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The plant based diet is a new trend in terms of healthy and ethical nutrition: in some ways it is very similar to vegan and vegetarian food but it differs from it for some fundamental points.
The Benefits of the Plant Based Diet
The plant based diet is one of the new food trends coming from overseas and which is slowly establishing itself in Italy as well.
It is different from the vegan and vegetarian diet but in all three the basis of the diet is vegetables and fruit. However, there are substantial differences.
The plant based diet indeed has a healthy approach, but above all ethical. All foods consumed must be not processed, fresh, possibly zero km and rich in nutrients. Unlike the vegan diet (which has its pros and cons), the plant based one accepts the consumption of food derived from animals: eggs, honey, milk and its derivatives for example.
This as long as they are cruelty-free and that the animals that produce them have a healthy life without exploitation. The eggs, for example, must come from hens raised on the ground and that are free to roam and feed as they please, without the use of feed and GMOs. Vegans would then consume widely refined and processed products without hesitation, such as potato chips in bags: this is not conceivable instead for those who have chosen the plant based diet.
The plant based diet could therefore be implemented above all by those who have their own piece of land where they can raise their animals, guaranteeing their well-being and using their fruits, and where grow their own zero-kilometer vegetables and fruit. Obviously this type of diet can be followed by everyone, even by those who live in the city: the important thing is to be careful about the products you buy, better if you are supplied by direct growers and breeders.
The plant based diet is therefore based above all on the consumption of exclusively seasonal vegetables and fruit, but also of unrefined or 0 km flours and grains. the body obtains numerous benefits: the contribution of fundamental micronutrients such as calcium, vitamins A, C and E, folic acid, antioxidants and mineral salts. This type of diet, if well structured perhaps with the help of a professional, can give many benefits on health and on the cardiovascular system, also fighting overweight and diabetes and high blood pressure problems.
Plant Based Diet: What to Eat
What to eat on the plant based diet? It is very easy: just choose everything that nature provides us. Eliminating processed sugars, hydrogenated fats and overly refined products is the first step. Better to prefer wholemeal flours and derivatives, which are less processed. Fruit and vegetables must be in season, preferably with organic certification and produced a few kilometers away. In the plant based diet there are also i desserts, but they must be produced at home with quality raw materials that meet the criteria of a plant-based diet. Also meat and fish they can be consumed but in the right quantities, without exceeding, and only if they are natural and controlled. Absolutely no to junk food, snacks and snacks and all kinds of prepackaged food.
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