Plant-based Nutrition FAQs
We’ve got answers
Whole food, plant-based nutrition offers a whole new way to think about health, food, and day-to-day living. These are some of the top questions we’re asked about the lifestyle.
Nutrients & Minerals
With some planning, a whole food, plant-based lifestyle can meet your nutritional needs at any stage of life. Plant foods contain all the essential macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and more) that we need for energy and optimal health. Remember that all ways of eating require some planning to be healthy — plant-based nutrition is no different.
Check out these 8 Principles of Food and Health by nutrition scientist T. Colin Campbell, PhD, as a framework for thinking about whole food, plant-based nutrition.
Yes! Protein, an essential nutrient, provides structural support to our cells, oxygenates our blood, aids in digestion, and plays a role in hormone regulation. Excellent sources of plant protein include beans, lentils, soy (including edamame, tofu, and tempeh), peas, kale, broccoli, nuts, and seeds. Check out these plant-powered meal ideas that calculate protein content.
For most people, the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is calculated by multiplying your weight in pounds by 0.36 to get the number of protein grams you need. For example, a person who weighs 140 pounds needs 50.4 grams of protein a day.
Older adults and people who are physically active should consider increasing their intake by 25-50%. Women who are pregnant and lactating need more, too. But we don’t need animal protein to reach optimal levels.
Although protein seems more important than any other nutrient, it’s not. We need all the nutritional components of plant foods to be healthy. Eating diverse plant foods — and daily servings of legumes — can ensure proper nutrition.
Whole food, plant-based nutrition minimizes the use of supplements which are not whole foods, and some may cause more harm than good. However, vitamin B12 is a supplement we must take when following a plant-based lifestyle — and it’s recommended even for those consuming meat and dairy. In addition to a supplement, nutritional yeast, used as a “cheesy” flavoring in plant-based dishes, is a good source of B12.
Many of us living in the United States will also need to supplement with a vegan (algae-based) source of vitamin D3. D3 is a hormone that we synthesize from sunshine on our skin. About 15 minutes of sunlight each day is recommended. Plant food sources of vitamin D include fortified plant milks and mushrooms, but most of us need more than what we take in naturally.
Also, any nutrient deficiency may require a supplement, under the guidance of a health professional. Check out NutritionFacts.org’s Optimum Nutrient Recommendations for more details.
Getting the calcium you need to support bone health is possible with a plant-based lifestyle. By replacing dairy with greens, beans, and vegetables, you can meet your daily calcium requirements, and calcium-fortified foods or supplements can sometimes help make up the difference. Many people believe that dairy is the best source of calcium, but the evidence shows that countries with high dairy intake often have the highest rate of long bone fractures. Green leafy vegetables, fortified plant milks, whole sesame seeds, almonds, and legumes are all great plant-based sources of calcium.
Diet Considerations
Most people don’t need to pay much attention to calories in the way that other weight-loss programs advise. Because whole food, plant-based nutrition is about more than weight, we try to keep things simple. When you eat a diet rich with whole plant foods, without added fats from oils, the main thing to keep an eye on is the quantity of high-fat plant foods you’re eating. Those are avocados, nuts, seeds, and especially coconut-based foods. We suggest minimizing coconut foods altogether because coconut has the highest amount of saturated fat of all the plant foods. Avocados, nuts, and seeds are nutritious, but overdoing them can get in the way of weight-loss goals and may keep certain markers of cardiovascular disease elevated.
The short answer is that each person may need a slightly different breakdown of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. But a whole food, plant-based diet is generally high in carbs (the good ones). We suggest that you transition to a low-fat plant-based diet and make macronutrient adjustments from there, based on how your health goals change with better nutrition. See above about protein!
A vegan diet is defined by what is not included — animal meat and byproducts — to make an ethical stand for compassion and nonviolence toward animals, those who work in animal agriculture, and the planet.
While some of us who eat a whole food, plant-based diet are ethical vegans, some are not. We choose to focus on what is included in our diet: whole plant foods that nourish us.
Ethical vegans may continue to eat the processed foods that are hallmarks of our American food system, which may unfortunately make them just as likely to have heart disease as omnivores.
With other worthy groups and organizations promoting plant-based diets for the sake of animal rights and environmental welfare, PPMNY focuses primarily on the health benefits.
Yes, kids can thrive eating whole plant foods. Just as with adults, we need to construct a healthy plant-based diet for children at different ages.
The biggest difference between optimal nutrition for kids and adults is that kids need more fat in their diet — but still from whole food sources like nuts and nut butters, avocados, seeds, and soybeans. (Along with chia, hemp, and flaxseeds, soy has some essential omega-3 fats).
If you have a child going through a picky eating phase, don’t give up. Consider a multivitamin and be persistent in encouraging them to try new flavors, participate in making meals, and help create menus. Go for minimally processed snacks, plenty of fruit and beans, and green smoothies — and plan ahead. Modeling healthy plant-based eating will rub off, even if the struggle feels intense now!
Learn some tips to transition children to a healthy plant-based diet.
“SOS” stands for salt, oil, and sugar. These are highly processed ingredients found everywhere in our food system that provide loads of flavor — and lure us to go back for more. In the field of whole food, plant-based nutrition, there are differing approaches to SOS. Some people suggest minimizing all of these ingredients but keeping them in the diet. A small subset advises removing SOS completely, which is tough to do, but it can be a really important step to achieve and maintain your best health over time.
There is a large subset of the plant-based health community that promotes oil-free nutrition while minimizing salt and sugar in the diet — and that’s what we do at PPMNY. Our oil-free approach is based on the idea that oil is the most calorie-dense food and therefore unnecessary in the modern diet — especially for those seeking to lose weight and better manage blood sugar. There’s also preliminary (if not fully conclusive) science that oil can impair artery health. At the same time, some researchers swear by extra virgin olive oil, but we suggest avoiding it.
Doctors & Medical Care
Truthfully, most doctors (and even nutritionists) don’t know. However, the field of Lifestyle Medicine is growing, and whole food, plant-predominant nutrition is one of six lifestyle pillars promoted by affiliated healthcare professionals.
Why don’t many of the experts know? Nutrition isn’t a feature of medical school training, and plant-based nutrition is not commonly taught in dietetics. It will take time for training programs to change and catch up to the science. And there is still plenty of industry influence working to keep the status quo, whether it’s from the pharmaceutical or supplement industries or the organizations that represent the interests of dairy and beef producers. Because of the financial interests at the table, those of us who promote whole food, plant-based nutrition have to work harder to be seen and heard.
In the future, the “standard of care” for patients will be to use evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle counseling first before prescribing medicine or recommending procedures or expensive therapies. Read more about this topic in T. Colin Campbell’s books The China Study and Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition.
Incredibly, yes. Physician researchers have used a low-fat, plant-based diet to restore blood flow in the arteries of patients with advanced heart disease, and other lifestyle changes like exercise, stress management, and better sleep can help, too.
Whole plant foods are naturally low in fat — especially saturated fat, which is connected to heart disease — and contain no cholesterol. In addition, these ingredients are packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals that reduce inflammation and promote cell repair in the cardiovascular system. Eating green leafy vegetables in particular can release nitric oxide which is believed to heal the inner lining of arteries.
Learn more from PPMNY’s Heart to Healthy Heart livestream series or with pioneers in evidence-based nutrition research, Drs. Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr.
If you’re prediabetic or have Type 2 diabetes, it is possible to reverse the disease process, and even put diabetes into remission, using whole food, plant-based nutrition. This may seem counterintuitive because plants contain plenty of “carbs,” which people with diabetes are typically told to limit. But newer evidence is showing that reducing fat in the diet — particularly from animal foods and high-fat processed foods — can improve insulin sensitivity.
A 2003 study found a plant-based diet three times more effective at controlling blood sugar when compared to a traditional diabetes diet that limited calories and carbohydrates. And, according to the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, more recent research shows that intensive lifestyle changes can achieve similar results as bariatric surgery yet with far fewer side effects.
While Type 1 diabetes may not be reversible, a plant-based lifestyle is beneficial to managing blood glucose and aids in the prevention of related chronic diseases like kidney disease. Learn more with Robby Barbaro, MPH, of Mastering Diabetes. Robby manages his Type 1 diabetes with plant-based nutrition.
Make sure to speak with a Lifestyle Medicine physician who is familiar with plant-based nutrition’s effect on diabetes before making dietary changes, as some people may reduce their insulin requirements quickly.
Yes, food is related to many types of cancers in many different ways. Some of the strongest evidence we have is the connection between cancer and processed meats — like hot dogs, sausages, deli meats, and bacon. The World Health Organization has classified processed meat as a group 1 carcinogen, in the same category as asbestos and tobacco. Red meat is a group 2 carcinogen: “likely” to cause cancer. Research suggests that cancer growth is associated with high levels of the hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is linked to the consumption of animal protein.
There is also a strong connection between cancer and alcohol; unfortunately, any number of alcoholic drinks can increase our cancer risk. What’s more, our risk of estrogen-mediated cancers, like those of the breast, prostate, and ovaries, as well as colorectal cancers, declines as we increase the amount of fiber in our diet.
In addition, the list of foods that fight cancer by the American Institute for Cancer Research are only whole plants. Doctors are also starting to research how a healthy plant-based diet together with traditional cancer treatments can improve the effectiveness of those treatments and improve survival and remission rates.
Common Ingredients
Dairy is troublesome because it contains saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, and naturally occurring hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Like other animal-based foods, it has no fiber.
While dairy may not have an impact on our mortality or cardiovascular health, there is strong evidence that men who regularly drink full-fat milk have a much higher risk of prostate cancer. Most of our dietary exposure to hormones is from dairy products, especially when they are concentrated into cheeses and creams, which may increase our risk for other types of cancers, including endometrial cancer in women.
Moreover, many of us — and especially people of color — are lactose-intolerant, suffering from bloating or other digestive issues after consuming dairy.
Read a summary of the evidence behind dairy’s connection to chronic disease.
Eggs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. For one, they have high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol — two major contributors to heart disease, diabetes, and overall mortality. In addition, a compound highest in eggs and chicken called arachidonic acid can increase inflammation in the body, including the inflammation that underlies poor mental health and certain autoimmune diseases. Dive deeper into the health problems related to eating eggs.
Fiber, a type of carbohydrate found in the cell wall of plant foods, plays a critical role in our digestive and gut health. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in our digestive tract and forms a gel-like substance that helps regulate our blood glucose, lowers cholesterol, and makes us feel full longer. Insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve, moves waste through our intestines and reduces our risk of constipation. Both work to improve our overall health and keep us regular!
Soybeans are absolutely part of a healthy plant-based diet! Healthy sources of soy are mature soybeans (which look like chickpeas), young soybeans in the pod known as edamame, fermented soy products like tempeh and miso, and minimally processed soybeans like tofu, soy curls, and soy milk.
Many people believe that soy causes cancer, but this is a myth based on the idea that soy contains a plant form of estrogens called isoflavones. However, research shows that isoflavones fight cancer growth by preventing animal-based estrogens from connecting to cancer cells — so eating soy can actually prevent cancer. This is why East Asian populations eating soy-rich diets traditionally had lower cancer rates than other Western cultures.
Iron is essential to making hemoglobin, a part of red blood cells that deliver oxygen throughout the body. Iron is the most common nutrient deficiency in the US, even among meat eaters. However, there are two types of iron. Plant foods contain non-heme iron, which is less easily absorbed by our bodies than heme iron found in meat. Studies show heme iron is more closely linked to cancer, especially colon cancer – so slower absorption of non-heme iron is considered best.
To maintain healthy levels of iron, eat iron-rich plant foods like leafy greens, tofu, legumes, mushrooms, whole grains, hemp and chia seeds, in combination with foods that contain vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The vitamin C in foods like citrus, tomatoes, berries, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, and green leafy vegetables improve iron absorption. For example, add citrus to a marinated tofu, or eat a chickpea dish with tomatoes. Learn more.
Studies show foods high in saturated fat, like meat and dairy, raise our estrogen levels, leading to an imbalance. Having excess body fat can also increase hormonal activity in the body. On the flip side, some plant foods, like soy, contain healthy phytoestrogens, and many whole plants contain fiber to help flush unnecessary hormones from our bodies.
Learn how plant foods help balance our hormones and even reduce symptoms of endometriosis.
