PLANT-BASED + VEGAN BENEFITS
There are many benefits, both personal and global, to a plant-based and/or vegan diet – whether to improve your overall health, support the environment, slim down or simply to maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Health Matters. Minimally processed plant-based/vegan foods are low in saturated fats and cholesterol commonly found in meat and dairy, are rich in nutrients that aid in digestion and detoxification, and help to lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
A plant-based or vegan diet can have a significant impact on one’s health. Recent studies have shown that individuals who maintain a plant-based or vegan diet can live longer, maintain healthier weights, lower body mass indexes (BMI), and report increased energy as wells as clearer skin. Plant-based/vegan diets are also linked to lower risk of heart disease, certain forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure, obesity and other chronic ailments.
Diets heavy in spinach, kale, corn, squash, kiwi and grapes are rich with essential pigments that help to prevent cataract and macular degeneration. Additionally, many of the building blocks of a plant-based/vegan diet including chia seeds, hemp seeds and quinoa are considered complete proteins that provide all nine essential amino acids necessary for building important muscle tissue crucial to normal bodily function.
Word To Your Mother (Earth)! Maintaining a plant-based or vegan diet can significantly help preserve our planet’s water supply, lower our carbon footprint and reduce the impact of climate change. Raising animals for consumption continues to be one of the largest industrial contributors to environmental issues that we face today. Deforestation, desertification, overuse of freshwater, inefficient use of energy and emission of greenhouse gases are directly linked to the cattle industry.
A diet rich in plant-based foods requires less land (6 to 17 times that of animal-based foods) & fossil fuels (2.5 to 50 times less). Additionally, a plant-based/vegan diet requires nearly 600 gallons of water less per day than the average American diet, and half of all the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for consumption!
Ch-Ch-Changes. No need to make any drastic lifestyle changes! Start small, try adding one meal a week (try Meatless Monday!), replace dairy with a non-dairy alternatives, spend some quality time in the produce aisle (Shopping 101) and find recipes that inspire you (here)!
Remember, SMALL decisions can lead to BIG changes in the world.
GO AHEAD PEOPLE, EAT YOUR VEGGIES!
