What do Venus Williams, Scott Jurek and American quarterback Tom Brady have in common? A plant-based diet is the answer. According to new study, eating a primarily (or entirely) plant-based diet improves microbiome function by boosting the diversity of gut bacteria.
This, in turn causes a series of neurochemical and hormonal changes in the adult body, affecting mental, psychological and physical health and well-being. Plant-based protein is also digested more effectively than animal-based protein because it breaks down and absorbs at a much more uniform rate in the body. A plant-based diet does not have to eliminate anything else. Here are the four most common plant-based diets:
1. A Vegetarian Diet
A vegetarian diet often excludes meat. It includes cheese, eggs and other dairy items. Football superstar Joe Namath, football player Ricky Williams and world-renowned track sensation Carl Lewis are all vegetarians.
2. A Vegan Diet
A vegan diet is a sort of vegetarian diet that does not include meat but also avoids animal products such as milk or eggs. Martina Navratilova, ultra-marathon runner Scott Jurek and former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson are all vegans.
3. A Pescatarian Diet
A pescatarian diet is mostly vegetarian but also comprises seafood. Former NFL player Tony Gonzalez, MMA champion Kron Gracie and ultra-marathoner Reylynne Dela Paz are among famous pescatarian sportsmen.
4. A Flexitarian Diet
A flexitarian diet maintains plant-based meals while permitting meat and other animal items in moderation. Famous flexitarian sportsmen include Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, UFC fighter John Cholish and British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
How to Begin
Stella McCartney, the famous fashion designer, was the inspiration for "Meat-free Mondays," the concept of changing your diet and going fully meat-free on one day of the week. This is both excellent for the environment since it minimizes the carbon footprint of food production (usually, animal-based food items require a lot more energy to create, so their carbon footprint is proportionally larger) and better for your health overall. The concept was expanded further with the Veganuary movement, which encourages individuals to go vegan for a month in order to experiment with a new diet and lifestyle.
However, transitioning from a Western-style diet strong in processed meat, salt, and sugar to a whole food, plant-based diet needs some forethought. Unless there is an urgent health reason for the change, the best method to make a sustainable, long-lasting adjustment to your diet is to do it slowly, introducing tiny modifications that give your microbiome time to adjust. That way, you can keep track of how you feel on your new diet.
So, begin small. If you eat a lot of fresh veggies and fruit, for example, attempt our salad-a-day challenge, which requires you to eat a salad every day. Depending on your previous diet, you may wish to include the no-salt challenge. If you find yourself overindulging in junk food, our no-junk food challenge might be your first step toward healthier dietary habits.
The strategy is to begin with minor modifications because each change has its own set of consequences. Having a salad every day, for example, necessitates knowing where to purchase fresh veggies and becoming used to prepare them before a meal. Going a month without junk food requires you to consider what you will replace it with, where you will buy better food, how much you will spend, and how you will prepare it.
All of these are minor issues that can soon compound when the shift in nutritional pattern is too drastic, presenting an impenetrable barrier that can derail even our best-intentioned efforts.
Make a Strategy to Succeed in Your New Dietary Lifestyle Change
Psychologists have shown that when our behaviors contradict our goals, we feel mental and psychological distress. This is known as cognitive dissonance. As stuff accumulates in our minds, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to carry on with our plans.
To overcome it and succeed with the change we are implementing, we must make the change as simple as possible. And that necessitates some forethought.
So, here's what you need to do to stay committed to a more plant-based diet:
- Plan when you will begin your food dietary lifestyle.
- Determine the extent of the change you intend to make (remember too big a change is hard to sustain as there will be many unforeseen details to work out every day).
- Plan how you will meet your new nutritional needs (accessibility and budget play a big role here).
- Check to see if you need to learn any new abilities (cooking or preparing a food item you don't regularly use demands new expertise).
- Keep track of how you're feeling. Every food modification causes physical changes in the body. For example, our taste receptors alter and we encounter different flavors. Because the way our bodies metabolize food varies, we may need to adjust the quantity or frequency of our meals. Furthermore, our emotions fluctuate.
- Make modest adjustments and avoid making too many changes at once.
- Do not overlook the mental aspect. Food does more than merely satisfy your stomach. It has an impact on how you feel. Make adjustments that will improve your physical and emotional well-being.
- Do not underestimate peer pressure or social factors. Nobody eats alone all the time. Decide how you will deal with the strain of dining with the rest of your family (assuming they haven't already made the switch). Consider where you will go and what you will order the next time you go out with pals or lunch with coworkers.
- Optimize yourself. Plant-based foods demand extra preparation time, and you should never rush through your meal since it impacts your digestion and the way your body absorbs food.
- Keep a constant check on the budget. Nothing shatters your desire to include more plant-based foods into your diet like running out of grocery money. Plant-based food is often not more expensive than high-quality animal-based food, but because it lacks preservatives, you must eat it up as soon as possible. Furthermore, it is seasonal, which means that prices and expenses vary throughout the year.
Going plant-based in your diet can only work if you prepare ahead of time. For example, your present diet did not emerge overnight. It only became a thing when you understood where to obtain what you wanted, how much it would cost, and what to do if you had to prepare it as well. Similarly, you must now learn new talents and establish new personal methods. If you do it gradually, you'll discover that transitioning to more plant-based items is much easier than you think.
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