MyKitchen - Issue 36 - October 2017

health check

riting in The New

York Times in 2007,

the acclaimed food

writer Michael Pollan famously

summed up years of research on

food and eating in only seven

words: ‘Eat food. Not too much.

Mostly plants.’ This has since

Is a plant-based diet for you? Here’s what you need to know

become the anthem for health

practitioners the world over.

We spoke to dietitian Jessica

Kotlowitz about switching to

a plant-based diet.

WHY PLANT-BASED DIETS

‘First things first, a plant-based

diet is where 90% or more of your

daily calories come from foods of

plant origin,’ says Jessica. ‘It’s not

necessarily a vegan or vegetarian

diet, since you could get a small

amount (10% or less) of calories

from meat or animal products.’

Plant-based diets have been

shown to be among the healthiest

diets, Jessica explains. ‘They can

help with weight loss, lower your

cholesterol and blood pressure,

lower the risk of certain cancers,

and also prevent and treat heart

disease and diabetes. Moreover,

plant-based eaters are the only

group of the population with an

average weight in the healthy

BMI range.’

Plant-based diets also usually

don’t contain the disease-causing

components (such as hormones,

saturated fats, pro-oxidants and

pesticides) found predominantly

in animal-based foods.

‘If you can maintain a balanced,

wholesome diet with plant foods,

there’s no reason you shouldn’t

thrive on a plant-based diet,’

says Jessica.

KEEP IT BALANCED

To make sure your diet contains

everything that you need, Jessica

says you should pay attention to

these nutrients:

W

LIMIT YOUR

DAILY MEAT

INTAKE

90g per day for men,

60g per day for women

The South African dietary

guidelines to lessen your

risk of disease

GREEN IS GOLD

LEARN MORE

ONLINE

Visit us on Wellness

Wednesdays for more

nutrition advice.

MYKITCHEN.CO.ZA

BUN FIGHT!

TRY OUR CHEESY

PEA SLOPPY JOES

ON p 38

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