Transform Your Microbiome and Health With Plants
You’re probably wondering…‘How Do I Transform My Health With Plants?’
It’s easy to be suspicious hey? With SO many claims and promises.
But when it comes to eating PLANTS you shouldn’t be thinking…“is this going to work?”… you should be thinking… “Do I want to Change my Life?” and if the answer is “YES” then you’re on the right track because…
EATING PLANTS IS GOING TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
Pretty bold statement hey? But from working with hundreds of clients I have seen firsthand how lives have been transformed.
Read on as I explain five reasons why eating Plants will change your life… You’ll learn why it’s so effective – and how to get o to a flying start!
Just a side note… we’re not talking about being VEGAN… we’re talking about MORE plants in your diet!!
Five Reasons Why Eating Plants Transforms Your Health
REASON #1: Feed your MICROBIOME with it’s Main Food Source - FIBRE
You’re probably wondering.. “Why am I feeding my Microbiome and NOT me?”.
Because your Microbiome IS YOU. You have a Inner Garden (that needs feeding) that outnumbers your human cells 10:1. In fact, there are 43 million bacterial genes and just 22,000 human genes! Your Microbiome FLOURISHES with Fibre and you can find it abundantly in plants… fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds… the list goes on… Feed your Microbiome and it will do this for YOU…
Sustain your gastrointestinal tract, keeping it in good condition.
Assist in the digestion of food, harvesting calories and extracting vitamins and minerals.
Help you to maintain an appropriate appetite.
Keep your metabolism working at optimal speed so you effortlessly remain at an ideal weight.
Stimulate gut hormone release, slowing gastric emptying and small intestinal transit. Inhibit fat accumulation associated with obesity.
Metabolize nutrients.
Regulate your immune system: 70-80% of immune cells are located within your intestines.
Regulate neurotransmitters – one in particular – Serotonin which regulates your mood, appetite, sleep and gastrointestinal motility.
Produce Vitamins B & K – giving you an abundance of energy (Vit B) and keeping your capillaries healthy (Vit K)
Produce natural antibiotics – to ward o infections, colds and us etc.
REASON #2: When you Eat Plants You Can Eat MORE!!
And lose weight! Eating LESS and trying to DIET will leave you feeling hangry (hungry and angry) not a good combo The stress of watching ‘calories’ harms your Microbiome which can see you Putting on Weight! Aaaaggghhh! You see when you’re stressed it takes your body through a process. It sends a message to the brain to release cortisol – to get your body ready to take on the stress. Oh, and a side note, the brain doesn’t differ from a ‘real’ or ‘perceived’ threat. So just the action of you thinking about ‘dieting’ can cause the release of cortisol. So how does this cause weight gain? A number of ways but I’ll just cover a couple of the most relevant…
The release of Cortisol slows digestion by about a third. What this means is you don’t metabolize food properly. Lack of nutrient absorption equals the body producing more ‘hunger’ signals to the brain – making you ‘crave’ more food.
Cortisol is an inflammatory response. Inflammation is the opposite of fat-burning. More inflammation = increased weight.
Eating plants equals eating nutrients, that don’t stress your body, is the secret for sustainable health without ever having to restrict food again or go on another fad diet.
This leads me into my next reason…
REASON #3: Inclusion NOT exclusion.
While Vegetarian and Vegan diets are defined by what they exclude, eating PLANTS is defined by what it includes — lots of whole foods - plant foods! This means eating more veggies, fruits, beans, peas, lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
It’s no longer front page news that many of our nations are over-fed and undernourished from foods high in empty calories with little or no nutrition – leaving people ravished with hunger, and fatter as ever!
What this means for you? Your body needs 100% of nutrients – vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients (nutrients from plants), fibre, protein, fat (essential fatty acids omegas 3&6), carbohydrates (glucose for energy) etc. On the other side let’s look what happens when you eat a meal with meat, white rice a butter bun with a side of veggies. A meal – that frankly – is low in the body’s nutrient needs. And, has less than 60% of your body’s nutrient needs… Well, guess what? Your body is going to send you out to get more food to meet its nutrient requirements.
So, you eat more – another dinner roll, more meat, larger serving of rice… But, if you eat more of the same you’re going to keep eating and eating, craving and craving, until your body’s requirements are met. Unfortunately, by then you have a bulging waist-line! You see, the body needs nutrients for survival. Sorry to say, but it cares little about you or your waistline. So, if the body’s nutrient requirement is not met, then your body signals you to keep eating. Eating whole foods, predominantly plants… works incredibly well because the foods included are nutrient rich. They are whole, fresh, natural, vitamin and mineral-rich, chlorophyll-rich, antioxidant rich, anti-inflammatory delicious foods. The body is nourished and doesn’t need to send you out to get more food!
REASON #4: Drastically, Decreased Inflammation.
Eating predominantly whole foods, predominantly plants provides a significant reduction in body inflammation as they are naturally anti-inflammatory foods. Also when your Microbiome takes all this fibre and ferments it – it produces Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) that are your body’s anti-inflammatory workers. Anti (meaning, opposed to or against) – inflammation! I bet if I asked you right now to name the most inflammatory (worst) foods o the top of your head your list would look something like:
Sugar
Deep fried
Chips
Pizza
Cakes
Pastries
Processed meats
Chocolates
Alcohol
Trans fats
Coffee and so on…
And if you name the best ones, what would they be?
Vegetables
Fruit
Nuts and seeds
Beans and legumes
Whole grains
Eating whole foods, predominantly PLANTS gives your body the tools it needs to thrive means MORE of what your Microbiome needs to thrive. And thus naturally reduces the amount of inflammatory foods that you may be consuming, such as…
Meats/Processed meats
Dairy
Sugar (processed)
Processed foods, fried, packaged, ultra-processed
Alcohol
REASON #5: Common Sense – Its pretty simple.
I can’t imagine I am the only one who ever told to… “Eat your fruits and veggies” !!
There’s a very important, but simple reason for this… Sickness, Dis-ease, Illness in the body thrives in an environment that inflammatory.
Want to live a long, healthy, dis-ease free, ideal weight for life, LIFE style?
EAT whole PLANTS
How can you start incorporating more plants from today?
Firstly, buy one veg/fruit that you already enjoy, and make this routine to include into your meal plans this week. Example: lettuce leaf – add into smoothie, use it to wrap up hummus/veggies for lunch, use as a base to serve your taco fillings.
Secondly, think about adding-in plants during each meal. Typically have eggs/toast for brekkie? Try adding some sliced pineapple on the side, or strawberries.
Replace muffin time and opt instead for an apple and a handful of pistachios.
Take-Away Lunch? Ask for the veggie wrap/sandwich, swap the cheese for pesto or hummus.
Dinner showcases meat as the staple on your plate? Try flipping the balance by increasing the portion size of your veggies and replacing the meat with a veggie burger.
I hope this article helps you and your health.
If you want to know more about my programs that are designed to IMPROVE your Gut Health then head HERE or if you want to eat your way back to health — one meal at a time — check out my Gut Health Recipe Compendium. Nat xx