How to Eat Healthy, Benefits of a Plant Rich Diet

Eating Living, Plant Rich Nutrition

One of the secrets to a healthier life is to embrace plant rich nutrition, full of living and anti-inflammatory foods, mainly un-cooked; a living plant-based diet, raw and vegan as much as possible.

It’s easy!

Eat mostly vegetables, fruits (low-glycemic index fruits, especially if concerned about cancer and type-2 Diabetes), sprouted or germinated whole grains and beans (if possible), sprouted seeds and nuts.

There is a lot of information on Plant-Rich, Living, Raw and Vegan. So, let’s analyze some of the science behind our recommendations.

Why Plant-Rich?

Plant-Rich is different from just plant-based. It means plant foods are the basis of your nutrition, but also that you choose healthy, nutritious, fresh and living plant foods. Many plant-based diets are not healthy, because they focus so much on simple carbohydrates, processed grains and flours, even sugar and alcohol. All of that can be considered plant-based…

So, let’s make no mistake, Plant-Rich means plentiful vegetables, fruits and other natural, whole and unprocessed plant foods, full of antioxidants and essential nutrients, that help reduce oxidative stress and prevent free radical damage. These whole plant foods are loaded with fiber and healthy fats. A diverse and healthy plant-rich diet is also high in anti-inflammatory foods, and has been shown to reduce markers of inflammation, helping you to stay healthy, fight inflammation and stop the progression of chronic disease¹.

Why Living and Raw?

Living means the freshest produce possible and unprocessed foods. These include the super nutritious and vibrant microgreens and sprouts, that are still growing when going to your plate, or just freshly picked.

Raw or uncooked (or minimally processed) for maximum preservation of nutrients and enzymes and to prevent oxidation of foods (which happens even when you just cut them). The vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants in plants help keep your cells healthy and your body in balance so that your immune system can function at its best. And the best way to get the full range of essential nutrients is to eat whole, unprocessed, or minimally processed foods. Cooking and food processing methods lead to nutrient losses, mainly essential vitamins and minerals.

The table below compares the typical maximum nutrient losses for common food processing methods in a compilation made by Nutrition Data² of the USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors (2003)³.

Main findings:

• Almost every food preparation process reduces the amount of nutrients in food.
• Greatest nutrient loss happens when foods are exposed to high levels of heat, light, and/or oxygen.
• The “wash out” of nutrients also happens when fluids are used during cooking or preparation (for example, most vitamins can migrate to the boiling water). If you keep/ eat the liquid, you still benefit from some of the nutrients.
• Similar losses also occur when you broil, roast, or fry in oil, and then drain off the drippings.
• Vitamin C losses are very high in any processing: drying 80% – cooking 50% – cooking + draining 75%.
• B Vitamins also display high nutrient losses and potassium losses are close to 70% when you cook and drain.

Source: https://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/processing,² based USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors Release 5, issued in 2003. For the most recent review please consult https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/usda-table-nutrient-retention-factors-release-6-2007 ³.

The nutritional effects of food processing are undeniable, and therefore a balanced and healthy diet should be based on raw vegetables and fruits, preserving the maximum content of vitamins and minerals.

Why should you be concerned about the preservation of Vitamins and Minerals?

Vitamins are essential for our immune system and their immune-boosting role has been widely studied and documented. A recent paper, from 2021, details the importance of the vitamins D, C, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids for our immune system and also the possible benefits related to the recent coronavirus⁴. Eating a diet rich in raw vegetables and fruits, preserving the abundant vitamins and minerals present in those foods, is the best natural way to support our immune system, not just from infections but also as a preventative measure against chronic illnesses.

Fruits, vegetables, and grains also contain healthful plant compounds like polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins, and carotenoids with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic effects. These plant compounds are rich in phytochemicals that have many health benefits. For example, flavanols, a common polyphenol, decrease endothelial dysfunction, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and modulate energy metabolism. Common polyphenols in the diet are flavanols (cocoa, tea, apples, broad beans), flavanones (hesperidin in citrus fruit), hydroxycinnamates (coffee, many fruits), flavonols (quercetin in onions, apples and tea) and anthocyanins (berries) ⁵.

Fiber

Another great benefit of plants is fiber! Completely absent in animal products and present in all unprocessed plants, fiber is positively related with the health of the microbiome. The microbiome is essential for nutrient absorption, to help fight inflammation and infection and to strengthen the immune system. Fiber is also associated with decreased cancer risk, namely colorectal and breast cancer^6,7.

Plant-based eating and chronic disease

A 2017 comprehensive meta-analysis reported a significant protective effect of a vegetarian diet versus the incidence and/or mortality from ischemic heart disease (-25%) and incidence from total cancer (-8%) and the vegan diet was the one that conferred a more significant reduction risk of incidence from total cancer (-15%)⁸.

Other studies have shown a strong association between intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts with a lower risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease overall, total cancer, and all-cause mortality, particularly cardiovascular mortality^9,10,11. Whole-grain and nut consumption was inversely associated with mortality from respiratory disease, infections, and diabetes⁹.

An interesting observation is that stronger correlations were found between blood concentrations of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, carotenoids and vitamin E, and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality than for dietary intake, which highlights the importance of plant-rich nutrition, high in antioxidant agents⁹.

Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

A high consumption of predominantly plant-based foods, such as fruit and vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, has been associated with a significantly lower risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke. The protective effects of these foods are likely mediated through their multiple beneficial nutrients, including mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidant vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, and plant protein^{12,13,14,15,16}.

Overweight, Obesity and Associated Diseases

Whole plant-rich nutrition helps with weight loss and/or maintaining a healthy weight. The increased intake of whole vegetables and fruits may influence weight through a variety of mechanisms including a reduction in eating rate, providing satisfying, low energy density, low glycemic load or low-fat content foods, and a high dietary fiber¹⁷. The good news is that weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight is also associated with positive health factors, such as reduced hepatocellular and intramyocellular fat and increased insulin sensitivity and postprandial metabolism¹⁸.

Healthy weight and body composition are among the most important factors to reduce the risk for obesity and associated diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer. Excessive weight increases inflammation and causes hormonal imbalances, and overweight or obese people have been identified at higher risks for at least 12 different cancers including colorectal, esophageal, kidney, pancreatic, breast, ovarian and endometrial^19,20,21.

Plant-based nutrition also has been shown to reduce the risk for diabetes, some mental health illnesses, and improve blood pressure, cholesterol levels and even contribute to bone health and sports performance.

Benefits of healthful plant-rich eating:

• Healthful plant‐based diets, higher in nutrient‐dense plant foods and lower in refined carbohydrates and animal foods, are associated with prevention of cardiovascular disease: lower risk of coronary artery disease and stroke^16,22. Also correlated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality and all‐cause mortality²³.
• Plant compounds like polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins, and carotenoids have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic effects⁵.
• Diets high in polyphenol foods, mainly fruits and vegetables (such as apples, berries, citrus fruit, plums, broccoli, cocoa, tea and coffee) protect against developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes⁵.
• Plant-based diets have been shown to convey nutritional benefits, in particular increased fiber, beta carotene, vitamin K and C, folate, magnesium, and potassium intake²⁴.
• Vegan diets, if well designed, are useful in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease²⁵.
• Dietary fiber can play a role in reducing the risk and preventing certain cancers, such as breast and colorectal cancer^6,7,26.
• Healthy plant-based diets rich in vegetables and whole grains and limited in refined grains, sugar-sweetened beverages, and total meat, are associated with lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol^27,28.
• Increased fruit and vegetable intake may contribute to weight loss and maintenance^17,28.
• Decreased risk, prevention and management of type-2 diabetes^29,30.

• May be favorable for chronic kidney disease and benefit bone health^31,32.
• May improve cardiovascular safety and sports performance¹.
• It has also been shown to improve brain health, energy levels, and increase mood³³. **
• The Mediterranean diet has been studied extensively and its health benefits published widely. What researchers have now found out is that a “green Mediterranean diet”, further enriched with green plant-based foods and lower meat intake, seems to amplify the beneficial cardiometabolic effects of the “standard” Mediterranean diet³⁴.

Julieanna Hever, author of “Plant-Based Diets: A Physician’s Guide” has summed up some of the benefits associated with plant-based diets such as lowering overall and ischemic heart disease mortality; supporting sustainable weight management; reducing medication needs; lowering the risk for most chronic diseases; decreasing the incidence and severity of high-risk conditions, including obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia; and even possibly reversing advanced coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes³⁵.

According to the same author, below are some of the advantages of the nutrients found in plant foods³⁵:

• Phytochemicals and fibers, only sourced through plants and completely absent in animal foods, are the two categories of nutrients considered most health promoting and disease fighting.
• Phytochemicals present in plants, such as carotenoids, glucosinolates, and flavonoids, perform multiple functions beneficial for human health: antioxidation, neutralizing free radicals, anti-inflammation, cancer activity reduction via several mechanisms, including inhibiting tumor growth, detoxifying carcinogens, retarding cell growth, and preventing cancer formation, immunity enhancement, protection against certain diseases, such as osteoporosis, some cancers, CVD, macular degeneration, and cataracts, optimization of serum cholesterol.
• Fibers, acting through a multitude of mechanisms, strongly support the immune, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular systems. Fiber is present in whole plants, however estimates indicate that more than 90% of US adults and children do not get the minimum recommended dietary fiber³⁵.

How should my plate look like?

Make your plate diverse, colorful, and healthful with dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, colorful vegetables, sprouted seeds, nuts, beans (mung, adzuki, lentils) and grains (oats, buckwheat), microgreens, seaweeds, mushrooms, healthy fats like seeds, nuts, coconuts, olives and avocados, and small amounts of low sugar fruits, like berries!

Juicing is another great way of ingesting an enormous amount of nutrients, ensuring high nutrient delivery with no burden on digestion. We recommend you have at least one organic freshly pressed green juice a day and you can follow our delicious recipe!

https://www.anoasisofhealing.com/green-juice-recipe/

Nurturing yourself with rich and diverse plant-based foods will ensure you get plenty key components, essential to life and health, such as enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber.

How much should you eat?

Usually when one eats mainly raw whole plant foods, with high content of nutrients and fiber, there will be the tendency to feel “full” soon, without being overly full or indulging. Most people will intuitively know when it is enough. This is hard to sense when you are eating unhealthy foods, such as chips and cookies, because those are designed to be addicting and highly devoid of nutrients. This means that you always have the tendency to eat more and more, not feeling satisfied. And although eventually your body will be “full of food” it will also be “empty of nutrients”.

However, for many, especially when transitioning, it may be hard to tap into this intuition, so a good rule of thumb is eating until you are half full, or up to 70% full. Eat slowly and mindfully, savor the food, chew it very well. Take breaks. Put your fork or spoon down. Avoid eating fast because that will make it easier to eat too much.

What about animal products?

What research shows is that you should eat less animal products to reduce your cancer risk and all-cause and cause specific mortality^36,37,38.

At An Oasis of Healing our patients eat a whole food plant-rich, mostly raw vegan nutrition plan, which is a nutrient rich approach. We strongly advocate and recommend our patients to follow a similar nutrition program for the majority of the time.  However, depending on individual characteristics, and physiological and medical conditions, there might be the need to sometimes “supplement” with some animal products. If that is advisable, then we recommend small amounts of the best sourced animal products possible, such as wild caught fish (smaller fish tend to have less toxicants) or organic eggs, from free range chickens.

 Prepare Your Own Food

This sometimes can be hard or sound hard, or even impossible. We are always on the clock, always running, needing to go here and there, do this and that. But it is essential that you start preparing, at least, some of your meals.

Every time you eat out or buy packaged meals, you are unknowingly exposing your body to many unhealthy microorganisms, toxic compounds and highly processed unhealthy “foods”. There are GMO ingredients, hormones, pesticides, packaging contaminations, highly hazardous cooking oils, hidden sugars, preservatives, colorings, additives for color, flavor, or texture… The list goes on and on.

There is only one answer, and it is quite simple: the only way to know for sure the quality of what you are eating is to buy it and prepare it yourself.

Last but not least:

Choose a pleasant environment

Sit down

Be present when you eat

Chew your food slowly and thoroughly

Be grateful for your food

 These are small steps that will help enhance digestion and increase nutrient absorption, so that you can reap all the physical and mental benefits of the highly nutritional plant foods you are eating!

References

1. Barnard ND, Goldman DM, Loomis JF, Kahleova H, Levin SM, Neabore S, Batts TC. Plant-Based Diets for Cardiovascular Safety and Performance in Endurance Sports. Nutrients. 2019; 11(1):130. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11010130
2. https://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/processing, accessed 25 April 2021.
3. https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/usda-table-nutrient-retention-factors-release-6-2007, accessed 25 April 2021.
4. Shakoor H, Feehan J, Al Dhaheri AS, Ali HI, Platat C, Ismail LC, Apostolopoulos V, Stojanovska L. Immune-boosting role of vitamins D, C, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids: Could they help against COVID-19? Maturitas. 2021 Jan;143:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.08.003. Epub 2020 Aug 9. PMID: 33308613; PMCID: PMC7415215.
5. Williamson G. The role of polyphenols in modern nutrition. Nutr Bull. 2017 Sep;42(3):226-235. doi: 10.1111/nbu.12278. Epub 2017 Aug 15. PMID: 28983192; PMCID: PMC5601283. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5601283/
6. Farvid MS, Eliassen AH, Cho E, Liao X, Chen WY, Willett WC. Dietary Fiber Intake in Young Adults and Breast Cancer Risk. Pediatrics. 2016 Mar;137(3):e20151226. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-1226. Epub 2016 Feb 1. PMID: 26908709; PMCID: PMC4771124.
7. Aune D, Chan DS, Lau R, Vieira R, Greenwood DC, Kampman E, Norat T. Dietary fibre, whole grains, and risk of colorectal cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ. 2011 Nov 10;343:d6617. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d6617. PMID: 22074852; PMCID: PMC3213242.
8. Dinu M, Abbate R, Gensini GF, Casini A, Sofi F. Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2017 Nov 22;57(17):3640-3649. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447. PMID: 26853923.
9. Aune D. Plant Foods, Antioxidant Biomarkers, and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and Mortality: A Review of the Evidence. Adv Nutr. 2019 Nov 1;10(Suppl_4):S404-S421. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmz042. PMID: 31728499; PMCID: PMC6855972.
10. Oyebode O, Gordon-Dseagu V, Walker A, Mindell JS. Fruit and vegetable consumption and all-cause, cancer and CVD mortality: analysis of Health Survey for England data. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2014 Sep;68(9):856-62. doi: 10.1136/jech-2013-203500. Epub 2014 Mar 31. PMID: 24687909; PMCID: PMC4145465.
11. Wang X, Ouyang Y, Liu J, Zhu M, Zhao G, Bao W, Hu FB. Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 2014 Jul 29;349:g4490. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g4490. Erratum in: BMJ. 2014;349:5472. PMID: 25073782; PMCID: PMC4115152.
12. Patel H, Chandra S, Alexander S, Soble J, Williams KA Sr. Plant-Based Nutrition: An Essential Component of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Management. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2017 Sep 8;19(10):104. doi: 10.1007/s11886-017-0909-z. PMID: 28887684.
13. Crowe FL, Roddam AW, Key TJ, Appleby PN, Overvad K, Jakobsen MU, Tjønneland A, Hansen L, Boeing H, Weikert C, Linseisen J, Kaaks R, Trichopoulou A, Misirli G, Lagiou P, Sacerdote C, Pala V, Palli D, Tumino R, Panico S, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Boer J, van Gils CH, Beulens JW, Barricarte A, Rodríguez L, Larrañaga N, Sánchez MJ, Tormo MJ, Buckland G, Lund E, Hedblad B, Melander O, Jansson JH, Wennberg P, Wareham NJ, Slimani N, Romieu I, Jenab M, Danesh J, Gallo V, Norat T, Riboli E; European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Heart Study Collaborators. Fruit and vegetable intake and mortality from ischaemic heart disease: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Heart study. Eur Heart J. 2011 May;32(10):1235-43. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq465. Epub 2011 Jan 18. PMID: 21245490; PMCID: PMC3094548.
14. He FJ, Nowson CA, Lucas M, MacGregor GA. Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is related to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: meta-analysis of cohort studies. J Hum Hypertens. 2007 Sep;21(9):717-28. doi: 10.1038/sj.jhh.1002212. Epub 2007 Apr 19. PMID: 17443205
15. He FJ, Nowson CA, MacGregor GA. Fruit and vegetable consumption and stroke: meta-analysis of cohort studies. Lancet. 2006 Jan 28;367(9507):320-6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68069-0. PMID: 16443039.
16. Hu FB. Plant-based foods and prevention of cardiovascular disease: an overview. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;78(3 Suppl):544S-551S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/78.3.544S. PMID: 12936948.
17. Dreher ML, Ford NA. A Comprehensive Critical Assessment of Increased Fruit and Vegetable Intake on Weight Loss in Women. Nutrients. 2020 Jun 29;12(7):1919. doi: 10.3390/nu12071919. PMID: 32610460; PMCID: PMC7399879.
18. Kahleova H, Petersen KF, Shulman GI, Alwarith J, Rembert E, Tura A, Hill M, Holubkov R, Barnard ND. Effect of a Low-Fat Vegan Diet on Body Weight, Insulin Sensitivity, Postprandial Metabolism, and Intramyocellular and Hepatocellular Lipid Levels in Overweight Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Nov 2;3(11):e2025454. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.25454. Erratum in: JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jan 4;4(1):e2035088. Erratum in: JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Feb 1;4(2):e210550. PMID: 33252690; PMCID: PMC7705596.
19. Aune D, Greenwood DC, Chan DS, Vieira R, Vieira AR, Navarro Rosenblatt DA, Cade JE, Burley VJ, Norat T. Body mass index, abdominal fatness and pancreatic cancer risk: a systematic review and non-linear dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Ann Oncol. 2012 Apr;23(4):843-52. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdr398. Epub 2011 Sep 2. PMID: 21890910.
20. Aune D, Navarro Rosenblatt DA, Chan DS, Abar L, Vingeliene S, Vieira AR, Greenwood DC, Norat T. Anthropometric factors and ovarian cancer risk: a systematic review and nonlinear dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Int J Cancer. 2015 Apr 15;136(8):1888-98. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29207. Epub 2014 Sep 24. PMID: 25250505.
21. Aune D, Navarro Rosenblatt DA, Chan DS, Vingeliene S, Abar L, Vieira AR, Greenwood DC, Bandera EV, Norat T. Anthropometric factors and endometrial cancer risk: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Ann Oncol. 2015 Aug;26(8):1635-48. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdv142. Epub 2015 Mar 19. PMID: 25791635.
22. Baden MY, Shan Z, Wang F, Li Y, Manson JE, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB, Rexrode KM. Quality of Plant-based Diet and Risk of Total, Ischemic, and Hemorrhagic Stroke. Neurology. 2021 Mar 10:10.1212/WNL.0000000000011713. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011713. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33692165.
23. Kim H, Caulfield LE, Garcia-Larsen V, Steffen LM, Coresh J, Rebholz CM. Plant-Based Diets Are Associated With a Lower Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All-Cause Mortality in a General Population of Middle-Aged Adults. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Aug 20;8(16):e012865. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.012865. Epub 2019 Aug 7. PMID: 31387433; PMCID: PMC6759882.
24. Clarys P, Deliens T, Huybrechts I, Deriemaeker P, Vanaelst B, De Keyzer W, Hebbelinck M, Mullie P. Comparison of nutritional quality of the vegan, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian and omnivorous diet. Nutrients. 2014 Mar 24;6(3):1318-32. doi: 10.3390/nu6031318. PMID: 24667136; PMCID: PMC3967195.
25. Marrone G, Guerriero C, Palazzetti D, Lido P, Marolla A, Di Daniele F, Noce A. Vegan Diet Health Benefits in Metabolic Syndrome. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 2;13(3):817. doi: 10.3390/nu13030817. PMID: 33801269; PMCID: PMC7999488.
26. Park Y, Brinton LA, Subar AF, Hollenbeck A, Schatzkin A. Dietary fiber intake and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women: the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Sep;90(3):664-71. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.27758. Epub 2009 Jul 22. PMID: 19625685; PMCID: PMC2728649.
27. Aljuraiban G, Chan Q, Gibson R for the INTERMAP Research Group, et al Association between plant-based diets and blood pressure in the INTERMAP study BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health 2020;bmjnph-2020-000077. doi: 10.1136/bmjnph-2020-000077
28. Campbell EK, Fidahusain M, Campbell Ii TM. Evaluation of an Eight-Week Whole-Food Plant-Based Lifestyle Modification Program. Nutrients. 2019 Sep 3;11(9):2068. doi: 10.3390/nu11092068. PMID: 31484341; PMCID: PMC6770132.
29. Qian F, Liu G, Hu FB, Bhupathiraju SN, Sun Q. Association Between Plant-Based Dietary Patterns and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2019;179(10):1335–1344. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.2195
30. McMacken M, Shah S. A plant-based diet for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2017 May;14(5):342-354. doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.05.009. PMID: 28630614; PMCID: PMC5466941.
31. Hsu E. Plant-based diets and bone health: sorting through the evidence. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2020 Aug;27(4):248-252. doi: 10.1097/MED.0000000000000552. PMID: 32618637.
32. Joshi S, Shah S, Kalantar-Zadeh K. Adequacy of Plant-Based Proteins in Chronic Kidney Disease. J Ren Nutr. 2019 Mar;29(2):112-117. doi: 10.1053/j.jrn.2018.06.006. Epub 2018 Aug 16. PMID: 30122652.
33. Medawar E, Huhn S, Villringer A, Veronica Witte A. The effects of plant-based diets on the body and the brain: a systematic review. Transl Psychiatry. 2019 Sep 12;9(1):226. doi: 10.1038/s41398-019-0552-0. PMID: 31515473; PMCID: PMC6742661.
34. Tsaban G, Yaskolka Meir A, Rinott E, et alThe effect of green Mediterranean diet on cardiometabolic risk; a randomised controlled trialHeart Published Online First: 23 November 2020. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317802
35. Hever J. Plant-Based Diets: A Physician’s Guide. Perm J. 2016 Summer;20(3):15-082. doi: 10.7812/TPP/15-082. Epub 2016 Jul 6. PMID: 27400178; PMCID: PMC4991921.
36. Huang J, Liao LM, Weinstein SJ, Sinha R, Graubard BI, Albanes D. Association Between Plant and Animal Protein Intake and Overall and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180(9):1173–1184. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2790
37. Song M, Fung TT, Hu FB, Willett WC, Longo VD, Chan AT, Giovannucci EL. Association of Animal and Plant Protein Intake With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Oct 1;176(10):1453-1463. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.4182. Erratum in: JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Nov 1;176(11):1728. PMID: 27479196; PMCID: PMC5048552.
38. Lanou AJ, Svenson B. Reduced cancer risk in vegetarians: an analysis of recent reports. Cancer Manag Res. 2010 Dec 20;3:1-8. doi: 10.2147/CMR.S6910. PMID: 21407994; PMCID: PMC3048091.