Surprising health benefits of plant based eating

Like you, I want to know more about healthy eating, but find published nutrition information conflicting, confusing, and complicated. But almost all of it seems to agree that eating more whole plant-based unprocessed foods is the best choice, with proven health benefits and little if any harm.

In this post, I’m introducing you to two books and associated websites that present the evidence for the benefit of plant-based eating and explain in easy-to-understand terms how to do it.

Over 30 years ago, a father-son team showed the world the results of “the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted”, so I wonder why we’re just now believing that what we eat influences our health and lifespan for better or worse.

(several affiliate links are in this post. )

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted

by  T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell, M.D.

They looked at more than 350 variables of health and nutrition with surveys from 6,500 adults in more than 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan, and conclusively demonstrated the link between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. In The China Study

“What they found when combined with findings in Colin’s laboratory, opened their eyes to the dangers of a diet high in animal protein and the unparalleled health benefits of a whole foods, plant-based diet. “

Amazon

T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies

At the Center for Nutrition Studies website, you can meet Dr. Campbell, learn the history of the China study, and explore

• Whole Food, Plant Based Guide
• Recipes and cooking tips
• Nutrition and fitness topics
• Success stories

It’s a lifestyle, not a diet

Dr. T. Colin campbell

How Not to Die- Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease 

by Michael Greger, M.D. with Gene Stone

Like the Campbells, Dr. Greger has reviewed thousands of studies of nutrition and concluded that major chronic diseases, heart diseases, diabetes, and cancer are caused by the foods we eat, and can be prevented, even reversed by changes in our diet. In How Not to Die he advocates a whole food, plant-based diet. He recommends

• Avoid refined processed carbs-chips, pastries, jams, condiments
• Avoid wheat and gluten
• Avoid grain-fed meat and feedlot chicken
• Avoid concentrated and synthetic sweeteners and sweet drinks
• Avoid commercial oils

Instead, we should be eating

• Olive oil
• Grass-fed, free-range meat
• Vegetables, legumes, nuts
• Low sugar fruits
• Tea, coffee
• Dark chocolate, herbs, seasonings

NutritionFacts.org

At this website, founded by Dr. Greger, you can

• Watch videos and listen to podcasts about nutrition
• Access an Evidence-based Based Eating Guide
• Read Dr. Greger’s blog

Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen – NutritionFacts.org

I have found his Daily Dozen App useful for tracking my intake of whole plant-based foods. This free app is available from the App Store.

Both of these websites are 501(c)3 non-profit entities supported by donors.

Exploring the HEART of nutrition and health.     

I hope you will bookmark these sites so you can go back often and explore the information. You may not choose to incorporate all the changes they propose, but even a few changes may improve your health, decrease your risk of chronic disease, and help you live longer.

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Dr. Aletha