[Closed] Has anyone gone "plant-based"?

We're eating more and more plant-based. Harder to ditch the dairy but we consume about 3/4 oat milk and 1/4 dairy milk at home now, which is much better. Cook meat once or twice a week. Not perfect, but better.

We were making the change not so much for health, or cost, mostly for sustainability.

The sweep of plant-based products and Veganuary, etc. have made it much easier, too.

Big love for this book -

He is suggesting that we can resolve all our current health problems by going plant-based.

He's selling loads of books by making vastly exaggerated claims.

I have, although it was 1985 and all this stuff everyone seems to have discovered about diet and the environment was there then, just that it was being totally ignored by the vast majority of people. Probably because the mainstream media at the time had little interest in it.

Im making a change by eating plant based animals, like Lambs and Cows. They taste amazing and it will stop them farting methane, which is bad for the climate.

going flexitarian, its cheaper and better for me and and the environment. Eat meat when out at restaurants and occasionally at home, about twice a month in total.

Mainly cooking veggie indian food at home, super tasty and super cheap

I'm reliably informed that the animals I eat did enjoy eating plants prior to them becoming food.

I like to think of myself as quite open minded though, so I'd be equally happy to eat carnivorous animals too

I am Groot

I’ve gone plant based, well full SWMBO went full vegan.

I’ve lost quite a lot of weight as a result.

Plant-based munchie box?

I have, after the thread on here late last year re. "The Game Changers" (and then watching said prog). I was most attracted to the idea of increasing athletic performance, but also I'd been going off the idea of cheap/industrially farmed meat for a long time (i.e. virtually any meat you'd have eating out, or cheap supermarket stuff etc). Also there's obviously the environmental side to consider these days too.

I probably eat fish 2 or 3 meals a week, I've only eaten meat once (last week, pulled pork from a locally sourced pig, very tasty 🐖😋). Got to say I don't miss meat AT ALL which really surprised me. Vegetables just taste nicer than meat, simple fact, don't know why I didn't realise this sooner!! Much greater variety & intensity of flavours.

Advantages: cheaper (as I had pretty much only been buying higher welfare meat), less food waste as veggies etc last longer in the fridge, better for the environment. Have lost a bit of weight - mainly because I think being largely veggie makes you think a bit more about what you're eating.

It's so easy eating out now as everyone has jumped on the veggie/vegan bandwagon. Most places have pages and pages of options rather than the one token veg dish you used to get. You can even get decent veggie sausages now! (Cauldron).

As for the supposed "performance gains": maybe. Could just be psychological, or the fact that I'm certainly getting a better variety of vits, etc now, but as someone who's turning 40 soon I feel that my recovery is better now - can happily exercise 5/6 days a week without feeling wiped out as before. For example a hard Zwift sessoin, then weights in the gym the next day, followed by another Zwift - which I feel I would've struggled with previously. Sleeping better, more energy etc. Bit of weight loss. Appreciate I'm only 3 months into it but I see no downsides thus far.

Plant-based munchie box?

Chips, Vegetable pakora, Onion Bhajis, Mushroom Pakora, Onion rings and fritters.

The Snappy Chapati is a step ahead of you.

@hols2 he gives all his profits to charity:

https://nutritionfacts.org/faq/

Im getting there slowly. Been veggie for years but have recently replaced butter and milk with non dairy alternatives. The biggest barrier to me being full vegan is that vegan cheese sucks big time.

He is suggesting that we can resolve all our current health problems by going plant-based.

Man selling book promises to solve all your problems by following some incredibly simple yet hitherto unknown method that just requires you to buy his book to access? I assume I can find this book in the Shitehawk section of my local Waterstones?

Is this just another extreme diet trend?

Yes and no. Plant based food can be lovely, and we should all enjoy more of it. I certainly try to and can quite easily go a week meat free. It will not change your life. It will not fix all the issues you have.

Im making a change by eating plant based animals, like Lambs and Cows. They taste amazing and it will stop them farting methane, which is bad for the climate.

I'm the same. I was veggie for +10 years. Decided in the end I'd try and save the plants by eating the animals that ate them. Lovely stuff. I also eat some animals that eat other animals because killing is wrong. Lions, Tigers, Anteaters, Sharks etc.

I hardly have any dairy now , red meat never, fish sometimes. Chicken does get consumed but perhaps once a week.

Lots of beans and pulses (paaaaaaaaaaaarppp!)  and seasonal veg and fruit. Cabbage and greens are very hot right now (phhhhheeeeeeepppp!)

Although I am trumping like never before, they stink less due to aformentioned dairy reduction. (ffffffffffffffarp).

Mainly for my welfare and the environment. Dont really care about the animals, just happens to be good for them I guess if i dont eat them or their babies

he gives all his profits to charity:

After paying expenses, of course. Which will include lots of travel to promote the book, plus a car, plus rent on his office, which is probably in his house, etc. So who's auditing his claim that he's not making any money? And if he's not making money off the book, where does he get his money from?

And, even if the charity thing isn't a scam, his simplistic claim that it will fix all your health problems is still nonsense, as tomd pointed out.

Tried Green Oil on the bike without success.
Oh wrong thread?

Tried Plant Based a couple of Veganuary's ago. My teenage son had recently gone Vegan so I was doing it to show some solidarity. Lasted 7 weeks. Didn't feel great at all. Made an effort to get the right nutrients in, plenty of legumes and veg, but felt empty and hungry and ended up putting on weight.

Haters will hate this but started Keto last September. Have lost 2.5 stone and feel really well.

Tried Plant Based a couple of Veganuary’s ago.

Didn’t feel great at all.

I was looking for experiences of people that made the change.

I'm not suggesting that you buy the book (which to be honest can be summarised in one sentence).

He is a doctor and it does look like he has used a science/evidence based approach. They currently have a team of researchers reviewing new papers when they are released. He isn't the only one currently giving this advice.

I'm just skeptical that this just appears to be the latest fad.

He also has an app:

https://nutritionfacts.org/2015/12/31/free-app-for-android-and-iphone-and-top-10-videos-of-2015/

Which is free.

Mick

I have been vegan for a while and I'd say while it's been brilliant for me (lost weight, never been fitter etc.) it's not for everyone. Mrs Grey went vegan at the same time (in fact she initiated it) and it went very badly indeed. Despite having the exact same diet she ended up anaemic, tired, unable to get enough protein (she's a small lady and can't eat huge meals) plus she had trouble with wheat causing "intestinal distress". Turns out she also had issues with dairy though, so I guess it all balances out!
I have issues with "game changers" as it's pushing an agenda and is a bit unbalanced in its claims (even if I agree with the principles).

He is a doctor and it does look like he has used a science/evidence based approach.

My money is on his approach being to cherry-pick published research to find supporting evidence, then to try to discredit any findings that he disagrees with. Hence the team of "researchers" reviewing new papers. They aren't researchers in the sense of conducting research, just in the sense of reading published research. Two things to look for here: 1) Are they accepting research findings that have been rejected by peer-reviewed journals?; 2) Are they rejecting research findings that have been reviewed and accepted by peer-reviewed journals?

He is suggesting that we can resolve all our current health problems by going plant-based.

Even Coronavirus?

Coronavirus, no problem, just eat lots of broccoli:

https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/viral-infections/

@hols2 buy the book and find out the facts for yourself, pages 465-641 (176 pages) are all his references.

I have zero interest in this thread but am going to take the time to tell you how much meat I eat or crack a funny about tasty tasty bacon.

Then I'm going to tell everyone on a What Tyre For... thread about my Hi-Fi.

I’ve gone plant based, well full SWMBO went full vegan.

I thought they were synonyms. What's the difference?

There is no proper definition of "plant based". So it can mean whatever you like. Could eat meat for one meal per week, then claim it is as plant based diet.

And veganism is not just a diet.

I thought they were synonyms. What’s the difference?

A plant-based diet is a diet *based* around plants, which can include flexitarian, meat, etc. Sometimes the focus is on whole food vs processed.

In the 1980s, Dr. T. Colin Campbell introduced the world of nutrition science to the term “plant-based diet” to define a low fat, high fiber, vegetable-based diet that focused on health and not ethics.

The term “vegan” was created in 1944 by Donald Watson — an English animal rights advocate and founder of The Vegan Society — to describe a person who (as far as practicable) avoids using animals for ethical reasons. Veganism refers to the practice of being vegan.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/plant-based-diet-vs-vegan

‘vegan’ has recently been co-opted as a catch-all buzz-word for processed foods that contain no animal products. The word has also been used to describe a diet that excludes meat or dairy.

It’s little wonder that people find it confusing.

buy the book and find out the facts for yourself

It's not necessary to buy the book to know that anyone promising a simple remedy for all health issues is a quack.

pages 465-641 (176 pages) are all his references.

It doesn't matter how many pages of references he has, he's a quack.

So it can mean whatever you like.

Great. I'm plant-based then. I think I might have a tomato with my steak and chips tonight.

A plant-based diet is a diet *based* around plants, which can include flexitarian, meat, etc

So veg should form the bulk of a meal? What's new?

Right, I see. So the key word here is "based," one could say perhaps that they had a "vegetarian-based diet" if they were mostly vegetarian apart from the occasional sweaty kebab on the way home from the pub, like someone described as flexetarian earlier?

Isn't flexetarian a bit of a weird one? It basically means "I eat what I want," which is surely what most folk do anyway unless they're of the ilk who cannot countenance any meal that doesn't contain meat?

What’s new

Nothing is new. The sciencey ‘Plant-based diet’ was coined in the 1980s. Changing/misapplied/new definitions and resultant confusion is/are as old as our chimpy selves.

Pictures may help.

https://www.forksoverknives.com/plant-based-diet-vs-vegan-diet-whats-the-difference/#gs.z3dakr

unless they’re of the ilk who cannot countenance any meal that doesn’t contain meat?

Every meal I eat must contain fake meat.

I'm a Quornivore

The fact that it says "scientifically proven" on the cover should be enough to give the game away. I hope it has an extensive preface on how he's arrived at the impossible.

It’s not necessary to buy the book to know that anyone promising a simple remedy for all health issues is a quack.

which is surely what most folk do anyway unless they’re of the ilk who cannot countenance any meal that doesn’t contain meat?

I try to eat plant based. I have also read this book and I dont believe his claims are exaggerated.

With my job I have listened to lots of Drs and nutritionists talking about the power of plants and I 100% believe it.

I have also seen so many of my clients health improved after cutting out rubbish and eating plant based.

Couldn’t find any evidence that he’s made this claim. Where have you seen him say it?

geomickb
Member

He is suggesting that we can resolve all our current health problems by going plant-based.

@hols2 so you've just seen something on social media, taken it as gospel rather than fact-checking it, then gone off on one?

so you’ve just seen something on social media, taken it as gospel rather than fact-checking it, then gone off on one?

I'm quoting the person who started this thread. The justification was that following the advice in the book would cure all your health issues. I say that's bollox.

@hols2 you called the author "a quack" on the basis of something that, as far as I can see, he's never said. Without being too confrontational, is that not a bit stupid?

Wife's been vegan for a couple of years, I've stuck with it after doing veganuary this year. Don't really miss meat TBH. Not sure if I've lost any weight due to diet don't really feel much different. Although I do seem to be getting more mouth ulcers which could indicate a deficiency of B12. Mostly doing it for environmental and ethical reasons. Was off the dairy for a year prior.

One thing I would say is that just because food is plant based or vegan doesn't mean it's healthy. Especially convenience food that can contain high levels of salt and have quite a lot of precessed ingredients and fat in there, thinking of a Greggs Steak Bake https://www.greggs.co.uk/bakes/vegan-steak-bake. Tasty in a dirty way though, a bit like Louise 🤣

OP, other half is vegan so we as a household are by default more ‘plant-based’ than most. For me making the ‘switch’ has been fascinating. Most of my own meals are vegan-friendly/plant-based. I still eat offaly crap sometimes, but more often crisps and bread and cheese and chips and rubbish because I have an eating-disorder related to depression. I know the way out is to eat ‘cleanly’ but it seems that sugar is like heroin for me. That’s a different subject, so.

Cooking vegan-friendly whole food meals at home from scratch has been challenging and very positive. So much cheaper, ‘cleaner’, and very tasty. It’s not been easy to get there (as a lifelong member of consumer-culture/ready-meals etc) unless one has an interest in cooking or at least a lot of commitment.

Lucky for me I love food and cooking. Unlucky for me I also love eating chocolate and chips and bread etc. So Mrs Rider is ideal BMI with ‘perfect’ blood results as of two weeks ago (results in from Holborn Neuro hospital) including her B12 levels, so much so that her consultant said they were (quote) ‘better values in my experience than those I see from most people who don’t follow a vegan diet’*

On the other hand I’m probably on the road to an early death just on account of my waistline and sugar-consumption - unless I clean up my act, and fast. This is arguably familial/cultural as my whole immediate family are overweight and/or treated for diabetes. For them the ‘cure’ of plant-based whole-food diet would be a living hell of no biscuits, no milk chocolate and no pork pastries. I feel trapped somewhere in between knowing (and even enjoying) what’s better, and then the pizza-devil whispering in my ear.

Same goes for the living planet - unless we can all clean up our act, and fast. The fact that so many people still disagree over the overwhelming scientific consensus regarding the Earth’s inability to absorb our damaging habits is quite literally damning.

*She eats a teaspoon or two of B12 flakes (nutritional yeast) every day.