cheap or improve your relationship with food.
Are you ready to dive in? I can help you get started with my step-by-step free guide, “Creating Your First Plant-Forward Meal Plan”. Download it (and work through it!) to start eating more plants THIS week.
And I’d love to hear in the comments – What benefits of a plant-forward lifestyle most connect with you?
References:
[1] Kim, et al. Plant‐Based Diets Are … Middle‐Aged Adults. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2019.
[2] Dinu, et al. Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2017.
[3] Hall, et al. Effect of a plant-based, low-fat diet versus an animal-based, ketogenic diet on ad libitum energy intake. Nature Medicine. 2021.
[4] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Special Report on Climate Change and Land. Chapter 5: Food security. https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/
[5] Center for Biological Diversity. Appetite for Change: A Policy Guide to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission of US Diets by 2023. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/climate/Climate-Diet-report.html
