Eating plant-based for health isn’t an all-or-nothing deal

on nutrition

When you hear the term “plant-based,” what comes to mind? It’s not all new and novel vegetable salads and meats, said Dr. Michelle McMacken, executive director of nutrition and lifestyle medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals in New York, speaking at the annual meeting of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month. “A plant-based eating pattern can be wonderfully diverse, nutritious, and most importantly, delicious. And it aligns with so many cultural traditions.”

McMacken noted that there are many types of plant-based eating patterns. Vegetarian eating patterns exclude meat, poultry, and seafood, while vegan eating patterns exclude all foods of animal origin, but both could they include refined grains, added sugar, and other highly processed foods. That’s why she encourages what she calls a “healthy plant-based” eating pattern.

“You’re focusing on a variety of whole fruits and vegetables, you’re switching your protein sources to more plant sources like legumes, tofu, tempeh, etc,” he said. “You are changing your fats to plant-based fats, like avocados, nuts, seeds, and unsaturated vegetable oils, as opposed to some of the tropical oils like coconut and palm. And finally, for its grains, it’s focusing on whole grains.”

McMacken said this way of eating is in line with most medical nutrition guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. In particular, vegetarian diets have been consistently associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

What if you’re not a vegetarian, but you eat much of the plants? the Atherosclerosis risk study in communities, which followed 12,168 omnivores (people who eat plant and animal foods) for more than 25 years, found that those who ate the most plants had the lowest risk (16% lower) of developing heart disease, 32% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 25% lower risk of dying from any cause. “These are not necessarily vegan or vegetarian,” McMacken said. “These are people who would be called omnivores but they eat mostly plants. And that is extremely beneficial.”

Researchers from the very large Nurses’ Health Study and long-term Health Professionals Follow-up Study, also omnivorous populations, went even further and looked at the degree to which participants were following a healthy or unhealthy plant-based diet. (Because it’s possible to eat plant-based foods and eat a lot of chips and soda.) The healthy plant-based eating pattern was linked to a 25% reduced risk of coronary heart disease, while the unhealthy plant-based eating pattern was linked to a 32% increased risk of coronary heart disease.

McMacken said that when someone eats more foods linked to cardiovascular health (whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes and other plant-based protein sources, nuts, seeds and other sources of unsaturated fat), it crowds out foods linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including processed meats, red meat, added sugar, and processed/refined grains. Multiple research studies have found that replacing 3% of daily calories (60 calories in a 2,000-calorie diet) with plant protein instead of animal protein was associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Those who switched from processed red meat to a plant-based protein saw the greatest risk reduction: 34%. “It pays to diversify,” she said.

Because healthy plant-based eating patterns contain a host of beneficial elements including fiber, heart-healthy fats, antioxidants, potassium, and other nutrients, even being semi-vegetarian can lower LDL cholesterol by 10%-15%. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension by Design eating plan has the Blood Pressure Lowering Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet, but contains enough animal products to make it palatable to non-vegetarians. “A plant predominantly [plan] it can be very effective in lowering blood pressure,” McMacken said.

Chickpea and farro soup

This recipe qualifies as “plant-predominant,” but to make it completely vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. To make it vegan, also omit the Parmesan cheese. I order black chickpeas from fat ranchbut you can use all “normal” chickpeas.

Ingredients for the soup

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
• 1 cup dried black chickpeas
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium to large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pinch of chili flakes
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup French green lentils (Le Puy)
• 2 sage leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 3 teaspoons salt, divided, plus more to taste
• 1 cup raw farro
• 3 handfuls chopped dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, etc.)

Ingredients for optional garnish

• freshly ground black pepper
• chopped Italian parsley
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• dash of olive oil

Steps

1. Soak the chickpeas for at least 6 hours, then drain them. Rinse the lentils and check for residue.
2. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and chili flakes and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
3. Add broth, tomatoes, drained chickpeas, lentils, herbs, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer until chickpeas are tender but not mushy, at least 1 hour. Remove herbs. Carefully remove the soup in batches and partially puree in a blender before adding back to the pot or, much easier, dip an immersion blender into the pot and blend until the texture is to your liking. Taste, adding more salt if necessary.
4. While beans are cooking, cook farro in a separate pot according to package directions (if no directions, cook via “pasta method” by cooking in plenty of water, about 6 to 8 cups) with 1 teaspoon of salt, then drain off excess water.
5. After pureeing the soup, add cooked farro and simmer for 10-15 minutes, adding the chopped vegetables for the last few minutes so they can cook until softened.
6. Serve garnished with freshly ground black pepper, chopped parsley, grated Parmesan cheese, and/or a drizzle of olive oil, to taste.