What you eat can not only have an effect on your waistline, but also the world at large, says Lindsay S. Nixon.
“Switching to a plant-based diet is the single most positive impact you can make on your health, the environment and society,” says the author of The Happy Herbivore Cookbook series and CEO of GetMealPlans.com and Happy Herbivore Inc.
Following a plant-based diet is a real, attainable solution to the healthcare crisis, world hunger, water shortages, fossil fuel conservation, and other environmental problems. Plus, there’s no better way to protect yourself against chronic disease, she adds.
We recently checked in with Lindsay to learn more about the benefits of ditching meat, dairy and process foods. Here’s what she had to say:
Tell us about The Happy Herbivore.
I started blogging about recipes and the plant-based lifestyle back in 2007 on happyherbivore. From there, my humble blog turned into five cookbooks and one awesome guide (The Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living) – and later, a corporation. Three years ago, my seven-day meal plan service was born, which is a practical extension of the cookbooks and blog.
Basically, I want to help make eating healthy (and living plant-based) as easy as possible for people; which I do through sharing information on the Happy Herbivore website along with recipes, meal plans, tutorial videos, social media postings, and so forth.
Happy Herbivore is also committed to helping elephants, so we donate a portion of all proceeds to elephant charities.
What are some of the most surprising benefits of switching to a plant-based diet?
The big health benefits are the prevention or reversal of chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, plus an insanely long list of other illnesses or symptoms such as migraines, asthma, seasonal allergies, IBS, PCOS, infertility, ED, eczema, insomnia, mental clarity, acne, arthritis, acid reflux, depression, ADD, autoimmune diseases, vitamin deficiencies, and so on.
Then there’s benefits like ending world hunger, saving water resources, conserving fossil fuels, and other environmental benefits.
What does a plant-based diet look like? Can you describe a typical day of eating?
A plant-based diet centers around plant foods: fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans and lentils), whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Most people find their diet is much more varied when they become plant-based. I love this aspect of a plant-based diet, too. There is no “typical” day I eat so many wonderful, different foods. I’m never in a rut.
If you’re new to a plant-based diet and need guidance or ideas for how to build a plant-based diet or menu, check out my meal plans at https://www.getmealplans.com
How do you approach grocery shopping? Where do you get your food? How expensive is it?
You save so much money going plant-based! All healthy whole plant foods are reasonably priced, especially if you buy in season or locally.
I shop at the local supermarket in town mostly (Kroger). I also like to visit the farmer’s market when I can.
The only “expensive” items are convenience foods and junk foods, which you don’t want to make a staple in your diet anyway.
What are the most common reasons you hear from people about why a plant-based diet won’t work for them?
Junk foods and fast foods are addictive — they’re loaded with fat, sugar, and salt, which is a killer combo. Dairy is also physically addictive like a drug, and new research says the same about sugar. They’re as addictive as heroin or opium.
As a result, a lot of people go through withdrawal and detox symptoms and have extreme cravings. If you’ve ever met a smoker who quit, you can have an idea why it’s a challenge andwhy people fail and have to start over. Quitting and addiction is hard.
I think others struggle with social issues or peer pressure, but there are ways you can diffuse that (I give a lot of role-playing examples in my Guide).
And some people just do it wrong, usually by accident.
For example, a lot of people will go plant-based and eat salad. Salad is healthy, but provides so few calories. If you only had soup for lunch, salad for dinner and oatmeal for breakfast, you’d be so calorically deficient that you’d be tired, hungry, cranky and unsatisfied. Then you think “this isn’t going to work for me.”
You have to make sure you eat enough and you’re eating the right foods. For example, so many people are afraid of carbs due to fad diets and poor marketing, when in reality you need to eat a lot of whole carbs like starchy vegetables like baked potatoes and cooked rice to feel amazing.
What do you think would surprise us non-Happy Herbivores about our diets today? What are the long-term health impacts of the average American diet?
Animal foods, especially dairy, literally turns on and feeds cancer.
There’s more protein in spinach than in beef calorie for calorie.
Dairy actually causes osteoporosis.
All foods, even kale and bananas, contain protein.
Long-term heath impacts of the American diet are obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, plus pretty much every other sickness, complaint, or symptom that exists — anything from IBS to acne to migraines to allergies to constipation.
Where do you find inspiration for your recipes?
Sometimes I try to re-create a non-plant-based food I once loved; other times I just play around with new flavors and ideas.
What parts of the world seem to embrace the Happy Herbivore philosophy? What can we learn from them?
The populations of the world with the healthiest and longest living people follow diets that are primarily plant-based.
I have been all over the world and found people following a plant-based diet in every place – more now than ever with the movement on the rise. The word is getting out!
Connect with Lindsay on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
The post Expert Interview with Lindsay Nixon on Switching to a Plant-Based Diet appeared first on FoodyDirect Blog.