One of the best things about converting to plant-based eating is that you can get immediate positive results. When I do corporate presentations, I always stress what can happen immediately (within 3-5 days) because it gets you to take immediate action.
For example, there was a gentleman I was having a conversation with who has inflammatory bowel disease. After about an hour of conversation, I got him to commit to simply eating more salads and fruit. The drugs he was taking helped, but they had side effects. He took my advice, and in two days, he said he felt unbelievably better. I stressed to him it wasn’t magic, just nature doing what it’s designed to do—help the body heal itself.
That said, there are plenty of long-term results that people may get due to plant-based eating. However, when I talk about preventing cancer, heart disease and autoimmune diseases—all long-term results—my audience isn’t as motivated to make a change. It’s hard to feel or imagine the devastation from something you’re not struggling with in the moment. So, purely to get people motivated right now, I’ve identified 10 immediate results you may get from plant-based eating.
Here are my top three to get you started:
Clearer skin.
I’ve always believed that most skin conditions can be cured from the inside out. I’ve had clients with eczema who go to the doctor religiously to get topical treatments to help control it, but not cure it. Unfortunately, they’ve been frustrated for years. On the other hand, I’ve had clients that knocked it out with the inside out approach. One function of the skin is to eliminate toxicity. By simply putting fewer toxic foods in your body, you reduce the amount of toxins to be eliminated from the body that cause skin disruptions.
Weight loss.
The key to losing weight is putting more micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) dense food into the body. The problem we have in this country is that we put more calorie-dense foods in the body that are deficient of micronutrients. Focusing on proteins, carbs and fats doesn’t work, especially with the rates of obesity we’re experiencing. However, the solution to micronutrient deficiency in our diets is simple. It just so happens that vegetables are the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, and they’re low in calories.
Years ago, I used to go to Whole Foods, and they had ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index) chart ratings in the fresh produce section. Looking at the ANDI chart, you’d see that the top nutrient-dense foods are all vegetables. So simply by eating more veggies, you can eat a greater volume of food, ingest more vitamins and minerals, reduce your caloric intake and, subsequently, lose weight without starving yourself.
Constipation relief.
By eating the typical American diet, rife with processed food and meat products, you miss out on one of the most important nutrients necessary for optimal health: fiber. Superior digestion will be your saving grace for optimal health as you age. Increased fiber intake moves food through your digestive tract and helps you eliminate waste more efficiently, which gives you the digestion relief you may have been searching for.
That said, greater fiber consumption is best achieved through eating more fresh produce, which your body is designed perfectly to digest. The effects of OTC drugs and/or supplements pale in comparison to fresh produce. By simply consuming fresh salads and fruits on a daily basis, your constipation problems will begin to dissipate.
