#vegan - Kim Sims, MD

September 19, 2020December 12, 2020

Can you do a Plant-Based Diet?

Plant-based zuccini lasagna, courtesy of Chef Julia, The JuJu Products

YES! You can!

I started moving towards a more plant-based diet earlier this year. In full disclosure, I’m not fully plant-based today, I’ve had periods of being more plant based than others.

I made my decision because I was trying to see if moving to a less inflammatory diet would help my headaches. I truly believe it was helpful in decreasing the frequency and debility I was experiencing.

There are many other reasons to consider switching to a plant based diet.

A plant-based diet has been shown to:

Improve nutrient intake
Decrease mortality from all causes
May reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by estimated 40% and cerebral vascular disease by 29%
Reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome by 1/2
Reverse atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
Decrease blood lipids
Decrease blood pressure

What is it?

A plant-based diet is a diet based in nothing from animal products. A vegetarian diet is slightly less rigid and typically allows eggs and dairy.

So, how do you start? Like anything, you start

There are sooooo many resources for beginning a plant based journey, and it does require research. If you are going to be strictly plant-based, and not vegetarian, you will need a vitamin B12 supplementation.

If you click the link, there are several other links to information on how to get started on your own. It takes a good deal of research on nutrition and matching nutrients. You want to make sure you are getting enough essential amino acids per day, and enough nutrients–you can’t just eat rice and potatoes–not healthful!

One thing I have done is invested in meal prep. It let’s me try different flavors and takes some of the stress off as I transition. My meal prep person is AMAZING!! If you’re in the Houston area and reading this, consider contacting Julia of The JuJuProducts for amazing vegan meals. You can also look for a healthy vegan meal prep in your area as you continue to try your own vegan recipes.

You can start with Meatless Mondays and transition to more meatless days, or rip the bandaid off and go for it. The goal is to make a change in the right direction. Honestly, the right way, is the way that works for you and your lifestyle!

All Plant-based “shrimp” poke bowl, Courtesy of Chef Julia, The JuJu Products

January 5, 2020

Plant-Based and Yummy!!

I can’t wait to try some of these recipes!!

I have a friend who makes some dope t-shirts who invited me to a night market his business was attending, so husband and I went out to support. There was SOOO much cool stuff, but the reason for this post…the vegan food.

So, you all know, I briefly told you about the benefits of plant-based diets before. There isn’t a single diet modification with as much evidence behind it when it comes to cardiovascular benefit and cancer prevention, and it is also excellent for weight control, preventing and reversing insulin resistance and metabolic disease, and most of my patients who suffer from inflammatory disorders generally feel better if they go plant-based.

Anyway, I met this lovely woman who apparently is already quite well-known on the vegan scene in Houston, the chef behind Tay’s Vegan Eats!. I’m super excited, though, because I got a copy of her cookbook, and I now have a resource for my patients who don’t believe plant-based can be flavorful and fun! Honestly, I can’t wait to try some of her stuff in my kitchen–one of my biggest barriers to trying vegan myself is not having a resource of go-to recipes.

My husband tried the mac and cheez and liked it—and guys—this man calls himself a carnivore (though I did correct him and tell him he was an omnivore—though not a very good one, cuz he’s a little like a toddler when it comes to veggies). I wish I’d gotten a pic of him eating it—so bad at that part. He was being stingy with it!

Anywho…check out her pages! Her food is delish!

See her Facebook and Instagram.

September 22, 2019January 5, 2020

Plant-Based Diets

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!

A 21 Day Quickstart Program

More guidance on Nutrition

(Update 1/5/2020: Houston Vegan Chef with Great Food)