Benefits of a plant-based vegan diet and my plan

While there are many claims on the benefits of a vegan diet, I wasn’t sure how many of them are valid and why. What are the mechanisms through which vegan diet is superior.

Here’s a summary of my understanding:

The removal of animal source saturated fat. It is widely accepted that saturated fat increases LDL, causing atherosclerosis. By removing animal products, we remove saturated fat. Previously I thought white meat like chicken breast or white fish don’t contain saturated fat, I was wrong. All animal products come with saturated fat, high or low, but non-zero. I also thought that if I have low triglycerides, not overweight, then a little bit of saturated fat is not harmful. Not true. Saturated fat clogs arteries regardless of one’s weight. Studies have shown that removing animal saturated fat, LDL improves, clogged arteries widen, not associated with weight loss.

Abundant of fiber, antioxidant, polyphones. This is the replacement effect; by removing animal food, we tend to eat more plant food. How exactly these are good for our health is less clear, but association studies show that more of these are good for overall health.

Plant food is lower in calorie density and more satiating. This is good for weight control, which is a key determinant of metabolic health, although not the only factor. This is true if it’s a whole food plant-based diet, it does not include vegan packaged food. It’s difficult to overeat in fruit and vegetables.

Less inflammation and faster recovery. Animal protein causes inflammation, not sure by how much, but more than plant-based protein. It is often claimed that plant-based athletes recover faster due to less inflammation from food. For endurance athlete, the abundance of healthy carbs is welcome. I will report back on this one.

Good resources to learn about how plant based vegan diet helps to manage/reverse diabetes is Dr. Neal Barnard’s book, as well as his interview with Rich. Another resource person that I really like is Simon Hill. This interview with Rich is very comprehensive. I also enjoy his podcasts. He’s well balanced, science based, and open mind to new research to change his mind, critical characteristic for me to trust his judgement.

My game plan:

Breakfast: oatmeal with plant protein powder, berries, nut butter (this is my usual breakfast anyway)

Lunch: meal prep from weekend where I can get more creative and try new recipes

Dinner: vegetables, tofu, rice, starchy vegetables (our usual dinner includes these plus one animal protein)

Snack: fruits, starchy vegetables, oatmeal, or leftover lunch/dinner

One key suggestion from my running coach is to focus on getting enough protein, 1 gram per pound of body weight, including one protein shake before bed. This helps with recovery. He suggested I track for few days at first to get used to it.

I am super excited for this mini experiment already. 🙂