How Will I Feel On A Plant-Based Diet?

Plant-based nutrition — A topic I’ve covered from several aspects and angles multiple times already, but never really head-on and in its totality. So now, I’ll devote some time to writing out a series of articles devoted to plant-based diets, their benefits and why you would be a fool not to transfer to a fully plant-based diet right now, knowing what we know!

I won’t go too deep into the basic details; as we should all be familiar with what a plant-based diet is. In short, it is a type of diet that sources nutrients and calories exclusively from plant sources (also, mushrooms, which aren’t really plants, they get overlooked often). Plant based eating is often colloquially called “veganism”. Now, as always there are nuances and shades, and different people come from different cultural backgrounds, so they will interpret it differently, but the essential it is exactly as the name says, a diet based-on plants.

Historically, it’s been around in certain cultures for millennia, mostly eastern, because of climate and vegetation problems, it was nearly impossible to be vegan in Europe for a long time, except the Mediterranean and some special cases like certain philosophers, monastic orders and wise men. The term itself exists since the 1940’s and since then it has taken on cultural significance and become a wave in itself.

What I wanted to discuss primarily are the actual benefits, or, better said, why you will feel amazing after transferring to a plant-based diet.

Although the benefits are numerous and significant, I will separate out a few important areas, the ones that people tend to enjoy the most after they switch to a more plant based diet.

1. Your current and future health will improve

I will definitely go into the enormous pool of health benefits from a plant-based diet in detail in the next articles. For now, a summary will do:

Plant based diets are high in anti-inflammatories, which will reduce overall inflammation in your body and therefore reduce a lot of pains, aches and discomfort that you thought were due to lack of fitness or getting older but are actually the result of muscle and joint inflammation. Reducing inflammation is especially important to people with chronic pains, like backpain, joint pain, inflamed bowels (a common symptom of meat-based diets).

A plant-based diet is full of healthy fats and low in unhealthy ones. Studies have shown that it is one of the best ways to reduce blood lipids, including cholesterol and trgyglicerides2. This in turn greatly reduces risk of heart and blood vessel disease and helps increase heart health.

One of the best ways of losing excessive weight is a plant-based diet! Losing weight will not only make you look younger, fresher and more fit but itll make you feel better overall, it will also greatly reduce many disease risks, and also reduce joint inflammation, back pain, and many other symptoms.

Some studies suggest that diets rich in vegetables and fruits may help slow or prevent cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease in older adults (lions mane mushroom is excellent for this and I cover it in depth in this article). Plant-based diets have a higher number of plant compounds and antioxidants, which have been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and reverse cognitive deficits

Adopting a plant-based diet may be the most effective and underrated tool in managing and reducing your risk of developing diabetes. A study in more than 200,000 people4 found that those who adhered to a healthy plant-based eating pattern had a 34% lower risk of developing diabetes than those who followed unhealthy, non-plant-based diets.

Research suggests that following a plant-based diet may reduce your risk of certain types of cancer5. Some of the most researched types is colorectal cancer, on which the reduction effect might be as high as 44%!

2. Your looks will improve

We already mentioned that one of the best ways to get fit and lose weight is to transfer to a plant-based diet. In addition to losing weight, some people also notice an improvement in skin, hair and nails while on a plant-based diet, so overall your looks from a biological standpoint will improve.

This effect isn’t only on the surface either, as we know people tend to feel much better when they look better, thus this effect alone will also help feel amazing! Kind of like when you get a haircut, or a new outfit!

3. You will no longer need to kill to eat

Aside the mental and health benefits, we must also consider the moral ones. Animal based diets invariably cause suffering and the fact that you love animals but you also eat them, causes a really troublesome thing inside you called ‘cognitive dissonance’. In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values; or participates in an action that goes against one of these three, and experiences psychological stress because of that.

An example of this would be liking a picture of pickles the pig on Instagram because he is so cute but then ordering a pepperoni pizza for dinner.

This is an un-disputable fact. Animals are reared in terrible conditions, suffer beyond greatly and in the end are killed to harvest their meat. Even if you don’t believe in Karma or anything like that, simply knowing you contributed to something like that damages any normal humans’ psyche without you actually realising it. It will invariably make you feel better to know you’re not part of that vicious cycle.

4. The environment will thank you

The meat industry is one of THE biggest polluters on the planet!

Switching to a plant-based diet not only benefits your health — it can help protect the environment, as well. People who follow plant-based diets tend to have smaller environmental footprints. Adopting sustainable eating habits can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land used for factory farming, which are all factors in global warming and environmental degradation.

A study reported that a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and land use and 50% less water use could be achieved by shifting Western diet patterns to more sustainable, plant-based dietary patterns

What’s more, reducing the number of animal products in your diet and purchasing local, sustainable produce helps drive the local economy and reduces reliance on factory farming, an unsustainable method of food production.

This will also, invariably, make you feel better about yourself and contribute to a much better self-image.

So, all in all the benefits of a plant based diet are numerous and all of them affect how you feel and perceive.

Wishing You Wellness!

Aaron

Aaron is the founder of www.thehonestearth.com To lead a quality life, one must be nourished with quality. We make the best plant based protein powders & superfood supplements with sustainable raw ingredients from around the world.

Aaron, Founder @ Honest Earth Nutrition #feelgood #nourishyourself IG: @plantbasedaaron