Are All Vegan Foods Healthy?

How does a healthy plant-based diet compare to unhealthy plant-based and animal-based diets when it comes to diabetes risk?

In my video on flexitarians, I discuss how the benefits of eating a plant-based diet are not all-or-nothing. “Simple tips to increase consumption of plant-based foods with compensation [parallel] reducing the intake of animal products makes a person healthier”—the benefit of longevity. Researchers call it the “vegetarian” eating pattern, which follows a vegetarian, “slow and gentle approach.”

If you’re dealing with a serious disease, however, such as diabetes, completely “avoiding certain problem foods is easier than trying to balance your diet. Doctors will never tell an alcoholic to try to simply cut down on alcohol. Abstaining from alcohol altogether is more effective and, in fact, easier for the problem drinker… Ironically, asking patients to make a drastic change may be more effective than making a gradual change. Nutritional research shows that recommending the most important changes increases the chances that patients can achieve them [them].Skip “moderation,” embrace big changes! Major dietary shifts can jumpstart weight loss and blood sugar improvements, fueling motivation for long-term success. In addition, they may enjoy other health benefits of a “plant-based diet” that may further motivate them.

People seeking health benefits through plant-based diets often mention general wellness, disease prevention, or improved energy/immunity (Friday Favorites, 1:43).

Feeling empowered, participants reported emotional and health improvements (more at 1:48). Many feel that it is very important to maintain their health and well-being.

Of the few who use it for a specific health problem, especially high cholesterol or weight loss, followed by high blood pressure and diabetes, most report that they feel it has helped a lot, as you can see below and at 2:14.

Others choose a plant-based diet for other reasons, such as animal welfare or global warming, and it appears that “ethical vegans” are more likely to eat sugary and fatty foods, such as vegan donuts, compared to those who eat plant-based for religious reasons. or health problems, as you can see below and at 2:26 in my video.

The veganest vegan can make an egg and dairy free cake, covered in frosting, marshmallow fluff, and chocolate syrup, topped with Oreos, and served with a side of Doritos. Or, they might want fruit for dessert, but in the form of Pop-Tarts and Krispy Kreme pies. Vegan, yes. He is healthy, no.

“A plant-based diet has been recommended to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, not all plant foods are truly beneficial.” In the vegetarian scoring system I mentioned above, you get points for eating potato chips and French fries because they are technically plant-based, as you can see below and at 3:07 in mine. video, but Harvard researchers wanted to examine the association of not only plant-based foods, but healthy and unhealthy versions. They balanced the scoring system for all foods, then created healthy and unhealthy plant-based indexes (whole foods vs. junk food).

What did they find? VideoA shows plant-based diets reduce diabetes risk, but healthy options (3:51) cut it in half, while unhealthy choices worsen it (4:03).

Now, is that because they also ate more animal food? To understand how food choices affect diabetes risk, researchers separated the effects of healthy plants, unhealthy plants, and animal products. Study finds healthy plants protect, animal foods worsen, and unhealthy plants have little impact on diabetes risk. Video shows: High animal diet linked to high diabetes risk, no benefit from any plant-based diet, lower risk with more plant foods. Therefore, they concluded that, yes, “a plant-based diet … is associated with a significantly lower risk of developing T2D.” However, it may not be enough to reduce animal consumption; consumption of less healthy plant foods may need to decrease, too.

Vegetarian preferred, but clarify: avoid junk food (fries, chips, soda). That’s why I like this word whole foods and plant-based foods. That tells me what you’re eating—the healthiest diet out there.