Plant-Based Diet May Be the Key to Improving Overall Health

Even after all these years of learning proper nutrition and eating a well-balanced diet, I still wonder how good this way they teach us to eat really is. Over 100 years ago we didn't have all this dairy and meat readily available to us, as well as all this processes food. Yes, it might be quick and convenient to just grab and go with our busy lifestyles but isn't the whole point of food to be something that fuels our body and something that we can actually enjoy rather than wolfing it down to rush off somewhere. With this changing lifestyle, the prevalence of diabetes, heart disease, strokes and cancer is continuously on the rise, and a good majority of this issue is related to our eating habits.

I recently had to opportunity to watch a documentary that discusses how meats, dairy and processed foods is the main reason the world is becoming obese. It shows how following a plant-based diet can reverse the damage that has been done to our body and decrease the risk of these health problems. This film really opened my eyes, they pulled statistics from all around the world and had the doctors who did the documentary actually follow this lifestyle and have been for years. They even have their own website with diet plans and recipes for people to follow. You can follow them on twitter and read people's personal testimonies from trying this lifestyle and how it has changed their overall health.

I only watched the documentary about 2 weeks ago and the next day cut out all dairy, chicken (I don't eat red meat) and processed foods including anything with sugar and anything enriched or white. It wasn't a very drastic change for me, as I have always tried to maintain a healthy diet. However, when my boyfriend, who is an avid meat and cheese eater, decided he didn't want to suffer from any of these health complications and changed his eating habits, he's constantly commenting on how good he feels and how much more energy he has. Another student in my class, Kandice has also talked about the many health benefits a plant based diet has on our body, focusing primarily on the health benefits of beans and legumes.

After learning how detrimental to your health eating meat, dairy and processed foods really is and all the negative influences it has on my body, I don't think I will ever go back, especially after how spectacular I feel without that junk in my body.

References:

Forks Over Knives. (2011). Retrieved April 10, 2012, from Forks Over Knives: http://www.forksoverknives.com/

Farms 2 Forks. (2012). Retrieved April 10, 2012, from Farms 2 Forks: http://www.farms2forks.com

Churilov, V. (2010, June 10). Plant-Based Diet for Beginners: How to Get Started. Retrieved April 10, 2012, from Mind Body Green: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-952/PlantBased-Diet-for-Beginners-How-to-Get-Started.html

Forks Over Knives. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2012, from Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/forksoverknives

Kandice. (2012, April 10). Ales 204 Blog. Retrieved April 11, 2012, from Blogspot: http://eat-beans.blogspot.ca/