This is the third and final post in a series addressing the fundamental Minimal Wellness dietary principles. We are using the framework of Michael Pollan’s iconic dietary advice “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” to help guide the discussion. Make sure you check out Parts 1 and 2 of this series for proper context.
The final point of discussion related to Minimal Wellness dietary principles is Pollan’s directive: “mostly plants.” Investigations of all populations with better than average longevity have at least one unifying characteristic, the bulk of their diets come from plants. Usually these diets include copious amounts of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes. Many include seafood or other animal products, but those are usually used as a condiment or small addition to the meal, in other words, animal protein is almost never the “center of the plate.” In these plant based, but not vegetarian or vegan diets, animal products (meat, fish, eggs, and dairy) need only amount to 3-5 ounces per day to meet the vast majority of people’s dietary needs.
People following plant based diets have lower rates of nearly every chronic health condition including obesity, heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. The mechanisms behind the improved health outcomes are thought to be a result of diets high in plants being higher in fiber, antioxidants, mono-unsaturated fats, micronutrients and pre-biotics that help maintain a healthy gut microflora, than the standard American diet. Eating more plants, will provide your body with tons of essential vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that will help increase your vitality. Who doesn’t want to feel more alive and energetic?
In addition to being better for human health, plant-based diets are also unequivocally less environmentally damaging. Animal sources of protein produce significantly more greenhouse gas emissions, contribute to antibiotic resistance, and expose those consuming them to hormones and toxins. And while consuming pasture-raised or wild harvested animals is preferable to animals raised in concentrated animal feeding operations, their environmental impact is still far greater than that of plant sources of protein. As a species, we simply cannot continue to consume enormous amounts of animal products, we will max out the carrying capacity of the planet. Therefore, we need to be far more thoughtful and deliberate about our animal product consumption, and learn to treat high-quality animal proteins as a supplement to a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains.