Hey guys! In case you missed me on the BBC Breakfast sofa this morning here is the clip and below are my comments! Thanks for watching 🙂
IS EATING MEAT HEALTHY?
This morning I was on @bbcbreakfast talking about the healthy benefits of eating a more plant based diet.. here are my thoughts!
Individuals may choose to follow a plant-based diet for a number of reasons including animal welfare, personal health reasons and environmental concerns.
Regarding health, there are a number of different eating patterns associated with good health and longevity; some include meat, and others do not e.g. the Mediterranean diet eat little red meat but do eat fish
A well planned plant-based diet can be both nutritious and healthy, and meat-free diets have indeed been associated with lower risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity and various cancers. It’s worth noting though that most of the research is only observational and many vegetarians may be more health conscious; thus being more likely to exercise and less likely to smoke. ‍
Eating more plant based foods is always a good thing; they tend to be higher in fibre (think eating more fruits, vegetables and wholegrains) as well as healthy unsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, olive oil, rapeseed oil and avocados.
‍If you’re vegan though you need to have a well planned and varied diet to make sure you’re getting enough of certain nutrients such as calcium, iron and B12; for which many vegans actually take a supplement.
Calcium = fortified milk alternatives, figs and almonds
Iron = pulses, dried fruit, dark green veg; have with a source of vit C
B12 = supplement, fortified milk alternatives, nutritional yeast and marmite
Protein = range of different proteins to ensure you get all of the essential amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein) that the body cannot make e.g. tofu, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains
Omega 3 = flaxseed oil, tofu and walnuts
In summary, eating a more plant-based diet is not only good for the environment but it can have a positive effect on your health too. There is however no need to cut out foods such as meat, poultry and dairy altogether, especially if you enjoy it!
PS If you are going to take a multivitamin make sure it includes (in addition to vitamin B12 and calcium) IODINE (which is often forgotten about!) and vitamin D; everyone in the UK should consider taking a supplement containing at least 10mcg of vitamin D a day, especially in the autumn and winter months.
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