Benefits of a Plant Based Diet

I know I query my patients every year on eating a whole food, natural food, diet.  I query to excess.  But the reason is that diet is of prime importance to our health, longevity, even happiness and quality of life.  We all know this is logical and true, and we know processed foods and meats are detrimental.  If I go one step further and suggest adopting a plant-based, natural food program with no animal products, I am surprised to be met with a majority of resistance.  Many people do not want to change their diet and favorite foods that may be unhealthy.  But there is a majority of people who are not aware of the benefits of good food and the hazards of harmful food.

Regarding women’s health, I am asked every day about hot flushes.  From studies, they last about 15 years, and they decrease but never go away.  Hormones can eliminate flushes.  But another thing that almost eliminates them is a plant based diet with soybeans and no animal products.  This particular diet  decreases moderate to severe flushes by 85% and 60% of women have no hot flushes.  Soybeans are protective: they can decrease breast and prostate cancers, they act as any vegetable that can decrease cholesterol and they are heart healthy.

The plant based diet can be used to ease endometriosis and menstrual pains and bleeding.  There are many studies showing the benefits of plant based, no animal product diet helping menstrual issues, though few women are told this by their doctors and even nutritionists.  I suggest it to many women, and the few who have adopted the diet have had significant results.

Here are a few facts:  Dairy increases breast and prostate cancer significantly.  Alcohol increases breast cancer significantly, starting with 3 servings per week, and alcohol increases dementia.  Eliminating dairy and alcohol would decrease breast cancer by at least 30 to 60% in women.  Many people do not know that processed meats are a class 1 carcinogen, known to cause cancer: bacon, sausage, ham, deli meats, etc.  Animal products are transformed in the body to substances that cause cancer and heart disease. 

Diet changes are not instant, it is an ongoing thought process.  As I work with people with these changes, it usually occurs slowly, but those who go toward a plant based diet notice significant benefits, not just in women’s health, but for the entire body.  Start your transformation today!

Author

Karen E Kennedy MD Gynecologist for over 21 years in Gulf Breeze, FL, caring for patients in the Florida panhandle area.