The Benefits of Plant-Based Eating

Hey guys, Elsa here.
I have collaborated with a fellow dietitian, Millie, bring you guys some evidence based nutrition articles on some topics that I think are really important when it comes to nutrition. I hope you enjoy reading this article, you can check out our previous blog post on Omega 3’s here!

Written by Millie Padula from Dietitian Edition
@dietitianedition www.dietitianedition.com

Plant Based Eating - What’s all the rage?

Google searches for ‘Plant Based Eating’ have boomed over the past 12 months - some might even say the world has become plant obsessed!

We can’t be surprised with these findings though, given the abundance of health and environmental benefits that following a plant-centric diet can pose. Here in Australia, 11.2% of us are pursuing a plant-based diet for ethical, personal, religious, health, economic or environmental reasons. Thats 2.6 million people nationwide, with numbers expecting to rise (1).

You might be surprised (or relieved) to hear that a plant-based diet is far from a typical fad diet we see surfacing our society time and time again. Thankfully, a plant based dietary pattern couldn’t be further from a restrictive, rule-driven, guideline-based diet that we all know far too well.

Instead, plant based eating is a dietary pattern that is focused on the predominant consumption of plants. Typically we hear the word ‘plant’ and think of fruits and vegetables, but do keep in mind that whole grains, legumes, lentils, nuts and seeds also belong to the plant family and are the main constituents of a plant based diet. Given the nutritional profile of the foods mentioned, it goes as no surprise that plant based eating has sparked so much interest in individuals around the world.

The ‘definition’ of plant based eating is vague however. It reads: “a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant foods”. Animal foods or by-products may be consumed in small amounts, or they may be removed all together. The words plant based and vegan may be used interchangeably for some, yet for others, they might mean something totally different - it depends who you speak with.

As you can see, it’s rather subjective - so make of it what you will and implement its core principles to best suit your preferences, goals, values and lifestyle.

Lastly, plant based eaters also adopt a whole-food approach and limit highly processed and refined foods where they can.

Health Benefits of Plant Based Eating

Optimises Gut Health

Our digestive tract is home to trillions of different bacterial cells that can positively or negatively affect our overall health and wellbeing (2). The aim of the ‘gut-health’ game is to increase the amount of beneficial bacteria that reside in our gut to optimise health outcomes.

The beneficial bacteria in our gut feed off fibre (in particular prebiotic fibre) and the only place to find this wonderful nutrient in our diets is through our beloved plant foods (3). Simply speaking, the more plants we eat, the more beneficial bacteria we have and the healthier our gut microbiome will be (3).

Better yet, research shows that including 30 different varieties of plant foods every single week can increase bacterial diversity and associated positive health outcomes (4).

Strengthens Immunity & Improves Mood

Including prebiotic rich foods in your diet every single day from onion, garlic, leek, asparagus, beetroot, nectarines, dried fruits, almonds, cashews, barley, rye, spelt, all legumes & silken tofu to name a few - results in a stronger immune system (70% of our immune cells are located in the gut(5)), reduced risk of disease, lower levels of inflammation and improvements in mood; given that 95% of our serotonin (the bodies happy hormone) lives in our gut (6)!

If you haven’t been convinced that plant based eating patterns are the bee’s knee’s, you sure are a hard nut to crack, but don’t worry - we’ve got plenty more where that came from, just keep reading!

Improves Heart Health

Due to the nature of plant-centric diets which involve eliminating or reducing ones consumption of animal products, the over-all diet, generally speaking - tends to be very low in saturated fat.

Saturated fats are found in large quantities in animal products (meat, dairy foods, butter, cream etc) and can increase our risk of heart disease if eaten excessively.

Plant based diets not only reduce our consumption of saturated fat (the bad fat), they also simultaneously increase our intake of unsaturated fat (the good fat) which is protective for our heart health (7).

Boost your intake of heart-loving unsaturated fats by including foods such as olive oil, avocado, olives and nuts and seeds in most of your meals.

Abundant Micronutrient Profile

Plant foods are also rich in skin-loving vitamin C, disease-fighting antioxidants, immune-supporting vitamins A & E and gut-loving polyphenols!

Environmental Benefits of Plant Based Eating

It goes without saying that eating a diet rich in plant foods that limits the consumption of animal products is more sustainable environmentally. Alarmingly, livestock is considered to be responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions at a global level (8). Whilst most of us are likely doing our best to reduce our carbon footprint, adding a few extra plants into our diets can make the world of difference, literally!

References:

Sports Dietitian Australia - Plant Based Diets: https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/factsheets/fuelling-recovery/plant-based-diets/
Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology: Role of the gut microbiota in health and chronic gastrointestinal disease: understanding a hidden metabolic organ - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3667473/
Gut Microbes - Dietary Fibre and Prebiotics and the Gastrointestinal Microbiota: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390821/
The American Gut Project: https://anesthesiology.duke.edu/?p=846744
Clinical & Experimental Immunology - Allergy and the Gastrointestinal System: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515351/
Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes - Serotonin in the Gastrointestinal Tract:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2694720/
Journal of the American Heart Association - Plant‐Based Diets Are Associated With a Lower Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All‐Cause Mortality in a General Population of Middle‐Aged Adults: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.119.012865
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations - Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock: http://www.fao.org/3/i3437e/i3437e.pdf

Thank you for reading this blog post, we hope you love it & have learned something new!

Ellie & Millie