If we’re looking at diets that cut one particular type of food, plant-based diets may just have the most data to support its benefit to health. I do find that people, for some reason, are the most resistant to this thought, but it could have something to do with the fact that I’m located in the great and interesting state of TEXAS!
Truth is, Americans eat WAY more than their share of protein, and we really don’t need animal protein to meet this requirement if we eat a wide variety of plants to fill this need. You do have to do your research and make sure that you get all your essential amino acids daily, and generally will need to supplement with vitamin B12 since we do get the bulk of this from animal products.
Plant based diets tout benefits such as reducing risk of cardiovascular disease and cholesterol, reducing insulin resistance, and reducing body weight, in addition to other health benefits including reduction in some gastrointestinal cancers. I will likely go further into some of the benefits in later blogs, but we’ll stop here as an introduction.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is an organization that is passionate about plant based diets. Please find some of their excellent links below to get you started if you are interested in this lifestyle!
(Update 1/5/2020: Houston Vegan Chef with Great Food)