PROTEIN
Five reasons to start
eating more plants:
1
Lower your risk
of heart disease.
Some studies show that
vegetarian diets reduce the risk
of heart disease by as much as
40 percent. Even if you don’t follow
a vegetarian diet, just eating
more produce is beneficial. A
Harvard study found that people
who eat about 5 cups of produce
a day lower their risk of heart
disease by nearly 30 percent.
Prevent and
manage diabetes.
Population studies show
vegetarians have a lower
incidence of diabetes than
nonvegetarians. Just as
important, intervention studies
show that vegetarian and vegan
diets help control and reduce
blood sugar—more than diets
using traditional carbohydrate-
counting methods.
4
Protect
against cancer.
Eating lots of produce while
also eating less red meat can
reduce the risk for certain
cancers. Studies show you don’t
have to completely eliminate
meat. The American Institute for
Cancer Research recommends
eating no more than 18 ounces
of red meat per week.
Lose weight.
Vegetarian proteins can help
you lose weight. Nuts may be
high in calories, but studies show
that people who eat more nuts
have lower body weight and
smaller waists. Nuts provide fiber,
healthy fats, and protein—all
nutrients that satiate hunger.
And eating ¾ cup of high-fiber
and high-protein pulses (lentils,
beans, and peas) a day can help
you lose weight and keep it off.
Help the planet.
If everyone in the United States
ate only plant proteins just one
day a week for one year, it would
have the same environmental
impact as taking 7.6 million cars
off the road, according to the
Environmental Working Group.
Plants have lower greenhouse-gas
emissions, use less fresh water, and
require less land than livestock.
2
3
5
PLANTS:
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It’s hard to have a conversation about a healthy diet these
days without hearing the terms “high in protein” or
“plant-based.” But are plant-based diets even healthy? Do you
really need more protein? And can you get enough of it from
plants? Read on to find out. By Marge Perry
ALLRECIPES.COM 91 AUG/SEPT 2019
Contributing Health Editor MARGE PERRY is a longtime health writer, recipe developer, chef-instructor, and cookbook
author. Her latest book, which she co-wrote with husband David Bonom, is Hero Dinners: Complete One-Pan Meals that
Save the Day (William Morrow, 2019). It shows how to transform everyday ingredients into delicious, well-balanced dishes.
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