10 Benefits Of A Plant-based Diet

What are the Benefits of Following a Plant-based Diet

Overwhelming evidence and new nutritional research continue to show that a whole-food, plant-based diet is a game-changer loaded with health benefits for you and the planet.

As a foodie and a culinary nutrition coach, I’ve pulled together my top 10 Benefits of a Plant-based Diet in this article and so many of them show the Immediate Benefits of a Plant-based Diet.

For those who grew up on fast food, processed meals, and animal-based diets, the long-term health consequences are becoming painfully clear.

That diet is one that I ate during my childhood and early adult life.

And just as I did, many are now working to bring more plants to their plates and reclaim their health.

But it’s not just personal health benefits driving the change.

We’re learning more every single day about how our food choices impact the world’s biggest challenges: the obesity epidemic, species extinction, and the climate crisis.

Plant-based living offers powerful solutions to these interconnected issues.

T. Colin Campbell, the Cornell biochemist behind The China Study, coined the term “plant-based diet” itself.

His groundbreaking research in the 1980s demonstrated that a diet rich in whole, plant-based foods dramatically reduces the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Today, countless studies reinforce his findings, showing that eating 90% or more of your calories from plants—preferably 100%—is optimal for longevity and health.

Unfortunately, most people in developed countries fall far short of this target, with only about 10% of their calories coming from plants.

It's completely the opposite which is really shocking.

The average diet is dominated by processed foods (65%) and animal products (25%).

But by understanding the benefits of plant-based eating, you can feel confident in making the shift and building life-changing habits.

The 10 Benefits of Plant-based Diet

Let’s have a look at each of these 10 benefits of Plant-based diet in a little more depth below.

Reach and Easily Maintain Your Ideal Body Weight

Those who eat mostly whole, Plant-based foods typically eat about 1,000 calories per day less than those eating an animal-based diet.

They also, on average, weigh 30 lbs less.

Those who make the pivot to a plant-based diet may feel and see the benefits quickly.

They have a lot more energy and they feel more alert as they lose weight.

The renewed energy they feel gets the dopamine in their brain firing, so they don’t turn to overly fatty and sugary foods for that same feeling.

Focusing on nutrient-dense foods helps keep them at their optimal weight naturally.

So how did an ice cream and cheese-loving gal from Wisconsin start eating plant-based?

Dalip and I embarked on our plant-based journey over time. We were mostly pesco-vegetarians, eating something like a Mediterranean diet in the past.

Though I ate a raw food diet for about a year and a half back in 2008, I never really was a huge meat eater before that.

You could say that I used to like a little cheeseburger on the side with my ketchup! Or a fish patty burger on the side of my giant mound of tartar sauce!

I have always been the condiment queen. That part hasn’t changed!

A couple of years ago, when I began to seriously study nutrition, we really started to pay attention to how much fish and cheese we were eating, as well as foods that were processed.

We cut all that out as I learned more and more about the benefits of going full-on Plant-based and we have been eating a whole-food, Plant-based diet for years now.

We each dropped about 20-25 lbs by the time we were fully plant-based, felt more energetic than we ever have, and Dalip was able to stop taking blood pressure medication.

One of the other benefits of eating a Plant-based diet is smoother and healthier skin.

Studies show that if we eat a lot of green and yellow vegetables, we can end up with fewer wrinkles than if we don’t.

I really love that bit of knowledge!

It’s also been shown that vitamin C, found in oranges, tomatoes and bell peppers, can help our body to create collagen, which is an essential part of our skin.

And then there is sun damage. Broccoli and the cruciferous family of vegetables are foods you should eat regularly for many, many different benefits.

One compound called sulforaphane has been shown to protect against UV damage from the sun.

Maintain a Robust Immune System

One of my favorite benefits of a vegan diet is the impact it can have on your immune system.

Getting all the fiber, vitamins (like A, B, C, D & E), minerals (like calcium, iron, potassium, and zinc), antioxidants, and plant chemicals can help us build a stronger immune system than if we were to eat the standard industrial diet.

When we eat meat, dairy, and eggs, we do not consume any fiber or many of the vitamins that we associate with a healthy immune system.

It’s been shown that 70% of our immune system is in our gut, tied to our gut health, and the scientific evidence in the last 10-15 years shows a deep connection between fiber and our immune system…and there is no fiber in any animal products.

Significantly Lower Risk of Cancer

A plant-based diet can reduce cancer. Research, including findings from the health study called The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, highlights the strong connection between a whole-food, plant-based diet and a reduced risk of certain types of cancer.

Plant foods are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and phytochemicals that help neutralize harmful free radicals in the body.

These free radicals can otherwise damage cells and lead to cancer development.

One other significant factor is the absence of estrogenic compounds and carcinogens found in animal products.

For instance, studies have linked the consumption of dairy products to increased breast cancer risk due to the estrogen and casein in milk. 

In fact, in 2018 Canada took dairy off its list of recommended foods.

The saturated fat and estrogenic hormones in dairy have been specifically shown to increase breast cancer risk.

Additionally, eating predominantly plants reduces the intake of saturated fats, which have been shown to contribute to inflammation and hormone-related cancers.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower contain sulforaphane, a compound known to enhance the body’s ability to detoxify harmful substances and potentially prevent tumor growth.

Including a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables daily ensures a broad spectrum of cancer-fighting nutrients and improves overall health.

Prevent and Potentially Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

One of the most remarkable benefits of a plant-based diet is its ability to help prevent and potentially reverse type 2 diabetes.

Unlike the standard industrial diet high in processed foods and saturated fats, a whole-food plant-based diet focuses on nutrient-dense foods that support insulin sensitivity and regulate blood sugar levels.

Fiber is the key player here.

Found exclusively in plant foods, fiber slows the absorption of sugars into the bloodstream, stabilizing blood sugar levels and reducing the risk of insulin spikes.

Fiber also contributes to a feeling of fullness, which helps with weight management—a crucial factor for diabetes prevention.

Studies published in reputable medical journals, such as The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, have demonstrated that individuals adopting a plant-based diet often see dramatic improvements in their HbA1c levels, an important marker of blood sugar control.

Many eating this type of diet may even experience remission of type 2 diabetes symptoms when they adhere to a plant-based lifestyle.

By eliminating processed foods, refined sugars, and saturated fats found in animal products, and adding foods to your diet like whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, individuals can empower their bodies to heal and maintain optimal blood sugar control.

Prevent and Potentially Reverse Heart Disease

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, but adopting a plant-based diet is a powerful way to prevent and even reverse this chronic condition.

Groundbreaking research, including studies by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. Dean Ornish, has shown that a diet centered on whole, plant-based foods can prevent heart disease and undo arterial damage caused by years of unhealthy eating.

The secret lies in the combination of nutrient-dense, low-fat, and high-fiber foods.

Plants are naturally cholesterol-free, and diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes help lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while boosting HDL ("good") cholesterol.

This improves overall cardiovascular health and reduces plaque buildup in arteries.

Nitric oxide, a compound found in leafy greens like spinach and arugula, promotes the relaxation and dilation of blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.

Additionally, the antioxidants found in plants combat oxidative stress, a major contributor to cardiovascular issues.

Switching to a plant-based diet not only reduces your risk of heart attacks and strokes but can also provide the energy and vitality needed for a long, healthy life.

Numerous patients have reversed symptoms by committing to this lifestyle and reaping its extraordinary benefits.

Reduce Chronic Inflammation Throughout Your Body

With autoimmune conditions on the rise, one of the top health benefits of a Plant-based Diet is reducing the level of inflammation in your body.

Inflammation is there to handle things like threats, infections, or stresses. However, over time if there is too much inflammation it can sway our body towards chronic diseases.

Studies show that chronic inflammation can trigger our immune system to attack healthy parts of our body, and that can result in reduced heart health, diabetes, and cancer.

This attack is like a heightened response to a perceived threat.

Inflammation comes naturally (and helpfully) to our bodies to handle threats like infection or stress.

It is what helps our bodies heal a cut or fight the flu. But if our bodies are always in this heightened state of ‘fighting’, then chronic inflammation starts to fight against the good cells and turns them into cells-gone-haywire-like cancer cells.

This overreaction and chronic inflammation is associated with an animal-centered diet.

It’s been shown that 70% of our immune system is in our gut and the scientific evidence in the last 10-15 years shows a deep connection between fiber and our immune system…and there isn’t any fiber in animal products.

Live a Longer Life with a Lower Incidence of Age-Related Dementia

If there’s one huge reason for eating more plant-based foods, it's that you’ll live longer with a lower chance of age-related dementia.

Studies show that the longest-living populations, and those that are the least dementia-prone as they age have a predominantly Plant-based eating pattern.

The studies show that the effect of plant-based foods that are rich in antioxidants and vitamins are a key part of prevention.

This is because antioxidants protect against free radical damage which our brains are very susceptible to.

Antioxidant vitamins are found in plants and include vitamins A, C, and E.

Polyunsaturated fat, one of the so-called healthy fats includes omega-3 fatty acids.

It is found in flaxseeds, almonds, and algae (seaweed, spirulina, and astaxanthin are good examples).

Past Pandemics Are Linked to Eating Animals

For millions of years in human history, there were no epidemic diseases.

Nobody had flu or colds or measles.

These diseases only came about when humans started domesticating animals about 10,000 years ago.

Even then, these new viruses were not as prevalent and certainly not happening as often as they do today.

They’re now occurring every five years or less.

What has changed?

We changed the way we raise animals with intensive animal farms.

We are putting more and more animals closer together under the same roof. 

Often over 10 million birds are raised on a single farm.

This allows viruses to spread, mutate, and adapt.

The viruses are then much more likely to jump from one species to another.

Future infectious diseases are considered one of the two greatest threats facing humanity (see #10 below for the second).

The conditions that animals are raised in are conducive to the spread of disease, and when they are more intensively farmed to meet rising meat demand, the more at risk we are for another pandemic.

Contributing to Fighting The Climate Crisis

A healthy, balanced diet goes hand-in-hand with a sustainable and abundant food system. Most animal agricultural practices harm our environment.

The burning of down of The Amazon is mostly done to create cropland to grow feed for animals, and to create grazing land for them.

Eating a vegetarian or vegan diet will help reverse and eliminate much of the world’s currently harmful animal agricultural practices.

And as we’ve just discussed, the cool thing is, that we’re not making a nutritional sacrifice to take action on the climate crisis.

A medium to low-fat vegan diet, which is essentially a plant-based diet, with its many different types of plants, just happens to be how our bodies get the best health outcomes.

Eating more plants is the best way to feed the 10 billion people the world is projected to have in 2050, while reducing the climate footprint of our current agricultural practices.

Regarding greenhouse gas emissions, meat and dairy alone account for at least 15% so they carry a huge carbon footprint.

On the other hand, emissions from plant foods are associated with a lower carbon footprint, 10 to 50 times smaller than the emissions from the production of animal foods.

With agricultural crops, farms around the world have become huge operations that mainly grow food for animals.

We’ve lost so much diversity with the current way our society eats and lives.

Farms used to be smaller and grew more diverse crops, which were healthier for us and the planet.

We’ve changed it all, and without realizing what those changes meant, we are harming ourselves and the planet.

If you look at how the corn we grow is used, it looks like this:

Less than 10% - eaten by humans
35% - converted to ethanol to drive big cars
45% - fed to animals to grow red meat and poultry
15% - goes into manufacturing, mostly high fructose corn syrup

So the big footprint made by a single crop like corn is not even made to feed us.

Companies like Beyond Meat, Impossible Burger, and Oatly Milk have been in the news constantly, and their plant-based meat products are making inroads into just about every store and shop (hello, McDonald’s, Starbucks & your local grocery store!).

These products cater to those who now want to follow a flexitarian diet or vegetarian diet, people looking for a few easy ways to add more nutrient-dense plants to their diet and eat fewer animal products.

How Nutritious Are Plant-Based Meat Products?

These new alternative plant-based products have their place as a ‘stair-step’ to a fully whole-food plant-based way of eating.

They are great for those just starting to switch to a whole food Plant-based Diet.

They are for those who are saying ‘enough with all the saturated fats and cholesterol’.

Those of us (yes, we were guilty!) who knew we should have been eating healthier all along.

Basically, these stair-step foods are healthier than the meat and dairy they are replacing, but not quite as healthy as whole plant foods like that bean burger you’d make at home from whole foods. But - you gotta start somewhere with your plant-based meals!

These new and easy options help those looking for ways to begin reducing their intake of animal products and start experiencing the health benefits of a vegan diet, as well as those pretty far along the path with their whole food vegan diet, but who might run into time-stressed moments!

Ideally, “whole’ plant foods are the best choice. So many delicious and healthy Plant-based foods to eat and saveur which will benefit your health in many ways.

There are actually over 20,000 species of plants that are edible but yet we currently only eat about 200 of them, with only just around 20 providing about 90% of the food that the world eats.

So, if we think that plants are boring and limited, we just haven’t yet made a good effort to try nature’s full abundance as part of our healthy diet.