How many of you tried whole plant food diet. I had tried this type of diet by using completely organic vegetable with no meat. I did had very good experience as my health improved considerably. My body's digestive capacity increased and there is little problem in health now. Have any one tried using the whole plant food diet for a certain amount of time.
I never tried eating just vegetables because i believe that a balance diet is not only composed of vegetables. We also need other vitamins and minerals from other sources.
I'm on the raw food diet. Quite balanced and resulted in weight loss and improvement in blood glucose levels (diabetic). Not bad as you get used to it. Lots of various recipes available so it is not just eating salads. Healthy food is more expensive though than the regular stuff.
I don’t like the idea of just eating some vegetables. I am more comfortable eating a balanced diet. I think that I will stick with just that.
I assume that you include fruits in a whole plant food diet? I wouldn't mind trying it. I think the big challenge in our place would be to satisfy the cravings for meat. Do you include dairy products in the diet? That seems like a dumb question, but I keep seeing people calling themselves vegetarians and eating cheese.
You can get a balanced diet eating raw foods. The inventiveness in the area is amazing. Coconut cream pie, brownies, and lots of other deserts made without any sugar or flour. Fruits, nuts, honey, and of course vegetables all go into the raw food diet. Fake hamburgers are made from nuts, onions, green peppers, raisins, ...., all ground up together and pressed out before drying in a dehydrator so they look more or less like hamburgers. Toughest part is no bread. So you make bread from flaxseeds again using the dehydrator. Actually pretty tasty. No dairy products but again there are raw foods that when chopped and blended make a reasonable imitation cheese. Quite a few books of recipes out there. You don't need a stove but you do need things like a powerful blender and a food dehydrator. Other wise you will be bored really quick on just salads.
This would have to be my answer, too. I don't eat a lot of meat but I like getting protein from it sometimes. I think that when a diet/lifestyle is followed that cuts one thing or another out completely, it often leads to other problems and I don't like problems. So it's balanced diet for me.
I always wonder how people define a balanced diet -- and how do they know they are really getting one? I used to know people at work who thought they were getting a balanced diet but then they ate donuts all morning and went to a burger place for lunch. Figure they must have had to really catch up for dinner to make up for the rest of the day.
I've been a vegetarian for well over twenty years, but I eat dairy products and eggs so I'm not as strict as vegans or fruitarians are. I'm mindful of my protein combinations and I take my vitamins so I stay pretty healthy, but everyone is different and have different nutritional needs. What works for me may not work well for someone else.
How as your improved health measured? Had your doctor suggested the change in diet based on blood tests?
Well now! I can actually answer this! For me a balanced diet is moderation in all the food groups including fats. It's *not* freaking out over not having carbs or not having meat. I have carbs and meat and fruits and veggies and grains and dairy. I limit fats (i.e. spray butter with 0 calories instead of globs of it) and bad things but nothing is totally cut out. I feel that any time something is limited, it's usually setting ourselves up for failure.
Maybe a whole platefull of green beans... EEEEEEWWWW! Or maybe they were "balancing" a Big Mac with a diet drink?
For most people a balanced diet means that they can sort of function and not die......or gain weight. I have a balanced diet but it's not my fault. I have someone who does most of the cooking for me and doesn't let me have much junk food.
This is how I'd have to do it... I might be able to do vegetarian but I couldn't do vegan. Dairy and eggs are important to me.
As far as I know, any drastic change in diet will leave someone feeling better, for a while, as their body runs through a few sub routines to find a new balance. People tend to continue to say they feel better and their body is working better, based on the memory of that little shock. I'd check with a physician if I had altered my diet drastically, after that first year to see if I need supplements. Humans have thrived eating all sorts of meats and plants, so I don't think there is any reason to believe that one type of food is inherently better than another. as long as your blood chemistry remains viable.
That's a good bottom line for all this, I think. I have witnessed some pretty horrid health problems in friends when they thought they were doing something good by cutting out [fill in the culprit food group] completely.
