In the last 24 hours there have been a lot of headlines about a new American Heart Association poster that was presented yesterday:
Headlines today exclaiming a plant-based diet reduces risk of heart failure!
For those of you who automatically are turned off by the term “plant-based,” hold your horses! This paper actually included fish in their “plant-based plate”. While I don’t agree fish should be considered plant-based, it is important to note that these headlines are a bit misleading.
Where I come from, fish aren’t plants… and the term “plant-based” means “derived from plants.” [I’ve also heard people say plant foods “don’t have a face or a mother.”] Fish definitely aren’t plants and they definitely have faces and mothers… so there is no passing the plant-based test here.
If we go back to some of the exciting news presented in this poster: it is amazing to see that people who are adhering to a mostly a plant-based diet do in fact have a 42% reduction in risk for heart failure! Can you imagine how many more headlines you would see or how many news outlets would be running stories if a pill was shown to decrease the risk of heart failure by the same amount? I sure can!
In any event, for those of you who are scared of the “v” words but are interested in the “p”, “f” or “r” words, let this serve as the magic piece of evidence you have been searching for to cut out dairy and meat from your diet. According to this study (and many, many others):
YOU can lead a healthier, disease-free life with more plants in your life!
In the words of the presenter of this poster:
“Eating a diet mostly of dark green leafy plants, fruits, beans, whole grains and fish, while limiting processed meats, saturated fats, trans fats, refined carbohydrates and foods high in added sugars is a heart-healthy lifestyle and may specifically help prevent heart failure if you don’t already have it.”
If you are interested in learning more about flexitarianism, reducitarianism, pescatarianism, vegetarianism or veganism, PM me for tips and tricks on how to start cutting out those things you know you can never stop eating. I would love to be your National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach!
Healthspiration: Remember that every person who identifies with one of the “isms” above also once said the very same thing… “I could NEVER give up [insert negative-health-impacting-food-vice-of-choice here].”
Let me empower you to achieve your impossible. What can you "never give up" that continues to sabotage your health and wellness goals? Ask how to get started with a health coaching plan here.
*LoveLightHealth*
Lorna
Link to original AMA article here.
