Plant-based diets and Intuitive Eating

The term “plant-based” is an umbrella term for varying plant-oriented diets. Plant-based eating has risen in popularity, and so has misinformation and confusion. Then, there’s the question – can you eat plant-based and intuitively?

Plant-based encompasses diets such as:

·        Vegan - excludes all animal and fish products and derivatives in diet and beyond

·        Vegetarian - Exclude meat and fish

·        Pescatarian - Include fish, milk, and eggs, but don’t eat meat or animal products

·        Lacto-ovo vegetarian - Eat dairy and eggs, but not fish, meat or animal products

·        Ovo-vegetarian - Eat eggs, but avoid fish, meat and animal products

·        Lacto-vegetarian - Consume dairy, but exclude fish, meat and animal products

·        Flexitarian - Consume all foods, but eat plants primarily.

They all have varying levels of “commitment”. For example, eating vegan for some is just about excluding all animal products and derivatives, whereas for other vegans it also impacts other areas of their life like ensuring their make-up and clothes are also animal cruelty-free. Then there’s something like the Flexitarian diet where someone includes all foods but eats predominantly plants.

The main foods which are in focus in plant-based eating are:

·        Eggs

·        Dairy products

·        Meat

·        Fish

·        Plants

There is a lot of science supporting plant-based eating and its health benefits. For example, it’s recommended to eat less saturated fat, and in its place, consume unsaturated fat instead. This is because consuming more unsaturated fat and less saturated fat is linked to better heart health, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, and reduced risk of some cancers (Kris-Etherton and Krauss, 2020). A diet including meat and meat products can contain more saturated fat levels compared to a more plant-based diet. Furthermore, a diet primarily of plants will have a large variety of fibre and is more likely to reach the recommended daily intake of 30g/day (Lambert and Dorling Kindersley (corp), 2021). Fibre is very useful in maintaining steady blood sugar levels, feeding a healthy gut microbiome, and better controlling cholesterol levels.

There is also the consideration of how the way we eat impacts the environment. The cost vs benefit balance of rearing animals for meat is not good.

·        Land needs to be cleared (reducing biodiversity)

·        Cost-cutting measures like low-quality feed and overcrowding impact the quality of life as well as quality of products

·        Water use

·        Overfishing

·        Greenhouse gas emissions

So, how can a plant-based diet coexist with Intuitive Eating? Well, the reasons behind why you want to eat plant-based are very important. Societal pressures, food preferences, worry for the environment? Then, you have to consider how excluding certain foods cause you to feel – good, happy, deprived, restricted, anxious? A good way of knowing if a plant-based diet can be suitable for you is considering how eating the restricted foods will impact you. Learning how to navigate a plant-based diet alongside intuitive eating involves a lot of self-reflection and looking within. What’s also important to remember is you are not a “failure” if plant-based eating does not suit you in your goal to eat more intuitively.

If you need help in ensuring your plant-based diet is nutritionally fulfilling your needs, or guidance in how to navigate intuitive plant-based eating, then book a Discovery Call here to receive support you can trust.

References:

Kris-Etherton, P. and Krauss, R., 2020. Public health guidelines should recommend reducing saturated fat consumption as much as possible: YES. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 112(1), pp.13-18.

Lambert, R. and Dorling Kindersley (corp), 2021. The science of nutrition. London, UK: Dorling Kindersley.