Discover the Health and Environmental Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet
Recent years have seen changing attitudes to eating and using our precious natural resources. This impetus has spurred an increased interest in healthier eating, more responsible farming and manufacturing, and greater compassion for ourselves, our fellow beings, and the planet.
In response, we’re embracing cleaner, healthier, more environmentally friendly, and cruelty-free food. Plant-based vegetarian and vegan movements have slowly gained momentum over the decades. The trend has expanded and accelerated to include less radical but widely effective approaches such as flexitarianism and reducetarianism.
These modern lifestyles focus on increasing plant-based ingredients while avoiding or reducing animal product consumption. This dedication and discipline help lessen the environmental impact of animal-rearing, improve health and wellness, and align with increasingly conscious values.
What is Plant-Based Eating?
Going plant-based means focusing on whole foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, healthful grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and plant-based ingredients while cutting out or down on red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy animal-derived ingredients.
Vegans and strict vegetarians are typically entirely animal-product free. Flexitarians or semi-vegetarians eat plant-based but with some flexibility in terms of eggs and dairy, and reducetarianism allows all food types while reducing meat consumption.
Why Plant-Based Eating?
Time, research, and observation reveal that focusing on vibrant, antioxidant-rich, and nutrient-dense plant foods is beneficial for well-being, better mood, and healthy weight management. In addition, it’s clear that animal-rearing for food negatively impacts the climate, natural resources, and the welfare and rights of non-human sentient beings.
Consider this:
- Plants are lower in saturated fat: Red and processed meats can increase inflammation due to saturated fats. In contrast, plant-based nutrients and phytochemicals tend to neutralize toxins and fight inflammation. As a result, consuming plants helps reduce inflammation, avoid or alleviate conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, obesity, diabetes, asthma, dementia, and depression, and potentially lower your cancer and stroke risk.
- Plants contain soluble fiber: Scientists have discovered a link between your digestive system and overall health, even calling your gut your ‘second brain’. Gut health relies on beneficial bacteria – probiotics, which depend on prebiotic foodstuffs to thrive. A key prebiotic is the fiber found in fresh produce, absent in animal products. This same fiber is also vital in managing cholesterol.
- Switching to plants helps reduce your carbon footprint: A 2018 University of Oxford study concluded that prioritizing plant-based over animal product consumption is the ‘single biggest way’ to limit environmental impact. Switching or reducing can potentially reduce carbon footprint by up to a startling 70 percent.
It’s a no-brainer. Increasing your proportion of plant-based ingredients and meals benefits your mental and physical health and the health of the planet.
Is Switching to a Plant-Based Diet Difficult?
Whether by choice or through necessity, plant-based eating is here to stay.
However, adding plant-based choices to your diet is easier than you think. Plant-based ingredients and meat and dairy alternatives are increasingly prevalent, accessible, and affordable.
Replacements are tasty and satisfying, with options for many of your favorite dairy and meat-based meals and snacks. In addition, innovative producers already offer guilt-free lab-grown meat alternatives for die-hard meat lovers.
So, help add more greens to your consumer’s plate in 2022. Advanced Biotech provides a wide range of premium food and beverage flavors to enhance your plant-based innovations. Please contact us for more information.