Cultivating Health: A Guided Journey to Whole Food Plant-Based Living (1).

Cultivating Health: A Guided Journey to Whole Food Plant-Based Living (1)

In this blog series, I aim to discuss how to transition from a standard diet to a healthier version that is achievable for you. Additionally, I’ll provide insights to help you develop a more critical perspective on eating.

In this blog post:

First, we’ll begin with an educational introduction on the challenges you may face while improving your lifestyle. Additionally, I’ll provide resources to help you navigate and overcome these obstacles.

Secondly, I’ll introduce a range of interconnected diets to familiarize you with various concepts.

Don’t expect yourself to make a change just within a day or two; it’s better to take it slow. Speaking from personal experience, starting from a standard diet, it took me about half a year to transition to a vegetarian diet and then into a vegan one; Moving towards a healthier version of that took even longer.

The key to success.

When I first heard the word, “vegetarian" I didn’t really understand why people would choose to not eat animal products. After all, wouldn’t they suffer from nutritional deficiencies without meat and other animal products in their diets? My grandparents always told me that to become big and strong, I’d have to get lots of meat on my plate. I never questioned such statements; after all, they were my grandparents.

Almost everyone on earth has had similar experiences and has since come to the belief that eating animal products is necessary for staying healthy and robust. When transitioning to a more plant-based diet, you will encounter many people who will challenge you with their beliefs, even indirectly.

For example, when dining out with friends, the mere sight of people consuming animal products when you’re not, can make you start questioning your own beliefs. The only way to become more confident in what you’re eating is to continue learning about food and growing as a person in the meantime.

If you’re not knowledgeable about scientific studies on health, here’s an example to question your own belief. Exercise is typically not controversial and is considered one of the healthiest habits to incorporate into your lifestyle. However, have you ever questioned why it’s healthy? What does being healthy even mean? According to a study, “Higher levels of total and domain-specific physical activity were associated with reduced all-cause mortality.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22039197/ This study demonstrates that as you exercise more, your all-cause mortality decreases, indicating a reduced likelihood of death overall. ‘All-cause mortality’ is a term that offers clearer insight into health outcomes compared to more vague and ambiguous terms such as becoming more ‘fit,’ ‘stronger,’ or ‘better for the spirit.’ While these terms are not inherently negative, questioning them and delving into scientific research can provide a deeper understanding of their true meaning and implications.

This is the key to eating healthier: you’ll have to keep questioning every belief you have about food and eating in order to learn and gain a deeper understanding. Of course, not everyone has the time to delve into thousands of scientific articles. That’s where https://nutritionfacts.org/ comes into play. Dr. Greger created this site to help people around the world become healthier versions of themselves. He provides videos and blog posts on almost any question you could think of, covering topics from heart disease and cancer to discussions about broccoli for autism management or the health benefits of chocolate cows milk compared to chocolate soy milk.

Explaining the different diets

This blog post will guide you towards eating healthier because it’s challenging to achieve without a solid foundation.

Standard diet: This diet is how most people around the globe eat nowadays. Think about fried chicken, pizza, fries, beef jerky, and salami with white sandwiches… It involves following what your tongue and brain tells you, and less so with what science says. Essentially being unaware of the potential dangers associated with these eating habits.

Healthy omnivorous: This is what most people consider a healthy diet. It involves avoiding junk food and processed foods, replacing them with “healthier” alternatives. I emphasise “healthy” because it’s not necessarily healthier. An example would be swapping pure sugar for honey or maple syrup and thinking that it’s healthy. But is it truly beneficial for health? The only thing people may have heard is that it contains more nutrients, which could suggest it’s healthier than pure sugar. However, the analogy could be made to drinking poison from a glass: would you prefer the “raw poison” or the “poison with added vitamins”?

Pescatarian: This diet is similar to the Mediterranean diet, which is the traditional diet of the people that live in the Mediterranean region and is considered one of the healthiest by most nutrition scientists. It’s heavily plant-based, primarily utilizing plants, and consists mostly of whole foods, from minimally processed to unprocessed. It includes fish and primarily beans instead of meat. The difference with the pescatarian diet is that it just substitutes meat for seafood like fish. Therefore, it’s less health-oriented and more often based on moral beliefs.

Vegetarian: A diet that stems from moral beliefs or health reasons. Dairy products (milk and cheese) and eggs are still consumed on this diet, as well as honey. However, meat is entirely excluded. Followers of this diet typically believe that cheese and eggs are animal-friendly products.

Vegan: This “diet” stems from a moral belief system that is broader than just the diet itself. “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans, and the environment. In dietary terms, it denotes the practice of abstaining from all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism. So, this diet does not primarily concern itself with health. This means that while some vegan diets may be healthy, others may be filled with junk. This is why referring to vegan diets as ‘efficient’ is mostly flawed, as they vary greatly within the community.

(strictly) Plant-based: This is what people refer to when they mention a vegan diet; it abstains from all animal products but does not include any additional restrictions beyond that.

Whole food plant-based: This diet is what the name implies; it focuses on whole foods like grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and so forth.

Whole food plant-based (SOS-Free): This diet is similar to the previous one but includes the SOS-free status. This means avoiding the use of added sugar, oils, and salt. However, this restriction only applies to ‘added’ ingredients. For instance, while apples contain natural sugars, they are not avoided because the sugar from an apple can have significantly different effects on the body compared to pure refined sugar.

For each diet I listed, there can be significant inter-individual differences in what the diets look like for people. These differences may include preferences such as excluding processed foods, focusing more on whole foods, or being driven by moral reasons. One person might, for example, consume a larger quantity of nuts on a plant-based diet, while another might consume a substantial amount of berries. While these variations are acceptable, consider the scenario where a study highlights that consuming an excessive amount of berries could potentially harm a specific organ. This principle applies to potentially any food that you will consume throughout your lifetime. In this blog series, I’ll discuss the most common recommendations for foods to avoid or to include in your diet. However, this article information. That’s why it’s essential to combine a rough plan with detailed learning to address specific questions that may arise during your journey.

Expectations

There’s a reason why I arranged them in this order. It turns out that, if followed properly, this sequence serves as a rough guideline for eating healthier and nurturing your body more.

In the upcoming posts, I’ll delve into each diet and provide explanations and tips on how to achieve better health by referencing scientific articles.

I can confidently tell you that changing your mindset will be challenging and time-consuming, but I can assure you it’s worth it. See you in the next post!