Ask the pros Q&A
Q: What is the Nutrition-Health Connection of Lifestyle Medicine?
Nutrition is arguably one of the most controversial and charged subjects in lifestyle medicine. Food plays such an integral role in our lives—not only physically, but socially, emotionally, and even spiritually for some. Regardless of an individual’s particular situation, however, there is consistent and compelling evidence to support healthy eating patterns that are whole food, plant-based (WFPB) for preventing, halting, and often even reversing disease.
It is important to understand what a WFPB diet includes. A WFPB diet is a dietary pattern centered on minimally processed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes with nuts and seeds in moderation. It minimizes or excludes meat (including poultry and fish), dairy, eggs, added sugar, and processed oils. It’s an evidence-based dietary pattern centered on whole, plant foods eaten as close to their natural state as possible for disease prevention, treatment, and reversal.
You may have heard a lot of people self-define as “vegan”. A vegan diet is defined only by what it excludes– all animal products. A person can eat a vegan diet and still be very unhealthy. For example, Oreos and potato chips are vegan! WFPB guidelines outline the foods to include for optimal health. Focus on “whole” foods and craft your plate to look similar to the one here.
The incredible thing about adopting a WFPB diet is that people who adopt this lifestyle can experience transformative results, in a relatively brief period of time. Plant-based diets may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease events by approximately 40%, cerebral vascular disease (i.e. strokes) events by approximately 29%, and developing metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes by about 50%.
When considering what you are planning to eat for the day consider that every bite we take is either a step toward health or a step toward disease. Americans do not consume fruit and vegetables in high enough quantities, in fact, only 1 in 10 adults meets the federal fruit or vegetable consumption recommendations of 1.5 cups of fruit per day and 2-3 cups of vegetables per day. And sadly, this recommendation is not enough. More reasonable and health-promoting recommendations for disease prevention and treatment are to consume at least 7-9 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Any movement you can make on the spectrum towards a WFPB diet will improve your health and the more you upgrade your diet to WFPB options, the more your health will benefit.
References:
Frates B, Bonnet JP, Joseph R, Peterson JA. The nutrition-health connection. In: Frates B, ed. Lifestyle Medicine Handbook: An Introduction to the Power of Healthy Habits. Monterey, CA: Healthy Learning; 2021:179.
