7 Ways a Plant Based Vegan Diet Can Improve Your Health
You’re on the right track to a healthier lifestyle! How do I know? Because you stumbled across this page about a plant-based vegan diet!
If you’re new to the vegan lifestyle or thinking about making the switch, then a congratulation is due! A whole foods, plant-based vegan diet provides many benefits to our bodies leading to an overall feeling of wellness you’ll become addicted to and wish you had started sooner.
You’re here reading this so I assume you’re aware of some of the benefits of eating a plant-based diet. There are benefits to your body, your mind and your spirit, your environment, your planet and your conscience, here we will focus on the benefits to your body.
Keep scrolling to get the scoop on 7 health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet.
1. Lower Risks Of Heart Disease
Here’s a benefit that is commonly known. But let’s make sure you know all the facts! Harvard has conducted studies on plant-based diets and how they affect the body.
Living a whole foods plant-based and / or vegan lifestyle will help improve blood lipid levels and lowers cholesterol. For people whose diets are vegan, heart disease is far from sight. And multiple studies have proven that those on the plant-based diet are more likely to live longer than those who eat mostly meat and dairy products!
2. Lower Risks Of Diabetes with a Plant-Based Vegan Diet
The number of people with diabetes is on the rise. And the number is expected to climb to 522 million by 2030! While your genes may play a role in your risk for diabetes, your diet can have a significant impact over the affect the disease has on your body.
Our diets have a huge influence on insulin resistance. And high-calorie, processed foods increase the risk of diabetes. There are two forms of Diabetes, type 1 which is more severe and an autoimmune condition in which the pancreas does not create insulin, it is not caused by diet but a whole foods plant-based diet can significantly help the body feel it’s best. It is important to note that type 1 Diabetes requires medical intervention as the individual is considered insulin dependent because their body does not create it.
The most common form of Diabetes is type 2, accounting for 95% of Diabetes cases in adults. Some 26 million American adults have been diagnosed with the disease which is preventable and possibly reversible after onset with a whole foods plant based diet.
Eating foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts while putting off meat and dairy doesn’t only lower your chances for having type 2 Diabetes. It can even reverse it. If you have type 2 Diabetes, educating yourself and making the lifestyle switch to a plant based diet could very well save your life. It’s not a joke, it’s not too good to be true, it’s a fact that has a lot of research to back it up.
Also Read: Plant-Based Foods, Whole Grains and Fruits May Cut Type-2 Diabetes Risk: 5 Foods You Must Have
3. Lose Weight & Keep It Off
Switching to a plant-based diet means less calorie intake. And fewer calories means losing weight and keeping it off! Want to know the best part about losing weight on a plant-based diet?
It’s healthy! And it’s weight loss done right! But don’t worry about feeling hungry.
These foods keep you feeling full without all the calories. And healthy fats can be consumed in avocados, nuts, and oils. This also helps make your stomach nice and full!
4. Lower Blood Pressure
Suffer from high blood pressure or hypertension? Starting this diet will put all your worries at ease! Consuming high portions of fruits, vegetables, and nuts lowers your blood pressure.
And high blood pressure often leads to heart disease and stroke. So although you may not be suffering from any serious conditions currently, why not stop it before it happens? Nip heart disease and the chance of stroke in the bud by starting a plant-based diet!
5. Improved Digestion
Fruits and vegetables are high in fiber! They help lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. But they also help with digestion!
Just one cup of raspberries is equivalent to 8 grams of fiber! So say goodbye to constipation! This diet is great for gut health!
6. Improved Vision with a Plant-Based Vegan Diet
We’ve all heard that carrots help your vision. But why? They’re high in Vitamin A.
But if carrots aren’t your thing, don’t panic. Vegetables like kale, corn, squash, and spinach are also great for your eyes. They reduce your chances of cataract and macular degeneration!
7. Healthy Skin
Have you ever considered trying a plant-based diet for better skin? If not, then it’s time to start considering it. Meat contains saturated fats.
And saturated fats clog your pores. Plus, veggies and fruits are filled with many good ingredients for the skin! For example, sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin C, which stimulates collagen production.
When Are You Switching To A Plant-Based Vegan Diet?
It’s not a question of are you switching or not. It’s a question of when. With all the benefits that a plant-based vegan diet has to offer, hopefully you realize the benefits to your life this switch will bring.
If you’re interested in learning more about the science, I recommend this video which features a leading plant-based doctor by the name of Dr. Michael Greger. Dr Greger runs a website called Nutrition Facts and I cannot recommend his methods, research and knowledge sharing high enough, do be pay him a visit at NutritionFacts.org frequently, you’ll find answers to almost any question you may have.
A note about this video, it is from 2012 and what I would like for you to keep in mind is how compelling the research was then, this is a 7 year old video but it’s the video that opened my eyes and that I still share with anyone that asks me about my plant based wellness journey.
If you’d like to skip to a specific disease topic just click the time in the left column.
1:05 Diseases of heart
10:12 Cancer
23:37 Emphysema
25:40 Stroke
27:06 Unintentional injuries
27:23 Alzheimer’s disease
28:04 Diabetes
33:55 Kidney failure
35:13 Influenza and pneumonia
35:54 Suicide
37:54 Blood infection
42:12 Liver failure
43:08 High blood pressure
44:49 Parkinson’s disease
46:03 Aspiration pneumonia
And if you’re loving all these reasons why to go plant-based, then you’ll want the inside scoop on some great plant-based vegan diet recipes!