In the 1950s, a high intake of red meats was promoted as the ideal diet by the food industry. Saturated fats raise your blood cholesterol and cause heart disease. With healthy alternatives, we can begin to live a healthier and more productive lifestyle.
The foods that we consume daily play a major role in our overall health. Many Americans believed that eating red meat was good for the body. This ideal American diet of the past, referred to as the Western diet, has been proven to cause a number of health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
In Michael Pollan’s book, “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” shared an experiment on the effects of the Western diet. In 1982, nutrition researcher Kerin O’Dea introduced the Western diet to a group of Aboriginals.
This isolated Australian population had been living on the animals that they hunted and the plants that they gathered for thousands of years. Once the Western diet was introduced to the group of Aboriginals, they quickly developed high rates of obesity, heart disease, addiction and diabetes.
When the Aboriginals returned to hunting animals and gathering plants they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and their health dramatically improved. Are our bodies any different from the Aboriginals?
Red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, CVD (cardiovascular disease) and cancer mortality. Alternatives to the high intakes of red meat found in the Western diet are plant-based foods.
Studies suggest that people who are vegetarians have lower body weight, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels. Compared with typical Western diets with high amounts of animal products, healthy plant-based diets are not only more sustainable but have also been associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
The evidence is strong, consistent and compelling that a diet of predominantly, or even exclusively, whole plant foods can promote health, selectively treat and reverse disease and confer comparable benefits to the planet.
By consuming whole-foods such as these, you too can live a healthier lifestyle.
A whole food plant-based diet enables people with diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease to reverse diabetes and possibly discontinue medications. Researchers found that food production is responsible for up to 30 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, with animal products accounting for the vast majority—about three-quarters—of these effects.
A popular plant-based substitute for meat is soy.
“Soy has gotten a bad reputation over the years, but studies are more for soy than against it,” said nutritionist Angela Hyde.
These diphenolic compounds, which are found in uniquely-rich amounts in soybeans, possess both estrogen-dependent and -independent properties that potentially inhibit the development of breast cancer. Even with strong evidence that the consumption of soy has positive effects, many are still doubtful.
There are men who believe that soy intake will lower their testosterone levels. “This is a common misconception,” physician Michael Greger continued. “It has pro-estrogenic effects in some places like bones and prevents bone loss.” This means that the pro-estrogenic effects are good for the body. More studies are debunking the myths about soy.
Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian soy product that has made its way to the United States. This soy-based product may not be as popular as tofu, but it is widely known among vegans. It is high in protein, cholesterol-free and low in fat.
Tempeh is also versatile.
“I would follow tempeh with a lot of fresh vegetables,” said Hyde.
You can enjoy tempeh with steamed vegetables on a bed of rice or you can toss tempeh in your tacos with cilantro topped with chopped black olives.
What if you want to be vegan but you are allergic to soy? Have no fear, because there are plant-based alternatives to soy.
Seitan is made from wheat gluten. It can closely replicate the texture of meat and is often used to make vegan foods like burger patties, deli slices and steaks. If you want to make your own delicious vegan burgers, seitan is the way to go.
Legumes are another healthy soy alternative. These can be lentils, kidney beans or black beans. “It’s good to include beans in your diet and beans are inexpensive,” Hyde continued. “This is what I share with some of the young adults that I work with.”
It may be difficult for Americans over the age of 40 to change from the Western Diet to a plant-based diet.
“I can’t tell you to stop eating meat when you’ve been eating meat for 30 years,” said Hyde.
This change can be much less difficult for younger people. Many young Americans have learned of the negative effects the Western diet causes and have adopted the healthy habit of consuming plant-based foods.
We should learn from the findings of O’Dea’s experiment. By changing our diet, we too can lose weight, lower our blood pressure and cholesterol and live a healthier life.
By: Thomas Dixon
