The fast pace of the modern-day life constantly makes us struggle to try and accommodate to it, while also modifying our thoughts and behaviour on the long run. The stress induced by working from 9 to 5 doesn’t do any good in planning out our meals and finding time for ourselves and our wellbeing.
Trying to figure out how to make a fast and efficient way in boosting my mental and physical health, I found the plant-based diet. I hate calling it a diet, because it’s essentially a healthy lifestyle. Ditching fast-food and turning over to a plant-based diet made huge differences in my energy levels, improving my concentration and boosting my immunity. After all, we are what we eat, so keeping track on what we put into our organizam can really make a visible difference.
This is why I’ve decided to share some of my experience in eating a plant-based diet and the positive changes it spontaneously created in my life.
Maintain a healthy weight
Obesity has literally become a 21st century illness, as a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that in 2013 over 57% of the American citizen were overweight or obese, estimating that by 2020 nearly ¾ of the population will likely be obese or overweight.
Being a chronic health problem, obesity is a major factor in causing type 2 diabetes, various cardiovascular problems, osteoarthritis, depression, sleep apnea, cognitive decline, liver failure and some types of cancer.
A recent study showed that eating a plant-based diet may help lower the chance of diabetes and improve cholesterol levels. The fiber-rich plant-based diet actually helps improve the digestive system, detoxifying the organizam from accumulated fat and toxins.
Boost your health
Eating clean and fresh food can help boost the immune system, helping detoxify the organizam and improve the digestive system. An Australian study showed that eating a plant-based diet may also improve and protect the mental health, lowering the risk of clinical depression and alleviating signs of fatigue.
The low-fat, mineral and vitamin-rich plant-based diet protects the cardiovascular health by balancing the hormonal levels, reducing the risk of arteriosclerosis and preventing the risk for a stroke.
Be environment-conscious
Not only does the plant-based diet benefit your health and wellbeing, it also helps protects the environment, too. Adopting sustainable eating habits can help reduce your CO2 footprint by astonishing 50%, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land exploitation used in mass farming, which are the main factors in global warming and environmental degradation.
Believe it or not, if every American citizen would cut down meat consumption once a week, the level of cut down CO2 emissions would equal as much as removing 500,000 cars from the road.
Rainforest destruction caused by unsustainable animal agriculture leads to species extinction, which in return rapidly alters the biodiversity and causes drastic shifts in the global ecology.
So you may want to think twice before going out to buy lamb for dinner, as making the right choice today will affect the future of the next generations.