Plant-based diet is essentially the vegan diet. However, vegan diet may contain some unhealthy elements. The most healthy vegan diet is so called plant-based whole food diet. This diet eliminates the majority of processed foods. A selected plant-based whole food diet recommended by Dr. Colin T. Campbell has more restrictions which exclude refined and even natural products.
This diet may render the most healthy benefits and help prevent/cure cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity/metabolic syndrome etc.
Types of foods you can eat
Whole Grains – including any carbohydrate-rich crops like barley, brown rice, millet, wild rice, quinoa, amaranth, oats, whole wheat. Should you avoid common rice which does not come with fiber etc? You better avoid whole grains like that.
Legumes (dried or fresh) – including soy beans, adzuki, strong beans, (black) beans, black-eyed peas, mung beans, chickpeas, fava beans, kidney beans, lima beans, green beans, peas, lentils, pinto beans etc. Can you use some bean-derived foods like tofu? You better use soybeans instead of tofu because tofu is a type of processed food which contains additives, and remove other nutrients such as carbohydrates.
Greens (fresh or frozen) leafy vegetables – including kale, collards, bok choy, spinach, lettuces, chards etc. This is a category of foods you should eat often.
Roots – no restrictions including carrots, radishes, beets, garlic, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, gingers, turnips.
Other Veggies including squash, celery, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus,cauliflower, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini etc.
Fruit (fresh or frozen)
apricots, apples, bananas (not recommended because too sweet), all berries, cherries, melons (I would recommend not eating water melon (too much sugar), mangoes, papayas, grapes, kiwi, plums, pineapple etc. Watch not to eat OMG fruits.
Omega 3 Rich Seeds – Milled flaxseed, chia seed (milled seeds can not be kept for too long as they are easily oxidized).
Spices – Most spices exclusive of those appetite promoting spices. This is important for those who want to control their body weight or fight diseases like cancer who need to restrict intake of calories. We will add more to this list.
Beverages – bottled water, teas (green tea and black tea). No fluoridated tap water!
Foods that should be restricted.
Nuts – peanuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, coconut and other nuts
Seeds like sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds. Seeds contain a lot of nutrients promoting issue growth or angiogenesis which is bad for cancer patient.
Dried Fruits
Added Sweeteners – maple syrup, date syrup, molasses (These are not deeply processed so they are okay. However, they are simple sugars and should not eat too much of any.)
Foods that should be avoided.
Any animal derived foods
Processed foods including bakery, cookies, ready to eat meals, juices, refined sugars, all sorts of drinks, refined grains, protein isolates.(you should never eat too much of protein).
Added fats such as olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil etc. They contain a lot of omega 6 fatty acids which promote inflammation and also calorie-dense. Fats also boost your appetite and increase your intake of calories.
Any Sugars – white sugar, brown sugar, maltose, beet sugar, brown rice syrup, high fructose corn syrup, can sugar, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose or glucose, cane juice crystals.
Benefits of a plant-based diet
Plant based diets prevent or cure many diseases including cancer, heat disease, arthritis, diabetes, complications of infections etc.
How to use a plant-based diet?
Many readers may feel that it is hard to use a plant-based diet. For many people, plant derived foods may not taste as delicious as meat and cheese products. That is not absolutely true. Many if not all plant-derived foods actually taste very good, particularly you know how to prepare. It is true that it takes some time for a person’s dietary habit to shift from a standard American diet to a plant-based diet. But many people find it possible for such a healthy shift.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine provides many recipes that can help you use a plant-based diet.