Increasing your consumption of plant foods can help you live a longer, healthier life. A plant-based diet is not necessarily vegetarian, but means that you limit your intake of meats, dairy and eggs. Following such a diet can be a very healthy way to eat, as long as you choose the right foods and moderate portion sizes.
Features
A healthy plant-based diet emphasizes whole, natural foods that are closest to their place of origin. Meats, even fish, are kept to a minimum. Meals focus on fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains. The fats in a plant-based plan are mainly unsaturated -- oils such as olive, safflower, soybean and flaxseed are types commonly incorporated. The Mediterranean diet plan, which is based on the eating patterns of people who live along the Mediterranean Sea, is an example of a healthy plant-based diet. A flexitarian diet, which involves following a vegetarian diet most of the time, is another healthy approach to plant-based eating.
Benefits
Limiting your intake of animal-based foods can help decrease your intake of saturated fat, too much of which can contribute to heart disease. Plant foods are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Fiber helps facilitate digestion and contributes to lower cholesterol levels. An increased consumption of fruits and vegetables correlates with reduced rates of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes. A healthy plant-based diet can also help you manage your weight, as vegetables and fruits tend to be low in calories, but filling due to their high water and fiber contents.
Considerations
Avoiding meat does not automatically make your diet healthier. A vegetarian or flexitarian plan full of refined flours, processed foods and sugars does not offer the vitamins, minerals and fiber that makes a plant-based diet so good for you. Limit your intake of processed foods and stick to fresh plant foods most often. Even though plant foods are healthy, you still need to monitor portion sizes to keep your calorie intake in balance with your calorie expenditure. Eating too many calories, even in the form of healthy plant foods, can cause weight gain.
Sample Day
A healthy plant-based diet could start with a toasted whole-wheat bagel topped with almond butter and sliced pears. For lunch, you might stir together cooked whole grain pasta with navy beans, steamed spinach and minced garlic and have an apple on the side. At dinner, have a 2 to 4 oz. serving of grilled salmon with brown rice and a generous amount of mixed vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus and cauliflower. For snacks, you could have a smoothie made with soy milk, frozen fruit and nut butter, hummus with whole grain crackers or fresh fruit and yogurt.
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