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Day 55: 10 reasons I should eat more plants



Hey, I’m on a roll. 10 things I like about my body, about exercise, why not about eating right?

Way back in the first week of #100DaysofHealth, I set up my philosophy on eating during this time as, “Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants” (which I stole directly from Michael Pollen, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma).


I’d say that I’ve done just that for the majority of the 55 days leading up to this post—but there have been times (right now is one of them) wherein the lure of the meats and sweets has had me in that state of mind that says, “Well, I’ve already blown it for today, so might as well go nuts”.

I still have a LOT of trouble staying with the ‘not too much, mostly plants’ resolution when I’m out of town, and ESPECIALLY when I’m out of town with others as I was this week. The constant interaction required in events that I run, or in conference-type situations, stresses me quite a bit, and my reaction to stress can still be summed up as “eat and drink it away”.

The funny thing is, when at home, I actually LIKE food that’s good for me. Vegetables, especially when prepared in unusual ways and combinations, are amongst my favorite comestibles. Certain fruits (ripe watermelon and cherries) are my go-to sweets. I don’t have the handicap that some people do that I have to force myself to down green things.

Nonetheless, the call of high-cal, low-nutrient food groups is strong. So here’s my list of the 10 best reasons NOT to listen to their siren song:

1.       No animals have to die to put a vegetable on my plate. I love animals, and I wish there were a way to eat them without making them stare death in the face. Every veggie I eat takes a place on my plate away from a cow or pig or lamb
2.       It’s the rare fruit or vegetable that you can eat enough of to cause diabetes. I guess some would make an argument for potatoes being a danger, and I imagine that if all you ate was mangos or beets you might be in trouble, but in general, this isn’t the food group that causes problems. The more of it that’s on my plate, the less room there is for bread and cake and sugar and other problematic items
3.       Ditto cholesterol.
4.       Ditto, for that matter, weight. Who gets fat eating fruits and vegetables? Can you even imagine how much you’d have to put away to get or stay fat?
5.       They’re cheap
6.       They’re as easy or hard to prepare as you make them
7.       They’re full of fiber. One of my friends recently had a bout with diverticulitis, which I understand is caused by a lack of fiber. Having seen the results of that, I’ll pass. Fiber is also an important mechanism for ridding the body of cholesterol. And then there’s the other thing it does. I’m all for fiber.
8.       They have a lot more nutrients than meat and grains. I think that we’re eventually going to find out that most supplements are incomplete and hard for the body to absorb. We evolved to get what we needed from our food, and a lot of that stuff comes only from fruits and vegetables.
9.       I never feel crappy after eating plants, the way I do after eating carbs.
10.   It’s almost impossible to over-eat them.

Yay plants.

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