HEALTHY EATING AND LOWER TRIGLYCERIDES
An ideal diet is one that promotes optimal health and longevity. Healthy eating and lower triglycerides go hand in hand. An “Ideal Diet,” means a diet that maximizes your overall well-being. It provides longevity, prevents nutrient deficiencies and reduces risk for diet-related chronic diseases. An “Ideal Diet” is composed of food packed with healthy nutrients. It is readily available, safe, and of course palatable and affordable by average persons.
According to various nutrition policies, it would be helpful and insightful to identify the mix of foods that could best prevent nutrient deficiencies, prevent wide arrays of chronic illness as well as promote optimal health benefits.
Modern nutrition and health-based research studies indicate the risks of nutrition-related diseases are determined by our food compositions, particularly the balanced between animal and plant-based foods, as well as the degree of processing these foods.
Epidemiological studies have revealed that high intake of red meat (and meat products) may increase your risks of diseases. A high intake of plant-based diets (high levels of dietary fiber, rich cereal products, vegetables and fruits) can significantly reduce your risk of many ailments including cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity and type 2 diabetes etc.
Animal products are major sources of total fat. However, a plant-based diet is not necessarily low in total fats. However, these diets get monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fats and healthy proteins from soybeans, nuts and legumes. Trading saturated meat-based diets for unsaturated fats in our diets is found to be more effective in lowering the risks of CVD. Type 2 diabetes, obesity and other chronic illnesses, are also reduced while optimizing our overall health. Well-balanced plant-based diets make a valuable contribution to good nutrition. They help achieve current dietary recommendations. Moderate amounts of fish, poultry, and low-fat dairy have also been known to be effective in lowering the risks associated with CVD.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PLANT-BASED DIETS?
- Foods of plant origins are significant sources of energy, healthy proteins, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals in most Americans’ diets
- The phytochemicals in plants, mainly ‘flavonoids’ help promote human health and reduce your risk of chronic disease.
- The phytochemicals acting as antioxidants assist in the elimination of blood low-density lipoprotein (LDL). This is the bad cholesterol, thereby reducing your risks of cardiac disease.
- Vegetarian diets can help decrease or maintain blood glucose levels, while reducing the risk of type 2- diabetes. This also significantly lowers body weight and body mass index.
- The phytochemicals in plants can assist in the boosting of enzyme production, and thus provide defense for your body
- Increase fiber, which increases satiety and reduces overeating
Other benefits of plant-based diets are
Lower food cost, and lower risk of cancer, lower blood pressure, improved symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, and are generally environment friendly.
So, it is ideal and safe to say that consuming plant-based foods may be vastly more nutritious and health promoting than animal based diets.
THINGS YOU SHOULD BEAR IN MIND
- An unhealthy diet combined with physical inactivity increases the risk of various chronic diseases including CVD, cancers, hypertension, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
- Plant based-eating should be considered a real solution to the nutritional, and possibly health challenges we currently face.
- It appears that plant-based diet is more likely to add to an individual sense of wellbeing and general health.
- Adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle can prevent the majority of diseases in the United States.
- There is exclusively no perfect diet for anyone, as long as the diets consist of healthy fats and carbohydrates and improved healthy lifestyle.
SOURCES
Craig, W. J., Mangels, R. A. (2009). The Vegetarian Resource Group. Position of the American Diatetic Association: Vegetarian diets. Journal of the American Diatetic Association, 107(7), 1266-1282.
Nation Food Survey of Ireland (2005). Attitude towards diet and wellbeing. http://www.investni.com
The Vegan society available at: http://www.vegansociety.com