What is a plant based diet?
The new “it” term in the health world is planted based diet. But what exactly does this mean? Well one definition from Dr. Robert Ostfeld published in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology states “A plant-based diet consists of all minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs, and spices and excludes all animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products.”
And now a definition from the all-knowing Wikipedia, “A plant-based diet is a diet based on foods derived from plants, including vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits, but with few or no animal products.”
“What is the difference between a plant based, vegan, and whole food, plant based diet? ”
To throw one more wrench into the discussion, is there a difference between a plant based diet and a whole food, plant based diet? I think that distinction is a little bit harder to define. What I will discuss is the difference between vegan, plant based and whole food, plant based diets. So here are my definitions:
Vegan: No animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy products or anything that comes from an animal. (This is just my definition of the vegan diet not the vegan lifestyle.)
Plant based diets: A diet that is mostly, more than 50%, coming from plants. Meat and animal products are still included in the diet but are not the main focus.
Whole food, plant based (WFPB): A diet that is mainly, more than 90%, coming from plants. Most of the foods consumed are vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Processed foods and oils are decreased.
From least to most restrictive goes: plant based diets, WFPB diet, and then vegan. So now getting into the nitty gritty of what is in and what is out. Oreos could be a part of a vegan diet but not encouraged in a WFPB diet. Why is that? Technically Oreos don’t have any animal products but they are not considered a whole food. And that is where we can get into the difference between WFPB and plant based diets. It is the whole food part, or how much has the food been processed. An apple is the least processed form, whereas an apple pie is the most processed. Apple juice and apple chips are somewhere in between.
Now, which is the best? Well it is going to depend on your definition of “best”. The more vegetables and least processed food you eat the better. Say I want to follow a WFPB diet, I would pick a low-fat cheese stick rather than Oreos as a snack. Even though Oreos are vegan, a cheese stick is going to be less processed and provide more nutrition than an Oreo.
It also depends on where you are on the spectrum. Are you just meat and potatoes? Do you consume some vegetables but still consume meat? Are you vegetarian but mainly consume cheese and peanut butter? It just depends on where you stand on the spectrum and where you want to end up on the spectrum.
For me, vegetables will always be first and fore most. Then after that, we can have a discussion. You will find that vegetables are the biggest thing I preach. Eat your VEGGIES!
What is your definition of a plant based diet? Do you consider your diet a plant based diet?