Why Whole Plant-Based Food Matters !

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Whether you’re considering or just getting started with more plant-based eating, or you’re already a vegan, vegetarian or otherwise ~ eating the whole food versions of these foods (whole-food plant-based (WFPB)) matters in powerful ways!
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Eating whole unprocessed foods provided by nature (including veggies, fruit, legumes, unprocessed grains, nuts & seeds) are a simple way to potentially help promote wellness in many areas. They have been found to quite possibly be anti-aging as well as beautifying and potentially preventative & helpful towards many health related issues. 
Whole plant-based food also has a huge beneficial impact on the environment & planet along with the welfare of animals.

Just to mention in a few of the ways that whole plant-based foods have been found to be potentially helpful towards human health would be :

Besides their immensely powerful high fiber as well as vitamin & mineral content, whole plant-based foods contain a very high number of phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are chemicals which act as anti-oxidants meaning they have the power to scavenge free radicals & oxidation (oxidative stress) that can cause damage to bodily organs, tissues, cells & DNA. This has especially been found to be important in the area of telomere deficiency (telomeres are the protective ends of your chromosomes (threadlike DNA molecules in the nucleus of cells that carry genes) that can be thought of almost like shoe lace ends ). The length of telomeres can decrease (and eventually lead to chromosomes literally unraveling) due to oxidative stress & inflammation. Telomere length has been found to be a bio marker of aging & the shortening of them has been linked to disease, chronic illness & lower life expectancy.
​(Take a Look Here), (Here), (Here) & (Here) .

Again, healthy plant-based diets & their phytonutrients have been found to potentially help with the integrity of your telomeres (Take a Look Here) & (Here).
Thus phytonutrients are noted for possessing huge & countless benefits including  anti-aging, anti-inflammatizing & possessing highly protective potential against many diseases (Take a Look Here), (Here) & (Here) .

Secondly, whole plant-based foods (especially produce) are also often far more alkaline than  processed, refined & animal protein based foods. Diets high in acidic food (& especially ones low in alkaline foods such as veggies & fruit) can cause (release)  elevated acid loads in the body when metabolized.  Bone loss (mineral) and muscle (protein) degradation can occur when the body attempts to neutralize these acids. Minerals such as calcium can be drawn away (& lost) from the bone.
To the contrary, many whole plant-based (alkaline) foods contain minerals that help neutralize acids in the body which potentially helps battle inflammation and can improve cellular & metabolic health just for starters.
 .. & it has indeed been found that there is a potential beneficial connection between low acid load WFPB diets & bone health (Take a Look Here). 
Acid can also end up stored in bodily cells which can lead to potential issues including cellular disfunction and insulin resistance. In addition, there is potentially an enormous link between acidic foods & kidney disease (Take a Look Here).

There is also evidence that a WFPB (healthy plant-based) diet with it’s high fiber content just for starters, has the power to positively benefit the all important gut microbiome (Take a Look Here) that is being found increasingly  to be linked to so many areas of health in powerful ways every day. These areas include inflammatory diseases & metabolic syndrome (Take a Look Here). There is also strong connection between the gut microbiome and healthy aging and quite shockingly it has also been found that healthy plant-based dietary changes have the potential capacity to alter the expression of genes of the gut microbiome even within one single day (Take a Look Here), (Here), & (Here).

In addition, whole plant~based food has also been found to potentially benefit in the area of important inflammatory biomarkers in the body (Take a Look Here).
​Lastly there is quite a bit of evidence that overall a healthy plant-based (WFPB) diet has the potential to be powerfully beneficial regarding weight loss (Take a Look Here) & (Here), cardiovascular disease (Take a Look Here) &  (Here), stroke risk (Take a Look Here), diabetes (type2) (Take a Look Here) , cancer (Take a Look Here), cognitive decline & dementia (Take a Look Here) & (Here), as well as communicable diseases caused by viruses (Take a Look Here) & (Here).

Most ​processed / packaged vegan, plant-based (or otherwise) food does not generally possess these potential benefits and to the contrary may add to detrimental health factors  (Take a Look Here), since it often contains potentially harmful ingredients due to processing  such as processed inflammatory oils (such as seed oils), added sugars, other refined ingredients (such as grains & flours), fillers, additives & potentially toxic ingredients added to processing which basically renders them in a completely different category than whole plant-based foods (Take a Look Here).
​It has also actually been found in some studies that vegans & vegetarians  possibly consume more harmful processed foods than even meat eaters due to highly processed meat & dairy alternatives as well as many other vegan / alternative packaged food items (Take a Look Here). These would include ones frozen, refrigerated or many packaged sitting on grocery store shelves.
​So it really makes a whole lot of sense to stick with whole & healthy plant based foods !

Along with the immense potential health benefits of consuming whole plant-based foods, as mentioned previously  it is known that consuming these foods strongly benefits (& puts way less stress on)  the environment  & planet in powerful ways (Take a Look Here).

The foods contained in the WFPB Category of foods are whole foods grown in nature & are largely Unprocessed.
They Include Food Groups such as :
> Vegetables 
> Fruits
> Grains - whole & unprocessed 
> Legumes (beans/ lentils/ peas)
> Nuts & Seeds
> Tofu / Tempeh (even though these are prepared foods they are minimally processed & from whole plant Ingredients (soybeans) with minimal additional ingredients).
​
​For an idea of some of these whole plant-based foods to possibly toss in your cart on your next shopping trip (Take a Look Here).

Plant-Based Food Prep

One of the ways to make it easier to throw wfpb meals together & stay on track especially during your busy week is to Food Prep your ingredients in advance (Take a Look Here).

Whole plant-based food & ingredients are So Versatile & there are Endless Ways to create Amazing  & Nourishing Meals with them !
For a few ideas, (Take a Look Here) & (Here) !

Additionally, when considering eating WFPB, It is Important to have a Mindset of it being for the long-term vs a short term fad...
Basically creating new healthier habits & making Healthy Lifestyle Change (Take a Look Here), as this will equate to being adopted into your Lifestyle Long Term which holds many many benefits !

​You May even find that you end up saving money when you switch to eating more wfpb (Take a Look Here)!

You may also enjoy the beautifying benefits of eating whole plant-based foods (Take a Look Here) !

Lastly you may want to think about being Mindful especially when enjoying the gift of consuming your healthy whole plant-based food (Take a Look Here).

Thats it for now regarding whole plant-based foods.
​ Hope it was Helpful & Will be Healthful !!!

"The Future Depends On What You Do Today"
​Mahatma Gandhi

**Before embarking on Any new dietary, wellness or nutritional program, it is advised and important to consult with your qualified and trusted Healthcare Provider to evaluate your particular and personal medical circumstance.

Disclaimer  
This blog, it's content and any linked materials does not provide medical advice and is presented and intended for informational purposes only. It is based on my personal experience and research and is Not a Substitute for Medical Advice or Treatment. Do not Disregard Medical Advice, or delay in Seeking It because of something you have read in this blog, website or in Any linked material. Consult with a Medical Professional if you have a Medical Condition ! ​​​​​