Plant-Based Diets: An Introduction

“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” – G.K. Chesterton

It all started on Netflix with a documentary called the Game Changers. Similarly to many people, watching the Game Changers, most certainly left a profound impression on me. A quick Google search would bring up 100s of articles and videos about the documentary. @ TheUnlazyWay channel on YouTube summarised the Game Changers perfectly, it goes like this: “Have you seen the documentary the Game Changers? There is a scene, where this guy goes to the gym to do some battle roping; apparently, he was able to battle rope for 8 minutes. But after just 6 weeks of plant-based eating, he was able to rope for 60 minutes! That’s 7.5 times longer!! That’s kindda like benching 80kg, then eating spinach for 6 weeks and then benching 600kg!!!!!!!!”

I was on the floor laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. He really did capture the essence of the documentary.

For the people who have not had the opportunity to watch it, the Game Changers - produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, and Chris Paul, tells the story of James Wilks, an elite Special Forces trainer and Ultimate Fighter winner, as he travels the world on a quest to uncover the optimal diet for human performance. He interviews athletes, special ops soldiers, visionary scientists, and cultural icons. What he discovers permanently changes his understanding of food and his definition of true strength.

What is a plant-based diet? What are the variations?

The term plant-based diet is often used interchangeably with a vegan diet. Technically, a vegan diet is a plant-based diet but not all plant-based diets are vegan. Moreover, as well as a diet, veganism is also a philosophy and a lifestyle. The concept of plant-based diet varies widely in its definition. Current definitions range from the exclusion of all animal products to diets that include meat, fish, and dairy in varying quantities. This can cause significant ambiguities.

The term plant-based diet is often used interchangeably with a vegan diet. More than a diet, veganism is a philosophy and a lifestyle

It is widely accepted that there are three schools of thoughts on what is the correct definition of a plant-based diet. The first school defines a plant-based diet as one that excludes all animal products. The second group accepts that the diet may include fish, poultry and yogurt and the final school of thoughts emphasises that a plant-based eating pattern “maximises consumption of nutrient-dense plant foods while minimising oils, processed and animal foods”.

Whichever school of thoughts you adhere to if any, what is unanimously true across board is that a plant-based diet is an eating pattern that emphasises on the consumption of large portions of plant dominant foods.

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Disclaimer

I am not a health professional. All ideas shared on this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Any information provided is purely for educational purposes and do not constitute professional advice. You should consult a medical professional or health care provider if you want to go on a diet.