On the news recently we've had global warming set to rise by 1 1/2 degrees in 12 years and one answer is a diet that is plant based or more plant based.
Then we have the never ending rise of obesity in developed countries which's set to be our biggest killer.
We also have diabetes type 2 reaching epidemic proportions, in India there were 72 million registered diabetics last year set to double by 2025.
Now what interests me is the answer or a big part of the answer is simple. Its healthy eating with exercise and the results will be a shared one of doing something for the environment and for our own well being, so its win win. And If we all found ways to walk more instead of driving sometimes, we would also help the environment and ourselves at the same time by having exercise fresh air and de stressing...
It sounds like a fantastic cure to a crisis to me, healthy eating with more exercise, so what more incentive do we need... 🙂
This is an inspiring post, and also a beautiful plate of fresh strawberries. You have made some very good points, and I do try to walk quite a bit, as opposed to relying on the car - and whenever I am walking along carrying a bag of perhaps slightly heavier groceries - I think to myself - "Great in terms of strengthening my core muscles" - it helps me to appreciate that experience more.
Healthy eating and Exercise - they sound like a winning combination to me.
Dont mean to be rude but it seems wrong to me ! Things have a season and strawberries in October doesnt seem to fit , even if they are grown in the UK. I do feel that the desire to have every fruit and veg all year round is part of the problem with looking after our planet as the carbon footprint of imported produce to sustain this desire is phenomenal. Obviously if your strawberries are grown here that doesnt count and yet....
Isnt the anticipation of seasonal fruit and veg like strawberries and Jersey Royals worth the denial the rest of the year when they're not in season
Hey I agree but was out shopping and they were expensive which Cheddar strawberries usually are but they look so good are just so sweet and its been hot until late this year.
I love gooseberries and feel the season for them is much to short.
I'll maybe do a rant sometime about the connection (or perhaps disconnection) between the state of our health and the state of the planet - it's not really as simple as a "plant-based diet", although that's certainly part of it. It's a subject I get quite worked up about and I'm fortunate to be in a position to (in some small way) do something positive about it.
Hey I'm being simplistic as healthy eating is only part of the answer but its something we as individuals can do rather than blame everyone else.
Really we as a society have to make some tough decisions and take a multi layered stance.
for instance the fashion industry is a big polluter, so why don't they recommend we buy less clothes.
So of course a plant based diet is easy to recommend as part of the solution because people still have to eat and would still be consuming and thats our real problem consumerism and over consumption and we're so adept at it we get into debt to do it...
Sure, I get you didn't mean that in the simplistic sense. I suppose I wasn't referring to your post at all, but more to various talking heads who suggest that a plant-based diet is going to fix climate change (all by itself). Your original point - that human health is intimately bound up with the health of the planet - is an important one, and there ARE agriculture-based solutions that would make a huge difference.
Exactly my dad had a busy job and then retired and got type 2 diabetes. He was put on tablets and then after advice he bought a dog and started walking for an hour a day every day and now he is not on any meds and the diabetes has sorted itself out and he also has a very happy dog 🐶
Exactly. He had become a bit less active than he should have been due to retiring and we told him to get walking and my sister recommended he got a dog. Come hell or high water he walked in all weathers and Reeped the benefits. I was very impressed that he stuck with it and now he has his reward.....next is to get him on a plant based diet and then, well, the benefits will be endless 🙂
Yes I agree with your point about things have moved on and the emphasis has moved on to save the planet, don’t eat meat, or eggs, or anything to do with animals. I would say it’s not just on this site though it seems to be a global effort with the realisation that humans can not carry on the way they have been and something needs to change and I like that.
Well said Ali and what I remember about this time last year was Big Rocket man was threatening Little Rocket man and being a simplistic foodie I thought if only they'd give pizza chance...😊
This is a forum about healthy eating, so my comments on healthy eating belong here just as much as yours.
You made a claim about plant diets "There are no benefits on a plant diet.."
I believe that is incorrect, and I gave a reference in support of my position. Saying that it's been brought up many times doesn't make the evidence go away.
You have now come back with a further claim that "The issues on why people have different health issues is not on what they eat...but on how much they eat."
This does have a lot of truth to it. Total calories is indeed the major determinant of weight gain or loss, and being overweight is associated with a lot of negative outcomes. But even when weight is controlled for, plant based diets still give benefits.
Yes, it's normally driven by ideology rather than science. Nothing wrong with avoiding meat if that's your personal preference - and it's actually helpful to have a certain number of vegans/vegetarians in a population - but the idea that we should all go vegan in order to "save the planet" is very, very dangerous from an ecological standpoint. Unfortunately, a lot of politicians are taking it seriously. It plays right into the hands of the likes of Monsanto, who make no secret of their mission to completely control the food supply right from the moment the farmer puts a seed in the ground. I'll elaborate on why when I have some time.
I didn’t say you were arrogant and I ate meat once. You have no idea why people have decided to or have had to eat a plant based diet. I do have a view that a plant based diet is healthier for me, not because of any scientific evidence although there is plenty out there, but as I am living it. I would not bring up a conversation on a healthy eating site about killing animals because of my vegan views. You did. Of course it’s nothing to do with anyone else what you eat and I genuinely do not care what you do or eat but I am acutely conscious of what I eat and how I live my life in a way I can justify to myself and that’s what make me happy 🙂
Thanks for your comments happycook1 but I only discuss vegan opinions on the vegan site and healthy plant based eating occasionally when appropriate on the heathy eating forum but if you would like to discuss my views on my opinions on a vegan diet please feel free to make a comment on vegan food for life 🙂
Thank you for such a positive response Fatbuddy and well said. 🙂
I’m all for eating lots of healthy vegetables and fruit, and to do that you need healthy soil in which to grow them. The best way to get and keep healthy soil is to use animal dung, otherwise you will be dependent on artificial fertilisers.
Our farming evolved as a mixture of arable and animals and traditional farming has always used this combination. There’s a discussion to be had around how animals should be treated but they need to be part of farming as they always have been.
Getting back to traditional eating may be a good way to ensure everyone’s good health.
I don’t think the post is supposed to be a snipe at anyone. There’s a big drive in the U.K., and elsewhere, to try to get people to eat more veg and fruit. Most of the U.K. population don’t even eat the 5 a day recommended.
it was meant to be a positive post to encourage healthy eating as part of the solution to 3 global crisis, global warming obesity and type 2 diabetes. 🙏
5 a day is based on WHO recommendations, seems to be plenty of scientific evidence that plant fibre can be good for gut bacteria.
Yes, everyone is different and some people can cope with veg and fruit better than others. 75% of the U.K. population eat very little veg or fruit, so,the problem of people eating too much would seem to be unlikely for most.
Prevalence of diabetes: Meat Eaters Vs Non-meat Eaters ( Vegetarians, Vegans etc).
USA: Consumption of meat per person per year = 120 kg. About 9% of adult population have diabetes.
INDIA: Consumption of meat per person per year = 4.4 kg. About 9% of adult population have diabetes.
If it is not the meat then what causes the diabetes?
1. Mismanagement of our wealth ( prosperity, richness)
2. Excess eating - whether meat-based or non-meat-based products. Eating three main meals a day and three or more snacks in a day is a recent phenomenon in human history and has been promoted for commercial gains and not for good health. We are introduced to such food items that do not provide satiety so that we can consume more and more.
3. Promotion of low fat products in last 10 - 20 years has also made significant contribution to the mess we are in today.
4. Outdated national dietary advice which recommends 60 - 65 % carb for diabetics with emphasis on starchy food.
5. Lack of physical activities - again it is due to our prosperity.
What is the solution? Solution is very simple. However, simple solutions are never convincing. We always look for complex solutions.
Anyway, simple solution is EAT LESS AND MOVE MORE. Eat whatever suits you veg/non-veg/vegan no issues. Choose food which keeps you full for longer.
Ignore the current national dietary guidelines. Carbohydrate(from grains) whether simple or complex is not good for diabetes and we must limit its consumption. For diabetics-
Simple carbohydrate Vs Complex carbohydrate -
Both will raise blood sugar most. One is slow and the other is fast.
Thank you Praveen, you make some very good points and give some great advice so thanks for that as well.
I think you hit the nail on the head our prosperity has negated the need for sufficient physical activity coupled with consuming too much processed foods which lack nourishment it's a recipe for disaster. And fast food has a lot to answer for...
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You have made some very good points, and I do try to walk quite a bit, as opposed to relying on the car - and whenever I am walking along carrying a bag of perhaps slightly heavier groceries - I think to myself - "Great in terms of strengthening my core muscles" - it helps me to appreciate that experience more. 
Shocking amount of salt in some \"healthy\" high street vegan foods. 
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