What do Taco Bell, NYC Hospitals, Snoop Dogg, and Beyonce all have in common?
What do Taco Bell, NYC Public Hospitals, Snoop Dogg, and Beyonce all Have in common?
They all, in their own way, are supporting a plant-based diet!
Plant-based diets are getting a lot of press this first month of the new year! So here's the scoop...
Taco bell, similar to Chipotle, is providing even more plant-based options on their menu and taking out artificial colors, flavors, and soon preservatives. Some options on the menu: bowls, burritos, bean and rice dishes, as well as tostadas! For me, it will provide for convenient travel and on-the-go options, or a casual place to stop for a meal!
Next, NYC Public Hospitals will now serve “Meatless Monday” options in each of its 11 hospitals, thanks to Brooklyn Borough President, Eric L. Adams urging all public hospitals to take a Meatless Monday pledge. This program is called “Power Up with Plants.” Eric L. Adams is not a stranger to plant-based eating. The Borough President reversed his type-2 diabetes from adopting a plant-based diet. He is really a hero of mine and a force for positive change that will ripple out. If you call the City of New York, you will hear a message from Adams himself promoting a new plant-based program at Bellevue Hospital:
Hi. I’m Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. Are you struggling with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or obesity? The new Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program at Bellevue Hospital may be the answer.
Rapper Snoop Dogg was recently seen promoting the new vegan burger restaurant, Slutty Vegan, in Atlanta, on its opening day. While not plant-based himself, he is friends with Rich Roll, the vegan Ultraman and Ironman athlete, author, and podcast host. Snoop Dogg's Cookbook entitled, From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg’s Kitchen also received a vegan makeover from YouTuber Anarchist Kitchen.
Pop stars, Beyonce and Jay-Z, actively promote a plant-based lifestyle. In the introduction to their trainer Marco Borges's book, The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World, Beyonce and Jay-Z write:
We used to think of health as a diet – some worked for us, some didn’t. Once we looked at health as the truth, instead of a diet, it became a mission for us to share that truth and lifestyle with as many people as possible...We all have a responsibility to stand up for our health and the health of the planet. Let’s take this stand together. Let’s spread the truth. Let’s make this mission a movement. Let’s become ‘the Greenprint’.
As you can see, vegan and plant-based diets have been gaining a lot of press these days, but it doesn’t stop there! Take Veganuary, for example. Veganuary is a concept and website which encourages the public to consume no animal products for the month of January. If you register on their website, you will receive a free ebook of tasty plant-based recipes. Founders Jane and Matthew started this project in UK in 2014 and they felt by focusing on staying vegan in January, the month of New Year’s Resolutions, that this monthly challenge would be very successful. The webpage provides an incredible amount of information, including a “Starter Kit” with resources, whether a person is pledging to be vegan to support the lives of animals, reduce the impact of that factory farming has on the environment and greenhouse gas emissions, or for their health. Online communities are also available for January and throughout the year.
Opening up another debate about the role of meat in our diets is a recently published article in The Lancet medical journal on January 16, 2019 entitled Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. From the abstract of this article, it discusses the urgency of a global transformation to our food system. Currently, they write that our food system is threatening to nurture human health and does not support environmental sustainability. For example…
Although global food production of calories has kept pace with population growth, more than 820 million people have insufficient food and many more consume low-quality diets that cause micronutrient deficiencies and contribute to a substantial rise in the incidence of diet-related obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Unhealthy diets pose a greater risk to morbidity and mortality than does unsafe sex, and alcohol, drug, and tobacco use combined (Rockström 2019).
The writers of this article are an international group of 37 scientists from 16 different countries who call for a “Planetary Health Diet” based on meals of vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds while cutting down significantly on animal products. As part of this plan, the “flexitarian” approach is advocated, where people are recommended to consume half the amount of animal products that they would normally consume and instead replace half with another protein source, such as beans or tofu.
This research comes at a time when, coincidentally, Canada is also revising their food guide to be released in Spring 2019, advocating for three categories of foods: whole grains, vegetables and fruit, and protein. Dairy or meat would no longer receive their own individual categories, but would be among the recommendations for protein foods, such as tofu, beans, nuts, fish, and meat. The guide also discusses healthy eating habits, such as: limiting foods high in sodium, sugars, or saturated fat, use food labels, and be aware of food marketing.
While this kind of stir in the media can cause quite a bit of controversy, we know one thing is very clear, and it is clear in the research, that including an abundance of plant-foods in the diet is beneficial. Like Michael Pollan, the author, journalist, and activist, says:
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
If you are interested in transitioning to a diet that incorporates more plant foods, or even in adopting a plant-based diet, contact me today at panetta.amy@gmail.com. I have been consuming a plant-based diet since 2012! I am currently offering a FREE 30-minute Strategy Call to help you get clear on which steps to take on your health and nutrition journey to achieve your goals and how I may be of support and service to you!
