7 Facts About a Plant-Based Diet
By Nicole Martin
January 31, 2017
1. Research shows that a plant-based diet can prevent—and even reverse—the most prevalent and deadly diseases in the West.
Two decades ago Dr. Dean Ornish published a landmark study showing how a “near vegan” diet can reverse the effects of atherosclerosis. It can open up the arteries, melt away the plaque, and help the body heal the whole system. There’s growing evidence that at least some cancers can be treated with the same dietary changes.
2. Plants are better than drugs and medicine for treatment.
A lot of the drugs doctors prescribe you started out as certain chemicals in plants. The drug companies then take just that chemical—or their synthesis of it—and make (and market) the drug. What’s left, though is all the other stuff in the plant. And more and more research is showing that those whole plants are (usually) more effective than the drugs.
3. It prevents diabetes.
About 387 million people are living with diabetes. Which is sad, because Type 2 diabetes is entirely preventable. You just have to eat plants.
4. You’ll be skinnier.
Those on a plant-based diet statistically have a much lower Body Mass Index (BMI) than those who aren’t. And dropping down to a healthy weight takes a lot of stress off your internal systems. Which means less disease, and way more life.
5. You’ll look better.
By which I mean, you’ll be able to look at things better. The lutein and zeaxanthin pigments in grapes, kiwis, spinach, and kale have been shown to prevent cataracts from forming.
6. You’ll look better.
Now, I mean you’ll actually look better. (See what I did there?) Vitamins, pigments, and phytochemicals in fruits and veggies are vital for healthy skin. Potato chips just make your face all greasy.
7. You’ll be RICH(er)!
There’s this myth out there that eating a plant-based diet is more expensive than the Standard American Diet (SAD). True, it’s more expensive to order a salad than, say, three McChicken sandwiches. But on the whole, meat is way more expensive than buying legumes and shopping at your local farmers market for your produce. It’s also true that the SAD diet leads to obesity, which means that you’ll be spending on average an extra $1,450 each year on health care costs.
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