Is it healthier to switch to a plant based diet?

clafairy1984

As this food choice is everywhere at the moment, I'm wondering whether it really is as "amazing" as all these articles claim. I don't see how these diets would provide enough protein. I try to stick to free range, grass fed etc as much as I can. But even then plant based is advocated in exchange for this. My macros are currently set at 40% carbs 30% protein and fat. Workout wise I'm on a push, pull, legs split and do cardio class twice a week. I want to find something I can stick to, that I know is healthy, ethical and effective.

cmtigger

It really depends on your lifestyle. You can have a healthy diet with or without animal products if you are willing to work on it. Sometimes there are other health issues that make one or the other better.

VintageFeline

A wide and varied diet is the best one for health generally. Whether your ethics dictate that to be plant based is entirely personal. But it's not "better" in terms of health and you have to be careful to make sure to supplement certain things that are lacking in a vegan diet.

courtneyfabulous

I would stick with exactly what you're doing already. I think plant based is better than the standard western diet (hot dogs and soda), but I think true plant based (vegan) especially the high carb low fat version that is becoming so popular, is not high enough in protein or fats or vital nutrients. Good luck getting 30% protein on fully plant based without relying heavily on processed soy products.

cwolfman13

Any diet can be as healthy or unhealthy as you make it. I know plenty of vegetarians who eat like crap...I know a lot of omnivores like myself who eat very well...I do eat a lot of vegetarian meals and eat vegetarian a few days per week, but I also eat meat, mostly fish and some chicken. I eat primarily whole foods or minimally processed foods.

As health and nutrition go, overall composition needs to be looked at, not just whether it's plant based or not.

Also, when I think plant based I don't necessarily think "vegan"...I think of a diet for which the composition is substantively plant based...eating lots of plants.

Need2Exerc1se

When you say 'plant-based' do you mean a diet of mostly plants or do you mean vegan?

I've never seen any evidence that vegan is healthier than a non-vegan diet that is plant-based (something like the Mediterranean Diet).

janejellyroll

I don't think it's accurate to say that plant-based is healthier -- some individuals on a plant-based diet may eat better than those who aren't, but some who aren't eat healthier than some who are plant-based. It would still come down to individual choices.

That said, it's certainly possible to meet your protein and fat needs without animal products or even without processed soy products. I wouldn't switch to a plant-based diet because I thought it would be healthier, but if fear of missing nutrients is the only thing keeping you from trying it, I can suggest some resources.

stevencloser

I don't think "plant based" means "plants only". Just that you should have a good and large amount of vegetables in your diet.

nutmegoreo

The healthiness of a diet is determined by the effort and knowledge you put into making it nutritionally and calorically balanced for you. Likewise, any diet has the potential to be poor, when done without foresight and thought.

In short, it's healthy if you make it healthy.

Need2Exerc1se

stevencloser wrote: »

I don't think "plant based" means "plants only". Just that you should have a good and large amount of vegetables in your diet.

Actually, I have found that some people on this site do use 'plant-based' to mean vegan.

vingogly

I eat vegan more than half the year for religious reasons, and yes, you can get plenty of protein on a vegan diet though you have to be more intentional about it. It's much easier if you add eggs and dairy to your diet, with the occasional fish or poultry thrown in.

Is it healthier? I don't think cured meats like bacon and sausage are good for you as regular components of your diet, and having red meat two or three days in a row for me will trigger a gout attack. Most of the world eats meat as an addition to the diet rather than a centerpiece and that's probably a better way to go rather than the "big hunk of meat with a few veggies" approach you're most likely to find on a plate in the USA.

rybo

"Plant based" seems to be going the way of many other dietary terms. Everyone comes up with their own definition. I consider my diet plant based, but I eat meat. There is never anything wrong with eating lots of plants, whether you eat meat or not in addition to that.

crzycatlady1

VintageFeline wrote: »

A wide and varied diet is the best one for health generally. Whether your ethics dictate that to be plant based is entirely personal. But it's not "better" in terms of health and you have to be careful to make sure to supplement certain things that are lacking in a vegan diet.

This.

stevencloser

rybo wrote: »

"Plant based" seems to be going the way of many other dietary terms. Everyone comes up with their own definition. I consider my diet plant based, but I eat meat. There is never anything wrong with eating lots of plants, whether you eat meat or not in addition to that.

Ah, the curse of dietary terms.

kshama2001

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

I don't think "plant based" means "plants only". Just that you should have a good and large amount of vegetables in your diet.

Actually, I have found that some people on this site do use 'plant-based' to mean vegan.

Ya, I've seen it here used to refer to dietary only as opposed ethical veganism, which would prohibit non-dietary use of animal products as well.

To me this is confusing, because my brain wants "plant-based" to mean "mostly plants."

marisap2010

Can a person do well on a plant based diet? Sure! I was a vegetarian for 20 years. However, I have more recently decided I want to eat more whole, less processed foods, so I decided to reintroduce poultry into my diet so that I could cut out a lot of the soy based frozen foods. If it isn't something you absolutely want to do (and you don't sound too certain), I would just continue with whatever diet you are on, but just making more conscious and healthy choices.

kshama2001

clafairy1984 wrote: »

As this food choice is everywhere at the moment, I'm wondering whether it really is as "amazing" as all these articles claim. I don't see how these diets would provide enough protein. I try to stick to free range, grass fed etc as much as I can. But even then plant based is advocated in exchange for this. My macros are currently set at 40% carbs 30% protein and fat. Workout wise I'm on a push, pull, legs split and do cardio class twice a week. I want to find something I can stick to, that I know is healthy, ethical and effective.

I have a great deal of respect for ethical vegans. I manage my own food ethics by buying only meat and dairy that comes from animals that are more humanely treated.

While I agree that exploitation is bad ethically, I'm sure these articles are pushing an agenda and conclusions eschewing all forms of meat and dairy for everyone lack scientific validity.

Sabine_Stroehm

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Any diet can be as healthy or unhealthy as you make it. I know plenty of vegetarians who eat like crap...I know a lot of omnivores like myself who eat very well...I do eat a lot of vegetarian meals and eat vegetarian a few days per week, but I also eat meat, mostly fish and some chicken. I eat primarily whole foods or minimally processed foods.

As health and nutrition go, overall composition needs to be looked at, not just whether it's plant based or not.

Also, when I think plant based I don't necessarily think "vegan"...I think of a diet for which the composition is substantively plant based...eating lots of plants.

This is me as well. Plant based doesn't *necessarily* mean vegan.
I'd describe my own diet as plant based, though I do eat some animal proteins.
I also eat vegetarian a few days a week.

I realized yesterday that I've had red meat once in 2017, and that was in a broccoli dish hubs brought me as take out on a long work day.

lemurcat12

stevencloser wrote: »

I don't think "plant based" means "plants only". Just that you should have a good and large amount of vegetables in your diet.

It increasingly IS used to mean that, and I assume it is unless context/later clarification shows otherwise.

Anyway, I think having a good and large amount of vegetables is healthier (and is what I aim for), but being 100% plant-based is not, although it can be extremely healthy, of course.

janejellyroll

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

I don't think "plant based" means "plants only". Just that you should have a good and large amount of vegetables in your diet.

Actually, I have found that some people on this site do use 'plant-based' to mean vegan.

I've never seen anybody use it to mean vegan (which is an ethical position on the exploitation of animals), but it is frequently used to describe a diet that doesn't include any animal products at all. Someone who is plant-based may avoiding eating animal products, usually for health reasons, but might still wear leather, use beeswax candles, attend animal entertainments, etc.

Need2Exerc1se

janejellyroll wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

I don't think "plant based" means "plants only". Just that you should have a good and large amount of vegetables in your diet.

Actually, I have found that some people on this site do use 'plant-based' to mean vegan.

I've never seen anybody use it to mean vegan (which is an ethical position on the exploitation of animals), but it is frequently used to describe a diet that doesn't include any animal products at all. Someone who is plant-based may avoiding eating animal products, usually for health reasons, but might still wear leather, use beeswax candles, attend animal entertainments, etc.

Someone who is plant based may also eat animals and animal products. "Based" is not a synonym for "only".

veganbaum

Plant based does not necessarily mean plants only - thus plant-based. Your question about whether it's healthier may be better placed in the debate section. End of the day, it's generally good to vary your diet, including eating lots of different types of plants.

And yes, vegans can get enough protein. We're not wilting away as a group from lack of protein. So, if you're going plant-based and eating some animal products, protein shouldn't be an issue.

janejellyroll

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

I don't think "plant based" means "plants only". Just that you should have a good and large amount of vegetables in your diet.

Actually, I have found that some people on this site do use 'plant-based' to mean vegan.

I've never seen anybody use it to mean vegan (which is an ethical position on the exploitation of animals), but it is frequently used to describe a diet that doesn't include any animal products at all. Someone who is plant-based may avoiding eating animal products, usually for health reasons, but might still wear leather, use beeswax candles, attend animal entertainments, etc.

Someone who is plant based may also eat animals and animal products. "Based" is not a synonym for "only".

I am not giving you a prescriptivist statement or telling you how to use it. I am telling you how some people are currently using it. Someone who is following the "Forks Over Knives" plan, for example, will often self-describe as "plant-based." You are free, obviously, to reject how a certain group may be using a term.

But if you look at OP's question, it seems she is using the term in the way I'm referring to so it seems like it may be derailing this thread to discuss whether or not someone who is "plant-based" will eat meat and cheese and eggs.

JeromeBarry1

I learned everything I need to know about plant based diets from Euell Gibbons. b. September 8, 1911, d. December 29 1975. 75-11 = 64.

lemurcat12

Yeah, I think "plant-based" has become largely a short-form for "100% plant-based." When I hear someone use it (in Chicago), it's almost always intended to mean "I do not eat animal products." If someone tells me they are "plant-based" I warn them about foods including eggs and all that (assuming they are at my house, etc.).

FoK does allow for people "exclud[ing] OR minimiz[ing] meat (including chicken and fish), dairy products, and eggs..." (emphasis added). https://www.forksoverknives.com/what-to-eat/ Personally, I eat mostly plants (by volume, at least) because IMO that's what a healthy diet is, but I don't particularly try to minimize animal products (I often eat both dairy and eggs daily and have to make an effort to have a fully plant-based day, which I rarely do). I do think someone who eats animal products only once a week or so would probably fit. I was doing that for a while and if I'd kept it up I probably would have considered it descriptive enough.

I think of it as an ambiguous term and mainly assume it means 100% (or attempting for 100%) unless explained otherwise or context demonstrates otherwise. But again this is because the only people I know (offline) who tend to be aware of the term and likely to use it for themselves are in that category.

kshama2001

@clafairy1984 as you can see, we don't know what you mean by plant-based. Please advise.

estherjellybabe

I'm trying a whole foods plant based diet at the moment, as per recommendations in The China Study (see Forks over knives on youtube). Your body does not need 30% protein. 10% protein meets basic needs. So I personally bump that up to 15%, and with beans and lentils it is easy enough to reach that target. I set my dily carb goal to 70% and fat to 15%. I'm still experimenting, and I may or may not change these percentages in the future, So far I have lost 11.8kg.

To each his own, and it also depends on whether you are out to build muscle. Most people would have chicken as well in that case. That being said, there are plenty of vegan athletes out there so they somehow mange to find enough protein from plants too.

Need2Exerc1se

estherjellybabe wrote: »

I'm trying a whole foods plant based diet at the moment, as per recommendations in The China Study (see Forks over knives on youtube). Your body does not need 30% protein. 10% protein meets basic needs. So I personally bump that up to 15%, and with beans and lentils it is easy enough to reach that target. I set my dily carb goal to 70% and fat to 15%. I'm still experimenting, and I may or may not change these percentages in the future, So far I have lost 11.8kg.

To each his own, and it also depends on whether you are out to build muscle. Most people would have chicken as well in that case. That being said, there are plenty of vegan athletes out there so they somehow mange to find enough protein from plants too.

Re: the bolded part, what is meant by "basic needs"?

lemurcat12

10% protein may or may not meet basic needs, depends on the source of the protein and total calories. For example, a professional marathoner often does well on 80-10-10 (I believe that's common for the Kenyan marathoners), but we are talking 10% of a LOT of calories, not 10% of 1200 (or the like).

Here's a good discussion of protein from a vegan source ( Unnatural Vegan, and she cites her sources): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exeZTWz8D5I

There's also a difference between what you need to be healthy and what you need to protect against losing muscle on a deficit.

janejellyroll

lemurcat12 wrote: »

10% protein may or may not meet basic needs, depends on the source of the protein and total calories. For example, a professional marathoner often does well on 80-10-10 (I believe that's common for the Kenyan marathoners), but we are talking 10% of a LOT of calories, not 10% of 1200 (or the like).

Here's a good discussion of protein from a vegan source ( Unnatural Vegan, and she cites her sources): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exeZTWz8D5I

There's also a difference between what you need to be healthy and what you need to protect against losing muscle on a deficit.

Yes, when you make a statement like "Only 10% of your diet needs to be protein," it's really important to clarify how many calories overall we're talking about. 10% of 2,000 is a lot more protein than 10% of 1,200. And if you're actively losing weight, you probably don't want just your "basic needs" for protein.

doittoitgirl

Isn't the RDA of protein around 0.7-8 grams per pound of body weight? I think that's what they mean by basic needs.