The Greenprint

I HAVE ONE SIMPLE GUIDELINE:

“I DON’T EAT ANYTHING PRODUCED FROM OR BY SOMETHING THAT HAS A FACE.

THIS MEANS NO CHICKEN, TURKEY, COWS, PIGS, SHEEP OR FISH OF ANY KIND.

The average daily requirement of protein is 46 grams for women and 56 grams for men. Scientists at Loma Linda University in California conducted the largest study in history of nutrient profiles of vegetarians, vegans and non-vegetarians. It put to rest once and for all the perennial question, ‘Do vegetarians and vegans get enough protein?’ The study followed more than seventy thousand adults for close to six years and calculated their intake of protein, along with other major nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.

According to this landmark study, non-vegetarians get way more protein than they need, and so does everyone else. On average, vegans and vegetarians get 70 per cent more protein than they even require, and 97 per cent of all Americans get enough protein.

So no one is really lacking protein. But there is another nutrient that 97 per cent of Americans are deficient in: fibre. A fibre deficiency contributes to all sorts of life-threatening illnesses, from obesity to heart disease to diabetes to cancer. This nutrient is something we should be concerned about, not protein! (More on fibre in Law #3.)

We typically think of protein as coming from animal products. But the best sources of proteins are plant-based: beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Even vegetables like spinach have protein. When you eat a well-rounded, varied, plant-based diet, you get all the protein you need.

So – let’s stop obsessing over protein as the ‘cure’ for obesity, overweight, diabetes and other diseases. Let’s start obsessing instead – in a positive way – about eating enough food that grows from the ground or in trees.

Plants top the diets that protect against heart disease, stroke, cancer, high blood pressure, cataracts and macular degeneration. Cancer is often chalked up to bad genes. But according to Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University and author of The China Study, ‘This is not about genes. Cancer is a function of nutrition.’ In fact, he has called the component of cow’s milk known as casein ‘the most relevant chemical carcinogen ever identified.’ Another plant-based advocate, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, makes equally unequivocal statements about heart disease: ‘Heart disease need never exist. It is a food-borne illness’.

Clearly, science and growing numbers of scientists support plant-based eating. Research shows that both high blood pressure and high blood sugar – risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke – begin to fall and normalise within just a week of starting a plant-based diet.

You don’t need to eat animals to get nutrients besides protein, either. You can obtain all the carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals you need from plants, too.

Think about it: where did the nutrition in the animals you have been eating come from? Plants! Plants are the original source of all nutrients. Nutrient-rich plant-based meals will make you leaner and, in the long run, healthier. You will feel great, with your body buzzing with energy and nutrition. Life will become so much easier. Developing the habit of eating plants gives you the energy, strength and health to deal with life successfully – the energy to live your life in a positive, kind and compassionate way, and to make the right choices for yourself, so you can be the healthiest version of yourself, inside and out. What are those choices? Take a look.

BEANS AND LEGUMES

When it comes to plant-based sources of protein, you can’t go wrong with a few beans. Or lentils – 75 grams of cooked lentils can provide a whopping 18 grams of protein. Other great sources include black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas, but truly, the options are endless when it comes to beans and legumes. Look for unique beans at your speciality foods store or the farmers’ market. Eating beans or legumes in combination with grains is the easiest way to get all the essential amino acids – the vital tissue-building blocks in protein – in one sitting.

GREEN VEGGIES

I am very pro green vegetables. I eat a lot of them, because they are a source of all sorts of healthy vitamins and minerals, as well as fibre. If it’s hard to find a place on your plate for plants, I say put them in your glass. Make a green smoothie every day. It takes five minutes and tastes good, too. Even my children request them. Use whatever fresh fruit and veggies inspire you: spinach, kale or chard, banana, berries or pear. Add the liquid of your choice – I use water (no calories and non-dairy), but you could try almond milk. The possibilities are endless – your smoothie will taste different every time but will always be nutritious.

COLOURFUL VEGGIES

Vibrantly coloured vegetables are more than just beautiful; they contain life-enriching phytochemicals. These chemicals provide flavour, colour, scent and valuable nutrients such as antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, which guard against many diseases, including diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The more colours, the better.

FRUIT

Eating just a small amount of fruit daily can reduce heart disease risk and improve health. According to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016, researchers in China followed more than half a million people for seven years. They found that about 100 grams of fresh fruit daily was enough to lower risk of heart attack and stroke. Apples, peaches, pears, berries and other fruits all contain valuable heart-protective nutrients.

NUTS AND SEEDS

Both are terrific protein sources. Just 35 grams of almonds contains 8 grams of protein, while 2 tablespoons of almond butter contains 7 grams. Pecans, walnuts, pistachios and cashews are also great choices. When it comes to seeds, look for sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, chia seeds and flaxseeds. Full of healthy fats and protein, these make great snacks, as well as additions to salads and side dishes. Be sure to keep an eye on your serving size of nuts and seeds, however, as they do pack a lot of calories.

WHOLE GRAINS

The latest USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans noted that most people eat enough grains, but not enough whole grains. The whole grain has the most bang for the bite, including higher nutritional value and more flavour. Nutrients vary by grain type, but generally whole grains are rich in fibre, iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium and B and E vitamins. A 2016 study in the journal Circulation reported that at least three servings of whole grains daily was associated with a 20 per cent lower risk of death from all causes, and a 25 per cent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. My favourites are whole-grain brown rice, quinoa and porridge oats.

Quinoa (often classified and thought of as a grain, but actually a seed), in particular, is a great option and also lets you bump up your protein intake. There are 8 grams of complete protein (containing all the essential amino acids) in 185 grams of cooked quinoa, and if you combine it with other protein-rich foods, you’ll quickly reach your recommended daily protein intake while also providing your body with lots of essential nutrients.

VEGAN PROTEIN POWDER

For a quick protein pick-me-up, you can’t go wrong with a good plant-based protein powder. Have it in a smoothie as a quick and healthy breakfast or afternoon boost. You can even combine protein powder with some of your favourite recipes like brownies, muffins and pancakes to ensure your meals are protein-packed. Look for USDA-certified organic protein powders with clean and simple ingredient profiles.

PLANT FATS

Be sure to eat delicious plant-based fats such as nut butters and avocados. Good fats slow the absorption of carbohydrates, help prevent disease and provide important nutrients. Fats also help you feel full longer. They’re great for energy, and you can add a tablespoon or two of them to your green smoothies.

EAT LESS JUNK

Let’s pause here to consider the second part of this law: eat less of everything else.

‘And what is “everything else”?’ I hear you asking. Well, for one thing, it’s junk food, and I’m sure you know exactly what that is: it’s foods with questionable nutritional value laced with sugar and salt. It’s soft drinks and other sugary beverages. It’s highly processed, packaged food engineered with lab-produced flavours designed to be irresistible. It’s the fast food sold on every corner of every town. You know it when you see it. When you do, don’t eat it.

A lot of junk is filled with additives and artificial flavours, too. They trick your taste buds so much that they get confused when you eat real food because you’re so used to chemicals. But when you remove artificially flavoured foods from your diet, something magical happens. After a few days, your taste buds begin to function as they should. Suddenly you experience what an orange or carrot really tastes like. Or an apple, or a mango. You rediscover what sweet is really supposed to taste like.

Also under the heading of ‘everything else’ are animal-based foods, such as meat and cheese. That massive study I mentioned on see here also compared the diets of those in the study who eventually died and those who did not. Vegetarians and vegans had a lower risk of death than non-vegetarians. The point is that eating too much animal-based food just might cut your life short. Why risk that? When you follow this law, you will enjoy powerful results. As your new eating habits start to settle in, you will feel better and better – and learn that you actually love eating more fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. In fact, you will feel amazing, and you will begin to crave fresh, delicious plant foods.

You will notice this difference almost immediately. You will feel better and be healthier, and this will make you happier. Your amazing energy will come from those plants. When plants grow, the sun shines, energy is absorbed from the air and through the soil, and nature’s chemistry turns light into food that gives you energy – pure, natural, healing energy that will change the way you live in the world.

YOUR GREENPRINT

by Following Law #1

You will become thinner, live longer, and be healthier – a point established by our Holy Name study, as well as the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines, which state that vegetarian eating patterns, including vegan diets, may boost health by preventing obesity, slashing the risk of cardiovascular disease and lowering total mortality.

THE PLANT-BASED DISTINCTION

Many people don’t understand the differences between a vegetarian diet, a vegan diet and a 100 per cent plant-based diet.

VEGETARIAN

Eats milk and eggs, grains and vegetables, but doesn’t eat meat, poultry or fish. There are variants of the vegetarian diet: ovo-lacto vegetarians eat eggs, dairy and honey while excluding meat, fish and poultry. Lacto-vegetarians exclude eggs, meat, fish and poultry, but eat dairy and honey. Pesco-vegetarians eat fish, but not the flesh of other animals. And ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but exclude dairy from their diets.

VEGAN

Doesn’t eat meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs or honey. Eats grains, vegetables, fruit and, often, overprocessed vegan foods.

PLANT-BASED

Eats 100 per cent plants – grains, vegetables and fruits. Doesn’t eat meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, honey or processed vegan foods.

LAW 2

NOBODY EVER PLANS TO FAIL

PEOPLE JUST FAIL TO PLAN

Success depends upon previous preparation.

– CONFUCIUS

WHEN YOU’RE SWITCHING TO PLANT-BASED EATING, planning is the key for success – and enjoyment! Set yourself up for success by anticipating your nutritional needs and making healthy, plant-based food accessible and convenient. Selecting healthy, life-giving foods for each of your three meals a day is possible – but just like any lasting change to your diet, it requires planning. It requires effort. Cucumbers don’t buy themselves!

Some people bounce around from diet to diet, shedding weight but then gaining it all back. It’s frustrating. It’s disheartening. If you want to stop failing, step out of the cycle of weight gain and disease and create a new cycle of vitality, planning and following through are the only way to get there. If you are looking for a get-thin-quick plan, you’re in the wrong place. If you’re looking for sustainable habits that will result in weight loss and great health, you’re in the right place, because you are beginning an incredible journey towards optimum health and wellness. You’re going to see what it feels like to take care of yourself and move towards being the best version of you.

The first step to changing the trajectory of your diet, weight and health is to be completely accountable for where you are today – good or bad. Your parents aren’t to blame, and neither is the economy or your favourite fast-food restaurant – you are. You are 100 per cent responsible for everything you do; you will never fix your problems by blaming someone or something else. You choose what to eat, how to act, where to go, when to exercise (or not) and what foods to avoid. Once you get all that straight, then you can get to the heart of how to plan for plant-based eating. When you plan, you win; when you don’t, you fail.

PLANNING TO MEET YOUR NUTRIENT NEEDS

Reminder: Plant foods provide everything you need nutritionally. But ensuring that you receive all that ‘everything’ requires thoughtful planning. Plan your meals around a variety of high-quality, nutrient-rich foods, such as whole grains, beans, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Plant-based eaters have to be a little more vigilant than most to get sufficient amounts of certain vitamins, minerals and fats in their diets. The important nutrient targets to hit include:

IRON

One of the most common yet erroneous arguments against a plant-based diet is that it doesn’t provide enough iron. In fact, those eating a meat-free, plant-based diet not only tend to get more iron, but also get more fibre, vitamins and minerals. Plant-based iron, also known as non-heme iron, isn’t absorbed as well as heme iron (which is found in animal blood and muscle) in the body, but studies show that avoiding heme iron has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other chronic diseases.

A plant-based diet should include foods that are rich in iron, like kidney beans, black beans, soya beans, spinach, raisins (which are slightly higher in iron than grapes), cashews, oats, cabbage and tomato juice (which has more iron than tomatoes).

Women require 18 milligrams of iron daily; men require 8 milligrams. For postmenopausal women, that drops to the same amount as for men, 8 milligrams. Pregnant women require 27 milligrams. Getting enough iron daily isn’t difficult when you combine plant-based iron sources: a meal consisting of 225 grams of cooked spinach, 185 grams of quinoa, and 100 grams of chickpeas contains about 12 milligrams of iron. A simple salad of spinach, dried currants, almonds, pumpkin seeds and a few sun-dried tomatoes can easily deliver 10 milligrams of iron.

VITAMIN B12

Vitamin B12 is abundant in meat, eggs and dairy foods, and vegan diets get criticised because they don’t supply enough of this nutrient. But one thing most people don’t realise is that there’s not even that much B12 in beef anymore, because cows don’t eat that much natural grass (the original source of this vitamin from bacteria that live in the soil). They are being injected with B12!

The recommended daily amount of vitamin B12 for adults is 2.4 micrograms, and you can get ample amounts from certain plant-based foods. Tempeh and miso, for example, contain high levels of this nutrient because it is produced by bacteria during fermentation. You can also obtain B12 from nutritional yeast (a great condiment that tastes like Parmesan cheese), and some plant-based foods and cereals are fortified with it. Be careful that you get ample amounts of this nutrient, as a B12 deficiency can be serious and even lead to irreversible nerve damage. I personally like to take a daily B12 supplement, which ensures that I’m getting exactly what I need. In our Holy Name study, the researchers had everyone in the vegan group take a B12 supplement. The participants’ levels of this important nutrient stayed normal, and, in some cases, even increased.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

Although there is no official recommended daily allowance of omega-3 fatty acids, these fats play an important role in preventing chronic inflammation. They help form prostaglandins, a class of lipids that increase and decrease various functions relating to the inflammatory response, normal blood clotting and the relaxation of blood vessels. Dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseeds and flax oil, soya beans and soya bean oil, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil, tofu, walnuts and walnut oil, seaweed and edible marine algae.

VITAMIN D

Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers and depression. It builds healthy bones and teeth, regulates insulin and supports lung function and cardiovascular health.

Vitamin D intake is recommended at 400 to 800 IUs a day, or 10 to 20 micrograms. If you get fifteen minutes of sunlight each day, your body can produce ample vitamin D. Eating mushrooms is another way to obtain this vital nutrient.

CALCIUM

Dairy isn’t the only source of this bone-building mineral, so don’t fall for the rhetoric that vegans don’t get enough calcium. All it takes is some planning and knowledge about the plant sources of calcium and you can easily reach the recommended daily amount.

The recommended daily amount for calcium is 1,000 milligrams for adults and children aged four years and older. A salad of about 200 grams of kale, almonds, sunflower seeds and white beans topped with a tahini dressing can total up to 500 milligrams of calcium. A smoothie made with a cup of non-dairy milk (almond or other fortified nut milk), almond butter and spinach will net you another 500 milligrams – more than meeting your daily requirements. Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, spring greens, bok choy and kale are also great calcium-rich foods. Consider, too, that while 250 millilitres of whole milk contains 288 milligrams of calcium, 35 grams of sesame seeds provides 580 milligrams of calcium – nearly double that of milk. Sesame seed butter (known as tahini) is high in calcium and can be a delicious, rich-tasting addition to salads, hummus, vegetable dishes and sandwiches.

PROTEIN

All plant foods contain protein. As I mentioned earlier, beans and legumes (including peas and lentils) are very popular plant-based sources of protein; 175 grams of cooked beans has the same amount of protein as 50 grams of meat. Nuts and seeds are also full of protein.

ZINC

This four-letter trace element protects against infections and helps the body repair wounds. It’s essential for growth and brain development in infants and children. The recommended daily amount for zinc is 15 milligrams for adults and children aged four and older. You can meet this daily requirement easily by eating plenty of whole grains, legumes and nuts.

PLANNING YOUR MEALS

How hard would it be to obtain all these nutrients? Well, the easiest way to find out (besides giving it a try) is to check out a typical day in the life of a plant-based eater. You’ll see just how easy it is to cut out animal products and still get the nutrients your body needs.

BREAKFAST:

A HEALTHY SMOOTHIE

While on the weekends you might want to whip up something a bit fancier, for busy mornings, there’s nothing better than a healthy, protein-packed, plant-based smoothie. Make your own with 250 millitres water (or non-dairy milk), a banana, frozen berries, greens, flax/chia/hemp seeds and a scoop of vegan protein powder. You’ll start the day with lots of nutrients and be ready to hit the ground running. Alternatively, you can move your smoothie to the afternoon to head off the munchies and have a healthy bowl of oatmeal with fruit for breakfast instead.

LUNCH:

SUPER SOUPS AND SALADS

You can switch between soups and salads at lunch, or do both! Remember to include hearty fillings in your salad – black beans, quinoa, nuts, seeds, and so forth – in addition to any greens to keep your stomach full. Alternatively, throw the same salad ingredients in a gluten-free tortilla, and you have a wrap! The options for soups are endless, but you’ll find that the best recipes have a good base, such as pureed sweet potato, cauliflower or broccoli.

SNACKS AND SIDES

What works for you as a snack depends on whether you like sweet or salty. If you try to stick to healthy options, you’ll notice you have more energy throughout the day. Snacks like fruits and veggies combined with nut or seed butters or hummus are terrific options.

DINNER:

THE MAIN EVENT

A plant-based lifestyle doesn’t mean giving up good food! Soups, stews, casseroles, pizzas, burgers – it’s all on the menu! A typical plant-based dinner would include a good source of protein, such as beans, legumes or lentils, but could also use quinoa, artichokes, nuts or seeds, spinach, and so forth. It’s easy to throw together a quick, healthy, plant-based meal of red kidney beans, quinoa and broccoli, and top it with a cashew cream sauce. Delicious!

YOUR GREENPRINT

by Following Law #2

A well-planned plant-based diet supplies your body with more fibre, folic acid, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium and many phytochemicals and contains less saturated fat than diets that contain animal products, as reported by a 2009 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.