What the Latest Research Tells Us About Plant-Based Diets
With more people adopting vegan, whole-food, and organic lifestyles — even the occasional foray into a Meatless Monday routine — there is more hype about plant-based diets than ever before. A review of the latest research helps us sift fact from fiction.
We’ve all had that one friend who decides to “go healthy” and bring everyone down with her…or, rather…offer copious amounts of unsolicited advice at the eve of every meal time. But you may be dubious to trust your girlfriend-turned-guru’s every last piece of nutritional advice. And for good reason — for any diet out there these days, the internet will sing its praises as loudly as it will condemn it.
This is why it’s always (ALWAYS!) a good idea to go with science. Because as the great Neil deGrasse Tyson says, “The good thing about science is that it’s true, whether or not you believe in it.”
Define the hypothesis
Like any good group of experimenters, let us begin with stating our purpose. For us, a simple one will do — let’s say, “plant-based diets — an unbiased look at the research.” A case-study review, as it were. Adjust your pocket-protector and we’ll get started.
Plant-based diets — the good, the bad, and the green
Spoiler alert: all the research combined ultimately supports a notion that Michael Pollen has put forth with elegant brevity: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” In his assertion, he wisely recommends consuming whole foods, in moderation, with more meals based on plants than meat. And, he’s overwhelmingly correct.
Plant-based diets can be broken down into a few categories. You have veganism, which eschews any animal products at all; the Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet, which allows limited animal products — provided they abide by minimal processing standards — and which focuses more on local sourcing of organic whole goods; and finally a slew of vegetarian-ish diets which allow dairy, honey, eggs and even fish.
Here’s what we know
After a careful review, it overwhelmingly appears that diets based on plants are the healthiest available. Behold:
• you’ll likely trim your waistline and keep it off
• your heart will thank you
• your risk for cancer will decrease — particularly for gastrointestinal and colorectal cancers
• you’ll stay smarter, longer
• you’ll reduce your risk of diabetes by a whopping 50%!
• you’ll help the planet, as evidenced by a review of 63 studies that revealed that diets with the least amount of animal products were the most environmentally-friendly
• you’ll lengthen your life
I say potato, you say potato-chip
Just because a food started off as a plant in some far-off land, does not mean it stayed living its best plant life when it arrived on your plate. In other words, if you’re keen to start eating more plants, be wary of falling into the processed food trap. While this was more of a problem before health became trendy and veggies options were limited, people still fall victim to convenience over principle.
Which is to say, an order of large fries does not a ‘plant-based’ diet choice make. Indeed, patients followed in the Nurse’s Health Study from 1984 until 2012 showed a clear demarcation: those that followed a healthy plant-based diet were significantly less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, while their junk-veggie-food-junkie counterparts increased their risk dramatically.
In conclusion, it appears your Stand Back and Admire My Health Friend was correct: plant-based diets offer a whole lot of goodness, but only if done the “right way.” Righteous foodies everywhere, rejoice!
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