karenwpullen - Everyday Plant-Based

Going Plant-Based: 10 Ways to Get There

karenwpullen Blog March 22, 2020October 19, 2023add plants, article, lifestyle, vegan

What We Eat in America is a report prepared by the US Department of Agriculture. It contains pages and pages of data, sliced and diced. Fascinating for researchers, though leaving most readers cross-eyed.

But one way to boil it down is to look at where our calories come from in the American diet. Sadly, only about 12% of calories come from phytonutrient foods – foods that are essential for a long healthy life, like whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. The rest of our calories are spent on oils, animal products, and sugar.

So what? What if that 12% were doubled, or tripled? Would we have longer, healthier lives? Read more

Fiber is the Star

karenwpullen Blog February 14, 2020October 19, 2023article, fiber, not enough, plant-based

People commonly fret about protein in a plant-based diet, but they should be asking about fiber. 97% of Americans do not get the recommended daily amount of fiber.

That bears rephrasing: nearly every American’s diet is deficient in fiber. Read more

Going Plant-Based to Lose Weight

karenwpullen Blog January 23, 2020October 19, 2023article, diet, lifestyle, losing weight, obesity, plant-based, tacos, vegan

More than two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, conditions associated with a number of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. That’s an astonishing figure. Ours is an unhealthy nation.

Even modest weight loss—5% decrease in body weight—has been shown to lower the risk of chronic disease. Achieving weight loss, a common resolution as we head into a new year, usually focuses on counting calories.

But the whole food plant-based diet doesn’t count calories. So why does it work? Read more