Living a Plant-Based Life

Plant-Based Diet – Curious about a Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) diet? The T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies will help you get started.

The term “whole” in WFPB defines foods that are minimally processed. Consume as many whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes as possible.

Many people abandon the “diet” label in favour of the term “lifestyle.” Maybe it’s because our popular idea of nutrition has become so cluttered. A Plant-Based Diet lifestyle is different. It’s not a short-term blame game. It’s not a series of complicated meal plans. Get back to the whole, unprocessed foods, rich flavours, and natural health.

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Plant-Based Eating 101

What can I eat?

It’s pretty simple: whole, unrefined, plant-based foods. That is all.

Why?

The profits of a healthy lifestyle are enormous. Although, When you adopt a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle, you can increase your chances of:

• Have a lower risk of prostate, breast, and other types of cancer
• Prevent, even reverse, heart disease
• Prevent and treat diabetes
• Lose weight and have more energy
• Living more time
• and much more

The price? Change your diet. It has never been so easy or relatively easy to achieve such profound benefits.

Let’s break down what can and can’t be on your plate.

Plant-Based Eating Guide

Yes! Eat these foods in abundance.

Enjoy a wide range of whole and unrefined plants. The best news of all? And also, You can eat when you are hungry and until you are full.

whole grain cereals

barley, brown rice, millet, wild rice, quinoa, amaranth, rolled oats and steel flakes, whole wheat

Legumes (dried or canned or low salt)

adzuki beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, lima beans, kidney beans, soybeans, green beans, peas, mung beans, lentils, broad beans, pinto beans, homemade veggie burgers

Green vegetables (fresh or frozen)

kale, sprouts, spinach, lettuce, parsley, cilantro, Swiss chard, bok choy, arugula

Estate

all kinds of potatoes, onions, carrots, radishes, beets, garlic, ginger, turnips, daikon

other vegetables

pumpkin, celery, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mushrooms, asparagus, bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, seaweed

Fruit (fresh or frozen)

Apricots, apples, bananas, berries, cherries, mangoes, papayas, pineapple, grapes, kiwi, plums

Seeds rich in Omega 3

flaxseed, chia seeds

spices

all the spices

Beverages

water, unsweetened plant-based “milk,” herbal teas, green tea, decaffeinated coffee

Should I take vitamin B12? Animals or plants do not make this essential nutrient. B12 is made by microbes, bacteria that cover the ground. These bacteria are shared in the gastrointestinal tract of animals so that animal foods can be sources of B12. Few plants contain vitamin B12: two varieties of edible algae, some types of mushrooms, plants grown in experimental settings with B12-enriched soil or water, and some foods made with specific fermentation processes have small amounts of active B12. We recommend a B12 supplement.

Occasionally. Eat these foods in moderation.

Many of the foods on the “moderate” list are healthy foods. For example, evidence suggests that nuts, avocados, and seeds contain valuable nutrients. But a particular situation arises with people accustomed to the traditional diet based on animal products, suddenly trying to avoid fats, cheeses, and rich cuts of meat. They still crave rich, fatty foods, and if they realize they can add ½ cup of cashews to every meal, or ½ avocado to everything, they can “play by the rules” and still love the taste of their food. And guess what? They won’t lose as much weight as they’d like and won’t necessarily get the maximum benefit.

Walnuts

peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews, and nut butter

Coconut

low-fat coconut milk, unsweetened strings or chips, raw

Avocado

Seeds (except sources of omega 3)

sesame, pumpkin, sunflower

Nuts

Added sweeteners

maple syrup, date syrup, molasses

Minimally processed whole soy products

tofu, tempeh, miso

Beverages

caffeinated coffee and tea, alcohol

If you buy a prepackaged food product, carefully read what’s on the package, box, or can. Please note that product ingredients are listed in descending order, with the most significant amount by weight first. Buy products with just a few recognizable plant-based ingredients—the less processed, the better.

No. Avoid these foods.

The traditional American or Western diet is rich in meat, dairy, white flour, sugar, and oil. Whether it’s “healthy” food or junk food, the Western diet relies heavily on animal foods and processed plant fragments. Imagine the traditional fast food of a cheeseburger, fries, milkshake, or a “healthier” meal that might include chicken, rice, and broccoli with cheese sauce.  The consequences of the Western diet are also epidemic levels of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and staggering health care costs.

Meat

fish, poultry, shellfish, red meat, processed meat

Dairy products

yoghurt, milk, cheese, butter, cream, buttermilk

Eggs

hen, duck, quail, ostrich

Plant fragments (these often include vegan replacement foods)

added fats

oils*, margarine

*Oil, even the most refined olive oil, is 100% fat, dense in calories, and poor in nutrients. The oil damages the endothelium, the innermost lining of the artery, and that injury is the gateway to vascular disease. Even adding a little oil can harm heart health for those with known heart conditions.

Refined sugar

white sugar, barley malt, beet sugar, brown rice syrup, brown sugar, cane juice crystals, cane sugar, corn syrup, confectioners’ sugar, fructose

refined cereals

white flour, white rice, quick cook oats

protein isolates

soy protein isolate, pea protein isolate, seitan

Beverages

soft drinks, sodas, fruit juices (even 100% pure), sports drinks, energy drinks

Plant-Based Meal Planning Tips and Ideas

Adopting a whole, plant-based diet is like a marathon, not a sprint. If you are one of the majority of people with chronic health problems, you certainly didn’t get sick overnight. Getting rid of your habits and patterns throughout your life can take a long time. Be aware of the inevitable obstacles and pitfalls along the way. However, as you find the food you like and adopt new habits of going to the market and cooking, this will be a new sustainable lifestyle.

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