Posts in category: Dieting

Why a Plant-Based Diet is good for Oral Health

We go to the doctor whenever we feel not quite right. Less since Covid-19. You might get a physical or take an annual health assessment test just to make sure everything is still working as it should be.

But you are also supposed to go for your “annual” check-up with your dentist, too. A lot of us don’t like going to the dentist because they always find something that is wrong with us and it seems more painful than any other medical experience we have had before.

Right?  Wrong!  Well….not exactly wrong but my point is this: There’s usually nothing seriously wrong with me when I go to the dental clinic but there are things that sometimes need attention or I simply ignore them until I come back again in 6 months for another look under the microscope.  When you get to your mid-30s, you start to think about not only looking good but also staying healthy.  

Is it necessary to go plant-based even straight away?

That’s the ideal situation, however, sometimes it takes us time to come out of our bad habits and into our good habits. I stopped eating meat totally when I was 42 when I learnt about the animal cruelty involved and the health benefits and environmental factors followed. I started thinking about plant-based diets but I didn’t go plant-based to start with I first went vegetarian, then pescatarian then vegan and finally I became a plant-based vegan.

What was my turning point?

But it wasn’t until I read the book The China Study by T. Colin Campbell that my thinking became more serious about plant-based diets as a way to stay healthier for life.

So….back to the story.

I went back to the dentist one year after going plant-based and guess what?  The dentist immediately noticed a major difference in my teeth since he had last seen me!  They told me, “Your gums look better now than when you were here last, your teeth are great, and you don’t need to see the hygienist!  What did you do?  I thought plant-based diets cause gum disease.  They don’t, I said to my dentist they make your gums and teeth better. My dentist now calls me boring and says. “There’s nothing to see here, see you in 6 months.”

But doesn’t plant-based mean pretty much vegan…. right? my dentist asked me next. Yes, I told them they are right but, in my case, plant-based is more of a plant-focused diet, not a vegan diet. Although I am vegan because vegan is a lifestyle and not a diet.

So, plant-based is plant-focused, what does that mean?  Simply put plant-based diets are plant-focused. This means the main staple of your daily meals consists of plant foods like vegetables, fruits, beans, and legumes…. not processed foods, dairy, or meat.

Are plant-based diets for everyone?

I know it sounds simple but plant-based diets are not just for vegans. They are for anyone who wants to improve their health without having to take medication all the time.  In fact, they help to reverse lifestyle diseases and the aging process.

If you want to reverse aging, then try plant-based eating with lots of veggies and fruits too!  Your levels of insulin will reduce dramatically if you go plant-based because they help balance blood sugar levels in your body which decreases glycation—the process where excess sugars bind to proteins and form harmful new molecules called Advanced Glycation End products.

What’s the deal with Blue Zones?

A plant-focused diet is what all the other blue zones areas are doing too, not just Loma Linda which has the most plant-based breakfast cereals in the world available at their local markets but Okinawa, Sardinia, Nicoya Peninsula, Icaria…countries with high concentrations of centenarians who have similar plant-focused diets as well.

So plant-based diets are good for you….? but why are they so successful?  Ye sof course they are as long as you stick to a plant-based diet and don’t go off the path.

Because plant foods contain lots of nutrients that cannot be found anywhere else like vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, etc they are superior to other sources of food. These natural foods will help protect your body from disease. And if you go plant-based you’ll be not only improving your dental, physical, emotional, and mental health but you’ll also be helping the environment too.

Since plant-based diets are plant-focused, this means you have lots of plant foods in your diet, so they contain high amounts of fibre which helps with weight loss and controlling your blood sugar levels…lowering the risk for diabetes. It’s a no brainer, isn’t it? You can lose weight and reverse type 2 diabetes by going plant-based? Why doesn’t everyone do it?

People who are plant-focused eat more whole grains instead of processed white bread which will decrease inflammation in your body because its the low glycemic index.  Did you know dairy has the same insulin index spike as white bread?

Plant-based eating is good for you we all deep down know this but it’s not until we hit a major lifestyle disease that we decide to change. What if life could be different and we didn’t have to face the diseases of diet and lifestyle? What if we choose to be healthy and happy rather than eat with our eyes…?

Another issue relating to the plant-based diet is protein and the questions I normally get asked are. “Where do you get your protein from?”  That’s another article.

For now, though, the main food items you should be eating is all things vegetable and fruit sparingly. Too much fruit can cause tooth decay just like any other sugar, but vegetables, legumes, pulses and grains can be consumed as part of a healthy diet. All things plants in moderation.

To get more plants into your diet learn how to cook. Learn to cook simple foods with variety and aim to eat the rainbow. You can try some of my plant-based recipes for a healthier lifestyle and a healthier happier you.

See also: Plants vs. Coronary Heart Disease

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How Do I Lose Weight Long Term?

People often ask me what they should do to lose weight long-term so I’ve put together this simple 10 point plan:

Add more plants to your plate – increase the size of vegetable portions.

Cut down on high sugar processed food – if it’s high in sugar, don’t eat it!

Seriously consider cutting out meat – it has no fiber or phytochemicals but lots of fat, especially saturated fat.

Eat more beans/legumes – these contain soluble fiber and resistant starch which feed your good gut bacteria.

Choose healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, or olive oil – avoid trans fats & polyunsaturated oils found in processed food.

It’s better to get your fats from the origin rather than after it’s been processed. E.g. eat the avocado instead of cooking with the oil.

Drink more water – hydration is key to long-term weight loss success!

8 x 8oz glasses per day.

Eat small portions of nuts as a snack – they’re jam-packed full of micronutrients but can also be high in calories so don’t go overboard!

Cut the booze – alcohol has absolutely no nutritional value and it’s loaded with sugar.

Long-term studies show a correlation between alcohol intake and fat gain, especially around the midriff.

Ensure you’re eating protein with every meal – it regulates your blood sugar levels and primes your metabolism to burn fat.

Protein as your last meal at night will help to burn more fat and aid a good night’s sleep.

Remove refined sugars from your diet completely – these empty calories, found in sweetened drinks and processed food, provide very little in the way of long-term nutrition and can make a huge dent in calorie intake is reduced. Plus, all that glucose going into our system makes us produce more insulin which drives fat storage!

A useful tip for long-term weight loss success is to ensure you’re getting enough long-term nutrients from plant foods like fruit & veg. These add bulk to meals which will help fill you up when trying to cut back on portions.

One easy way to ensure long-term nutrition is to have a fist-sized portion of starchy carbs at each meal, such as potatoes or brown rice. These will fill you up and keep blood sugars stable so energy levels don’t dip – a must for long-term success!

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How are diabetes and being overweight connected?

Type 2 diabetes can be weight gain-related. A lot of diabetics are obese or overweight because of their lifestyle choices which have lead to weight gain.

A lot of people who have weight problems also have diabetes because they cannot control their lifestyle habits which include bad eating habits and little exercise.

When you eat high amounts of food with poor nutritional value your body is less able to fight off diseases including diabetes.

The reason why weight loss works in the fight to control diabetes is that it reduces the extra stress on your body that obesity causes by giving you more energy while reducing the chance of getting other diseases. It can also lower the risk factors associated with heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

Diet can affect your weight, your weight can affect your diabetes, and diabetes can affect other parts of your body.

So what can we do about it?

One of the most important things to do is to eat a low good fat diet which can help to control weight gain.

Also, cut out the processed food. There is so much bad sugar, salt, and bad fat in proceeded food, no wonder you feel addicted to it.

Weight loss reduces excess stress on the heart by giving it more ability to pump blood throughout the body which means less chance for heart injury.

Heart disease, diabetes, and obesity normally go hand in hand if not sorted out early on.

If weight loss is done improperly through too much exercise, starvation, or fad diets then it could lead to malnutrition or even worse health problems that are equally bad or worse than obesity itself.

Faddy weight loss programs

Two of the worst weight loss programs for long-term good health are the Keto diet and the Leptin diet.

Leptin resistance is a weight loss strategy where insulin levels are lowered so people feel full after they eat less food but this can cause hypogonadism in men leading them towards infertility, impotence, and loss of muscle weight.

The end weight loss is a lifestyle disease that can be cured with a plant-based diet, consuming whole foods such as grains, pulses, vegetables, and fruit.

Eating a plant-based diet will not only help you to reduce or reverse your lifestyle illnesses but it will help you to drastically lose weight fast. And, what’s more, you’ll feel full of energy and on top of the world.

How are you dealing with your diabetes?

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Go vegan or go home! 

I see this a lot on the internet and social media. Now, whenever I hear this phrase, I imagine all of my friends going vegan together… All eating meat-free meals together while standing in the kitchen making jokes about lentils. But this isn’t the case.

A lot of people either aren’t ready to change, don’t take their health seriously, or just don’t know where to start.

We all have to start somewhere and not everyone starts at the same point. In fact, most people I come across start off hating having to eat plants but by the time I’ve shown them plants can taste just as nice, be way more interesting, and have 10 x as much nutritional value than your average meat/dairy/processed meals they change their minds.

All of us plant-eaters have a different story to tell about how we came to choose a plant-based diet.

Some people have been plant-based since birth, some people are plant-based for religious or philosophical and ethical reasons, and others just wanted to try something new for health reasons.

Are you plant-curious?

Plant-based food can be very yummy! It isn’t just tofu and salad you know… Plant-based food is pizza, chili cheese fries, curry, burritos, quesadillas, brownies – you name it and we’ve got it.

The key though is in keeping it healthy. Not all plant-based food is healthy. Some of the meat substitutes can be loaded with sugar, fat, and additives just like meat products.

So the best thing to do is to eat home-cooked food from whole foods and try to avoid processed food or food that is covered or cooked in oil.

 Here are some plant-based food ideas to get you started:

Breakfast

A plant-based breakfast can be easy.

Some plant-based breakfast staples are whole grain cereals, oatmeal with fruit, plant milk on cereal or in smoothies, toast with plant milk or plant butter, plant yogurt parfaits with fruit, plant yogurt, and granola. oh my goodness the list goes on.

For an added plant-based protein power boost you could add protein powder to your smoothie – just pop the powder into the blender with the fruit, then blend!

If you find that you are craving eggs try tofu scramble or porridge. For porridge just boil water and pour over rolled oats then add plant milk and plant butter or jam.

Lunch

A plant-based lunch can be very interesting and less bland than normal lunches. Some plant-based lunch staples to consider are sandwiches on whole-grain bread, soups, salads with plant cheese or plant yogurt, wraps with hummus or plant cream cheese, and vegetables. Again, there is a large list of plant-based lunch options available.

If you are one of those people that still needs a ham sandwich at lunchtime, no problem. There are plant-based hams that have the same texture and taste as the real thing.

Your favourite is tuna mayo? No problem!

You can make tuna mayo from crushed chickpeas, vegan mayo, salt, pepper, mustard and garlic powder, and some chopped red onion. To be honest, this tastes better than the real thing.

For an added plant-based protein power boost add some crushed nuts to your salad – just pop them into the blender with your oil and vinegar dressing then ligh! y blend.

If you find that you are craving meat try vegetable stew or lentils with a serving of homemade potato fries.

Dinner

Plant-based dinners can be tastier than normal.

However, plant-based diets which are mainly processed often don’t include enough nutrients such as zinc and iron, which can lead to anemia. This can be remedied by adding more green vegetables, nutritional yeast, whole grains, and plant milk to your diet to ensure that you get all the nutrients you need from plant sources!

You should also eat foods high in natural calcium so try adding beans, bok choy, spinach, and kale to your diet daily because these are all great sources of natural calcium.

What was the last tasty meal that you ate?

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