Looking for a good reason to cut out animal foods and build your diet around healthy plant foods? Here are 10! From weight loss to heart health, plant foods can go a long way toward boosting your health.

If friends, relatives, or co-workers have told you that they’re considering switching to a plant-based diet, that’s no surprise. More and more people are recognizing the value of plant foods for their health.

Whether you substitute all animal foods in your diet with plant foods, or even if you just reduce your reliance on meat, fish, eggs, and dairy by replacing some of them with fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, and whole grains, you can boost your health by eating more plant foods.

At NutriHealth Weight Loss, which has offices in Georgetown, Middletown and Milford, Delaware, our specialists encourage our patients to switch to a plant-based diet for their health as well as their weight loss.

Our providers recognize the many benefits of plant foods. Here, we tell you about 10 of those benefits.

Benefit #1: Weight loss

The fiber in a plant-based diet helps with weight loss by helping you feel satiated and full. “Whether you want to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, or just eat better, a plant-based diet can help you achieve your goals,” according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Benefit #2: Heart health

A plant-based diet can lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and other types of cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association. How? By reducing bad cholesterol, increasing good cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, and lowering inflammation, to name a few reasons.

Benefit #3: Reduced inflammation

Plant foods contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that neutralize environmental toxins that trigger inflammation in your body. Inflammation can play a role in the development of cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and other conditions.

Benefit #4: Lower cancer risk

Eating less meat and more plant foods can reduce the risk of various types of cancer. In fact, as many as one-quarter of all cancer cases could be prevented with dietary changes such as switching to a plant-based diet.

Benefit #5: Better intestinal health

Plant foods are rich in fiber, which is excellent for your gastrointestinal health. Eating a fiber-rich diet can reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancers and can help prevent constipation.

Benefit #6: Better immunity

A plant-based diet contains a wide variety of nutrients that support a healthy immune system. These include antioxidants and phytochemicals, as well as vitamins and minerals. A healthy immune system helps protect you from illnesses and infections.

Benefit #7: Lower blood pressure

Elevated blood pressure can lead to stroke, type 2 diabetes, and other potentially dangerous medical conditions. But a plant-based diet can help bring high blood pressure closer to the normal range.

Benefit #8: Better blood sugar

A plant-based diet that contains plant-based proteins and healthy plant-based fats, and that replaces simple carbohydrates with moderate amounts of complex carbohydrates, can go a long way toward reducing your blood sugar. It may also help prevent you from developing type 2 diabetes.

Benefit #9: Improved brain health

Many plant foods contain phytochemicals that could slow the development and advance of cognitive impairment. For example, studies have found that blueberries and some other plant foods contain compounds known as anthocyanins that have been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Benefit #10: A longer life

Considering that a plant-based diet has so many other benefits, it’s no surprise that it could even help you live a longer life. In fact, in a 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, people in the study who ate a plant-based diet were 25% less likely to die during the study period than those who followed an alternate diet.

Our providers are here for you

As you can see, there are many reasons to consider switching to a plant-based diet. The specialists at NutriHealth Weight Loss can help you make the switch as part of a comprehensive program to lower your weight and improve your health.

To schedule a personal consultation with our caring providers, make an appointment online or call one of our two conveniently located offices.