A nutritional therapist that dislikes “plant-based” diets? Really! But, it isn’t the concept that I dislike, it is the phrase and what it has come to mean. My view is we should aim for “plant-rich” diets instead.
A plant-based diet has long been heralded as the ideal to aim for. The diet that best supports everyone’s health. It is high in foods sourced from plants and low in foods sourced from animals. Sounds great so far, especially for the gut! However, the term has also become a buzzword and synonymous with veganism. That isn’t it’s meaning. You can be “plant-based” without being vegan. The original concept simply means that the majority of the food you eat is from plants – it doesn’t mean that you have to completely exclude animal products (although you may choose to).
Most concerningly to me, plant-based has become marketing speak to convince people that ultra-processed, nutrient poor foods are ‘good for you’ because at some point the ingredients were extracted from a plant. There’s nothing recognisable as a plant in the food, and there are many ingredients in a large proportion of them that you wouldn’t be able to find in the shops. The manufactured item may be convenient and it may have the right buzzwords on the packaging, but it doesn’t make the product good for you. A year or so ago (I’ve lost track), I joined a conference looking at increasing the fibre content of foods to support health. Great! Well, I thought it would be. Instead of encouraging the use of wholefoods, it was simply about encouraging manufacturers to add a single type of fibre to their products. That does not make a food good for you! It is sad that the food and health industry sees this as a way to improve diets – fortification. Artificially adding nutrients to a product made by stripping the nutrients from its base ingredients.
Let’s go back to the original meaning of plant-based diets. A diet that is based on plants. Whole plants; recognisable plants (OK you might put them in a blender for some meals and snacks but they are recognisable as a whole food ingredient up to that point!). In other words, a diet that is rich in plants. Plant foods that still contain their nutrients and health benefits. Plants that add natural colour to your plate enabling you to ‘eat a rainbow’. Plant foods that you may be able to grow in your garden or window box. The term ‘rich in plants’ emphasises that it does not remove animal sourced foods from the diet, which may encourage more people to adopt the dietary approach.
In terms of marketing. I think using the phrase “rich-in” over “based-on” would also require the plants to still be present in the food, rather than their derivatives.
So, my soapbox time is over. Are you ready to enjoy a plant-rich diet? Why not give it a go? Start off gradually adding a portion of fruit or veg to each meal until you are able to eat 2-fruit and 5-veg portions each day (remember no matter how much fruit juice you drink it will still only count as one portion, which is 150ml). Adding too much, too quickly may cause you some digestive discomfort. Once you’ve increased your intake, start to think about variety. Don’t waste any fresh veggies on this quest, but eating a variety of plant foods over the course of a week will help to boost your nutrient intake further – and keep your plant rich diet more interesting.
