In traditional roles, women usually cook for their spouses. You know the saying, “food is the way to a man’s heart!” Could providing meals for your significant other warm their heart, increase intimacy, and even open the door to gratitude? Sure - but it’s so much more than that.
The foods we eat connect us to people, places, and things! Food has the power of uniting strangers and positioning people to be vulnerable around those they love most. When “breaking bread,” people catch up on the latest gossip, enjoy meetings, ideate innovative ways to obtain success, and share current events in life. With restaurants on every corner, it’s easy to take a seat and enjoy comfort foods like fried chicken, BBQ, steak, burgers, pizza, sushi, and ribs. You name it, we love to consume it. Those foods warm our hearts and souls - but what’s in them, and do they contain the nutritional value our bodies need to sustain us?
While comfort food tastes fantastic, the saying, “you are what you eat,” is factual. So, those foods should be consumed in moderation. In the meantime, we must understand that plants have power, and eating more plant-based options can incredibly benefit our bodies, impacting us mentally and physically.
5 Reasons to Adopt more of A Plant-Based Diet
1. Prevent/Manage Diabetes
Consuming more vegetables in diets can reduce blood sugar and prevent unnecessary sugar spikes. Vegetables that are high in fiber, contain nitrates and have a low glycemic index (GI) are ideal.
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As the Harvard Medical School reported, the GI assigns a numeric score to a food based on how drastically it makes your blood sugar rise. Foods are ranked on a scale of 0 to 100, with pure glucose (sugar) given a value of 100. The lower a food's glycemic index, the slower blood sugar rises after eating that food. The more processed a food is, the higher its GI, and the more fiber or fat in a food, the lower its GI.
RELATED: This Delicious Plant-Based Diet May Be Key to Managing Diabetes
2. Protect Against Cancer
All things are good in moderation - meaning we don't have to stop eating red meat entirely. We just have to reduce the amount we eat.
According to the American Institute of Cancer Research, “eating 18 ounces of red meat per week keeps people healthy.” The key is supplementing diets with more plant-based fresh options than meats, unhealthy fats, empty calories, processed foods, and bad carbs.
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3. Aids in Weight Loss
Who wouldn't appreciate getting a size smaller, well, besides those looking to gain weight? Weight loss is an attractive advantage to being more intentional in incorporating more plant-based options into our diets.
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Studies show that eating more nuts, beans, lentils, and peas, which are rich in protein and fiber and helps us lose weight. They also help us keep the weight off.
4. Sustains the Planet
You may not be a planet chaser, but the truth is we need a healthy planet for human, plant, and wildlife survival.
According to the Human League, veganism reduces greenhouse gas emissions, stops livestock emissions, reduces energy consumption, conserves water, stabilizes the ocean, protects the rain forests and land, preserves habitats, prevents species extinction, protects the soil, and uses fewer resources that aid in a healthier planet for us all.
RELATED: 9 Benefits of A Plant-Based Diet
5. Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
The proof is in the nutrients. Research shows that increasing plant-based options in our diets can reduce heart disease by 40%. The American Heart Association reports that eating a plant-centered diet in young adulthood lowered the risk in middle age for heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and several other cardiovascular conditions. Also, eating plant-based foods that lower cholesterol levels reduced the risk of heart disease in postmenopausal women. Research also shows that those who ate a more beneficial, plant-centered diet, with fewer foods considered adverse, were 52% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
Here’s something to consider: comfort foods are just that - for comfort. We should regularly intake foods that sustain our bodies to operate at their highest potential - foods rich in protein, fiber, minerals, healthy fats, healthy carbs (which support endurance), etc. Should we eliminate comfort foods or meat? No, not exactly. Those foods should be consumed in moderation and not as daily fuel for sustaining a healthy lifestyle. We know that plants have power, and we’ll have to activate that power by being intentional in our food choices - it’s not easy, but our health depends on it.
