Is plant based right for me?
Hey there friends!
There are topics I like to avoid and topics that I just love to dive into. This one is somewhere in the middle because I feel the NEED to write this, but also know I’m gonna be ruffling a few feathers here…but alas, here I am.
I have been noticing that more and more people are going “plant based” recently. And I’m fairly certain this is in large part due to the popular Netflix documentary “Game Changers” where they create a convincing argument for being vegetarian/vegan.
I have many problems with this and here are a few:
1) #YOUTRITION
There is NO one diet that works for everyone. Period. End of story. You can’t convince me otherwise.
We all come from different genetic backgrounds and experience different stressors, medical history, and athletic performance levels. Someone that comes from Italy and thrives on a pescatarian or Mediterranean diet will not feel as good eating meat and potatoes. But someone from Scotland will probably be starving and get really fatigued if they start trying to eat like an Italian.
How about this…..what makes you FEEL good? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how meat or vegetables make you feel? Do you know how you feel after a steak vs fish?
2) Fake news
Documentaries (and news in general) can skew facts, pull them out of context, and make you believe that they want you to believe. You better believe that this documentary was made with the INTENTION of selling you on this lifestyle. It was a not a “let’s seek the truth and discover what works” documentary. Which is fine, just go into it with your eyes wide open.
3) Censorship
This is a documentary on Netflix, a company who happens to block other documentaries with opinions they don’t agree with. Again, this is fine being that they are a private company and have the right to do so…but just like any other news organization, realize that what you have access to is biased.
4) Practicality
It is exceptionally difficult to balance and maintain a HEALTHY vegetarian or vegan diet in the long run. Possible, but difficult. Many vegetarians or vegans will feel better up front and then at a certain point begin to feel worse than they did before they started. Usually because of nutritional deficiencies and sometimes due to choosing more processed foods.
A mom reached out to me to support her vegan daughter - when I asked what her diet looked like it was comprised of jello and vegan processed garbage food. Refined, processed, denatured foods are still garbage, nutrient void, inflammatory foods no matter what label they have. This young lady (despite the urgings from her concerned mother) was unfortunately unwilling to make the necessary changes to feel better and would rather stick to a misplaced ideology than support her body nutritionally.
But WHY do some people feel better when they make the switch?
If someone feels better it’s most likely due to the fact that they are starting out with more plants in their diet which makes everyone feel better. More fruit, more veggies, more nuts, seeds and beans….awesome.
If they feel better away from MEAT, it’s quite possible that:
a) they were previously eating conventional meat which is terrible for you. Conventional beef comes from a poorly treated, grain fed animal and when you stop eating crappy meat, you’ll feel better.
b) It’s also quite possible that if you feel better eating less meat you are genetically predisposed that way. But I did say LESS meat, not no meat. The percent of people that will feel good on NO meat long term seems to be very low.
I have known quite a few ladies recently who have tried “plant based” even for a short term cleansing purpose and simply felt like crap.
Look, I 100% understand wanting to be healthy. Wanting to prioritize plants. And wanting to avoid harming animals. I am with you on all of those things.
But the reality of it is that humans are carnivores and always have been. The choice we really need to make is to choose healthy farming practices, and support the healthy and HUMANE treatment of animals. This means that cows should be pasture raised and 100% grass-fed. It’s only when we feed them grains to fatten them up and support CAFO farming practices that we get skewed omega fatty acid ratios (more inflammatory than anti-inflammatory) and sick cows. Chickens should be pasture raised and free to roam and eat bugs. Basically - what is healthy for nature and the animal, ends up more healthy and nutritious for us.
How about we spend more money on these types of products and drop our consumption to fewer times a week to afford supporting these measures, instead of being so extreme and risking potential nutrient deficiencies?
Meaningless terminology
What the heck is plant based anyway? Vegetarian is plan based. Paleo is plant based. Keto can be plant based. EVERYTHING can be plant based. And frankly, it should be.
How about this….we stop following fads, and simply eat really food? Why not choose to give your body (and mind) flexibility without extreme limitations? Simply commit to choosing the highest quality on a regular basis and asking yourself when you look at a food - will this fuel my body and give it information and nutrients it needs - or not? (By the way, grass-fed beef liver alone provides extremely high amounts of vitamin A. In addition, it’s a great source of B vitamins, CoQ10, amino acids and all the fat soluble vitamins. It’s like nature’s multivitamin.)
When people make dramatic changes in their diets and feel BETTER its usually because they are:
1) EATING MORE REAL FOODS and
2) AVOIDING PROCESSED GARBAGE
It has less to do with the macronutrient content, and more to do with the quality of the foods being eaten.
The sad truth is, that every diet can have a junk food version. Fries and beer are vegetarian and “plant based”. Fast food bun-less burgers and crappy cheeses with fillers are “keto” and a flourless dairy free chocolate cake is “paleo”.
Let’s get honest with ourselves. How many fads have we tried? And how many are you currently still utilizing? Right. They weren’t life changing, they weren’t a magic pill, and they didn’t get you the results you want. So stop. repeating. the cycle.
The real reason we don’t see results is because we aren’t willing to make the DIFFICULT decision. That decision is prioritizing our health over our desires, wants, and fitting in.
We all want pizza. We all want soda. We all want Oreos. It’s EASIER.
Where there is true commitment there will be long term lifestyle decision that are made and that stick. Small steps, made consistently over time is where true change occurs.
When the commitment isn’t truly there, then neither will the results be.
3 things that are more dangerous than
(healthy, grass-fed pasture raised) meat
Gluten
Pesticides
Sugar
But that’s another article for another time :)
Want to dig deeper in the meat debate? Check out these articles below:
https://robbwolf.com/2012/03/14/red-meat-part-healthy-diet/
https://robbwolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Binnie2014.pdf
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-does-the-who-report-mean-for-your-meat-eating-habit/
https://thepaleodiet.com/red-meat-paleo-diet-often-type/
“A massive review of 20 studies including 1,218,380 individuals found that processed meat was associated with an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. However, no association was found for unprocessed red meat” https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-red-meat-bad-for-you-or-good#section3
https://chriskresser.com/why-the-optimal-human-diet-includes-animal-protein/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a20706930/what-diet-is-best-for-the-environment/