While obesity rates and chronic diseases are still on the rise, the idea of living a more plant-based lifestyle to improve overall health is spreading like wildfire.
The more scientist look into nutrition, the more they have to admit that eating a diet high in whole plant-based foods and low in animal products or processed and refined foods, is your best bet to avoid obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular issues, cancer, and many other chronic diseases.
While a vegan diet is the highest form of plant-based diet, which excludes all animal products, living a plant-based lifestyle doesn’t mean you can’t have meat, fish, honey, or dairy. Just try and eat less of it and gradually include more whole foods – such as veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and legumes into your diet.
Here are 9 benefits you are likely to experience when you embrace a more plant-based lifestyle.
1. Improved Digestive System
Eating more fibers, healthy fats, water, and plant-proteins will keep things moving. It improves the absorption of nutrients and elimination of waste materials. So if you are suffering from chronic bloating, heartburn, gas, or constipation you’ll definitely benefit from eating less dairy and meat, and more plants.
2. Highly Effective For Weight Loss
If you swap high calorie foods – such as processed, sweet, and fast food, for low calorie plant foods, you are going to lose weight. People who live a plant-based lifestyle tend to burn calories more efficiently, less of them are being parked as fat, and they are better at managing their weight.
3. More Energy
Animal foods are hard to digest and drain more of your body’s energy compared to plant-based foods.
4. Balanced Blood Sugar Levels
Living a plant-based lifestyle keeps your blood sugar levels in check. Not only can it help to reduce the risk of developing diabetes, it has shown some amazing effects in managing diabetes as well.
5. No Inflammation
If you are constantly troubled by aching or painful joints, eating more plants may solve your problems. Plants are packed with anti-inflammatory compounds. Especially the ones high in omega-3 and chlorophyll, such as nuts, seeds, and leafy greens.
6. Improve Sleep
While you are going to have heaps of energy during the day, you’ll also feel less stressed and more relaxed during the evenings. Foods like banana, cashews, almonds, avocado, kale, and sweet potatoes are rich in tryptophan (or vitamin B6) and magnesium. Both are crucial to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
7. Glowing Skin
Plant foods are loaded with vitamin A, C, E, chlorophyll, water and many antioxidants which fight free radical damage, and keep your skin moisturized and young.
8. Creates Happiness
Many people who embraced a plant-based lifestyle report that they actually feel happier and more alive. They come out more, are more adventurous, exercise often, and are less stressed.
9. Save Money
Eating beans, grains, healthy fats, and legumes instead of meat or other animal products saves a lot of money, which you can spend on organic food!
And of course choosing to eat less, or totally avoid all animal products, is good for our environment as well. Our appetite for meat and other animal products produces more greenhouse gasses than planes, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and trains combined.
At home we are not 100% vegans or vegetarians. We are flexitarians or people who eat mostly plant-based foods, but occasionally eat meat, poultry, fish, eggs, honey or dairy. Click here to get 10 easy tips and trick to ease your way into a plant-based diet.
Are you living a plant-based lifestyle? Love to hear your experiences?
If you are serious about detoxing, living a healthy lifestyle and/or losing weight to improve your health, click here
Don’t forget to download my FREE recipe book, Amy’s Home Kitchen” to sneak more clean, whole foods into your diet. Or connect with me on Facebook or Google+ for more healthy tips, tricks, and recipes.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v33/n6/full/ijo200945a.html
