Last Updated on July 24, 2023 by Shane Corbitt
We hear the word plant-based nutrition more and more in our society and social media. With the launch of documentaries like Game Changers, books like Forks over Knives, and the emergence of athletes changing their nutrition to be plant-based, leaves many individuals wanting to transition into plant-based nutrition. In order to set you up for success, we want to share with you our secret trick to plant-based eating!
According to some studies, only 15% of our population can meet the minimum requirement of the daily recommendation for fruits and even less (10%) for vegetables. Experts in nutrition worldwide agree that the insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables contributes to the obesity epidemic and chronic disease related to poor nutrition, especially in our country.
The secret trick to plant-based eating is simple. You simply have to add more vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and legumes to what you already do! That’s it!
Plant-based eating can be for everyone, and the main idea is not to “diet” or remove something from your nutrition but more about adding more vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and legumes. For those of you who love their steak or burgers once in a while, you don’t have to eliminate animal-based food altogether, but you can certainly reduce it by focusing more on plant-based meals. Plant-based eating means that you have a large proportion of your meal that comes from plant-based food. That said, fruits and vegetables are often the number one thing that comes to mind when we think of plant-based nutrition.
A report published by the World Health Organization recommended that a daily intake of 400 g of fruits and vegetables would prevent chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity. To put this in perspective, one tomato is approximately 75 g, while a medium-size potato is about 150 grams. For fruits, a medium apple is about 150 g, and a small kiwi is around 75 g.
While exercising is important, nutrition is probably the number one reason why we have so much obesity in our nation. Not knowing what to eat and difficulty reading labels has confused us about what to eat or not to eat. The best approach is balanced nutrition with a lot of variety and refrains from overindulging.
