33 Benefits of a Plant Based Diet

Are you a veggie eater? Addicted to fruit? Great!! You are well on your way to a very healthy lifestyle. 

Eating more plants can have hugely postitive benefits on our health and wellbeing. You may already eat this way and be excited about the benefits, but I wrote this article for those that aren't aware of what eating more plants can do for you. I feel like if more people knew all the benefits, then more of us would eat that way and feel so much better. 

First, though, let's talk about what it means to eat a plant based diet. Some people hear "plants" and think it's a vegan type of diet. It is not.....at all.  Basically, it means that you eat mostly plants, but it doesn't mean that you never eat animal products. I actually eat a litle bit of meat on most days. I go for plants at breakfast and lunch, and all day on Mondays. Dinners for most of the week are either beef, chicken or fish and I'm eating with my family. I just try to eat a more moderate portion, and I make up the difference with plants. So that's the jist of it. Less meat. More plants. Oh, and when you think plants, you might think of only fruits and veggies, but it also includes nuts, seeds and beans, so that can add a lot of variety to your plate.

Ok, so making these changes isn't always easy, but it's totally rewarding and delicious. Here are some of the benefits you can look forward to!!

33 Benefits of a Plant Based Diet

1. Boosts the immune system

2. Helps support weight loss (when done with low sugar and low refined grains)

3. Lowers blood pressure

4. Reduces risk of colon, breast, brain and prostate cancers. 

5. Reduces risk of heart disease. 

6. Increases energy

7. Supports better, deeper sleep

8. Enhanced sense of wellbeing and supports better moods

9. Supports hormone balance

10. Increases sex drive

11. Reduces inflammation

12. Reduces aches and pains

13. Provides clean energy without jitters

14. Boosts athletic performance (beets and greens in particular)

15. Supports gut health and regularity

16. Reduces symtpoms of IBS (especially when gluten free)

17. Increases strength (just think, cows only eat plants but they eat a lot of them and are very big and strong!). 

18. Helps support detoxification 

19. Increases metabolism

20. Helps clear up skin issues and reduces redness

21. Supports wound healing

22. Easy on digestion (Especially when the plants are cooked- like in a veggie soup)

23. Supports healthy kidneys and helps fight kidney disease

24. Improves eye sight

25. Increases focus 

26. Improves memory

27. Supports sustained concentration

28. Reduces cholesterol

29. Reduces risk of degenerative brain diseases

30. Lowers stroke risk

31. Increases life expectancy by increaseing telomeres and supporting healthy DNA

32. Reduces risk of lung disease

33. Reduces body odor. This is a weird one, but body odor comes from toxins in your blood. When you eat more plants and start to detox, your body odor becomes less offensive. 

I know I already said the 33 benefits, but there's just one more I have to add. It's generally a lot less expensive. Ok, so that's 34 benefits. 

So there you go. There are so many benefits of eating more plants! I also want to say that a lot of these benefits can be enjoyed by just tweaking your current eating plan. You don't have to say goodbye to cheese forever or never ever eat another animal product. It's all about how often you eat it and portion sizes (And quality of the food). 

Eating a plant based diet is easy to start for some people. Others struggle and may need some help to do it right. That is what I'm here for! I can put together a customized plan for you and coach you ALL along the way. Send me an email at tressa.knapp@gmail.com or find me on Facebook the the group, Nutrition with Tressa. 

Lastly, I also will point out that some plants are high in oxalates, so if you are sensitive to them, don't eat as many of those plants. Even so, eating less meat (and higher quality meat) will still have great benefits.