The Rise of Plant-Based Diets: Exploring the Benefits and Impact on Health

Tehreem Fazal Qureshi
4 min readJun 7, 2023

--

Plant based diet

Plant-based diets are becoming super popular! Let’s see how they can help us feel better and be healthier.

Plant-based diets have been blowing up lately. Many folks are considering cutting back on or ditching animal products from their meals and purchasing more plant-based options. This change is happening because people care about their health, the environment, and animals.

What exactly is it?

So basically, plant-based diets are all about eating lots of fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. They might also have some animal stuff or none at all. The main idea is to get most of our nutrition from plants.

Plant-based diets are packed with all the good stuff your body needs to thrive. You’ll get abundant essential nutrients that’ll keep you feeling great. So, if you’re into plant-based diets, you get all the good stuff, like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that keep you healthy. Like, fruits and veggies have some cool stuff that can help prevent diseases.

Plant-based diets are usually packed with fiber, which is super good for your health. Eating enough fiber is good for digestion, helps you manage your weight, lowers your cholesterol, and lowers your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.

Plant-based diets have less saturated fat and cholesterol. If you eat less animal-based foods and go for a plant-based diet, you might see some improvements in your heart health.

Don’t believe the hype! Plant-based diets can totally give you enough protein. If you’re looking for plant-based protein, legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and quinoa are all great options! They’ve got all the essential amino acids you need.

Did you know eating more plants can be super good for your health? Studies show that it might lower your chances of getting serious diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.

Want to lose weight? Try a plant-based diet with whole, unprocessed foods. They’re high in fiber, low in calories, and keep you feeling full.

Eating plant-based foods with fiber is good for your gut health? It helps grow the good bacteria in there. A good gut microbiome is super important for good digestion, a strong immune system, and mental well-being.

Some studies say that eating plant-based food might help reduce inflammation linked to diseases like arthritis, asthma, and some cancers.

Did you know that plant-based diets are way better for the environment? One reason is that livestock farming is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. If you go for plant-based stuff, you can help fight climate change and lower your carbon footprint.

Plant-based diets are better for the environment because they don’t need as much land, water, or energy as animal-based diets. Going more plant-based with your meals can help take care of our resources sustainably.

When people start raising more animals for food, they usually have to cut down trees and mess up the homes of other critters. That’s not cool for keeping all the different kinds of life around. Going plant-based can totally help save the planet and all its critters.

Here are some cool tips for going plant-based!

→ Take it easy and add more plant-based meals to your diet. Try out some new recipes and slowly start using fewer animal products.

→ Eat different plant foods to get all the good stuff. Make sure to include some fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds in your meals.

→ Planning and prepping your meals ahead of time can make going plant-based a lot easier! Check out some cool online resources, cookbooks, and plant-based communities for inspo!

If you’re having trouble, you can always contact a registered dietitian or nutritionist to ensure you’re getting all the good stuff you need while switching to a plant-based diet.

In a Nutshell

More and more people are switching to plant-based diets because they’re realizing how much it can affect their health and the environment. If you start eating more plants, you can get many health benefits like a lower risk of getting sick for a long time, better weight control, and overall feeling.

Plus, plant-based diets can help the environment, save resources, and protect biodiversity. Whether you want to go all-in on plant-based or add more veggies to your meals, going plant-centric can benefit your health and the planet.

--

--

Tehreem Fazal Qureshi

Tehreem is a poetess, blogger and freelance writer from Pakistan. You can reach out to her at: https://www.instagram.com/tehreemfazal_/