The World's Finest Diet

Episode 5. Guidelines on the Whole Plant Diet

Episode Summary

Whatever your 4LeafSurvey score is, don’t despair if it was low, because everyone can improve on their diet following the advice given in this episode. The aim is to raise your 4LeafSurvey score by simple diet changes. You may have already noticed that the first four food groups all score positive, and the remaining food groups score negatively. So to increase your overall score it is obviously quite simple, you increase the consumption of the first four food groups that include: vegetables, fruit, grains and Omega-3 foods and/or reduce your consumption of the negative scoring foods that include: dairy foods, eggs, cows milk and cream, sugar, white flour, sweet & salty snacks, meat poultry and fish and vegetable oil.

Episode Notes

The World's Finest Diet. Episode 5. Guidelines on the Whole Plant Diet

Whatever your 4LeafSurvey score is, don’t despair if it was low, because everyone can improve on their diet following the advice given in this episode. The aim is to raise your 4LeafSurvey score by simple diet changes. You may have already noticed that the first four food groups all score positive, and the remaining food groups score negative. So to increase your overall score it is obviously quite simple, you increase the consumption of the first four food groups that include: vegetables, fruit, grains and Omega-3 foods and/or reduce your consumption of the negative scoring foods that include: dairy foods, eggs, cows milk and cream, sugar, white flour, sweet & salty snacks, meat poultry and fish and vegetable oil.
At this stage most people are surprised or shocked at the suggestion of removing some of the usually highly recommended foods for a well-balanced diet and greater health. Sadly there are many myths and questions attached to dietary habits and there are powerful market forces that will encourage consumption of meat, dairy and processed foods. It will be a good idea to go through just a few of them right now.

  1. Firstly is there evidence that most modern diseases are diet related and a whole plant-based diet reduces this risk? YES! Particularly for diabetes, heart disease, strokes, Alzheimer's disease and many cancers have links to our diet.
  2. Does our diet affect cholesterol levels? YES! A whole plant-based diet lowers it as it contains no cholesterol but a dairy and meat diet is the main source of cholesterol in everyone's diet. We don’t need any cholesterol in our diets.
  3. We need meat to ensure we get adequate protein. NO! The protein content per 100 calories is the same for both forms of diet.
  4. Children need dairy produce for the growing bones. NO! There is double the calcium content in a plant-based diet compared with a dairy & meat diet.
  5. We need meat for our iron supply. NO! A plant-based diet provides ten times more iron than a dairy & meat diet.
  6. We need a meat & dairy diet to get vital vitamins and antioxidants. NO! An animal-based diet provides almost none and a plant-based diet is the only significant source of these vital nutrients. Animals have already used these vital micro nutrients for themselves.
  7. We can get adequate fibre in an animal-based diet. NO! There is almost no fibre in a dairy and meat diet, but plenty in a plant-based diet and this is essential for our gut health.
  8. Is it really possible to live a healthy life just on plants? YES! Remember some of the largest and strongest mammals eat only plants. Some people may need B12 or vitamin D supplements you can check for any deficiency with your doctor.

The guide to eating is based on three food groups, A, B and C.
Group A includes: vegetables, fruits, starch rich foods, pulses and beans, mushroom, dried fruit, cereals and grains, and nuts and seeds.
Group B includes: refined carbohydrate foods, vegetable oils and fish.
Group C includes: meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, non-food, and fun drinks.

The practical advice is very simple:

  1. Try to increase the Group A foods before eliminating Group C foods.
  2. Ensure you increase the variety foods you eat.
  3. Replace cow’s milk with any of the plant-based alternatives such as; coconut, cashew, almond, oat or soya milk.
  4. Try to eliminate dairy first in Group C whilst reducing the portion size of meat, replacing some with fish.
  5. Check your 4LeafSurvey Score from time to time, to measure your progress.
  6. Remember eating habits have often been with us for decades and to make major changes is a challenge. Those with no major health problems can make small progressive changes over a period of time, but those with major health problems should try to effect the change as quickly as possible to gain maximum benefit.

Note with no meat or fish in your diet you may need an occasional B12 supplement.
One of the problems many people have when making these changes is discovering what they can eat and cook with this new diet.
In the next episode will be giving more advice on buying foods, on recipes and cooking your future meals.

Read the transcript of this episode for more information on the different food groups referred to and you may also be interested in a table of nutritional content of all the major food groups that goes a long way to explaining the pros and cons of each diet.

Guidelines on the above HERE