231: Plant-Based Nutrition | The Secret to a Longer and Healthier Life with Maya Acosta

[00:00:00] Health benefits associated with consuming vegetables: An additional two servings of different fruits and vegetables per week have been associated with an 8% reduction in type two diabetes. Sweet potatoes are a superfood, with the peel, having 10 times more antioxidants than the flesh. Consuming purple potatoes daily has been associated with a reduction of hypertension within a month.

[00:00:25] You have more power over your health than what you've been told. This is a Healthy Lifestyle Solutions podcast. I'm Maya Acosta and I'm passionate about finding healthy lifestyle solutions to support optimal human health. If you're willing to go with me together, we can discover how simple lifestyle choices can help improve our quality of life.

[00:00:48] And increase longevity in a big way. Let's get started. So in this week's episode, I'm diving into all things, plant-based nutrition friends. Before we move on to today's episode, I wanna remind you that I head to Houston next weekend for the Peaceful Planet Foundation's Annual Retreat that will be on October 8th.

[00:01:10] Doctors Chawla, who I featured last Tuesday are the co-founders of this foundation. I will be offering a nutrition workshop at the retreat. I also plan on attending yoga and meditation sessions, and you will find the link for the retreat in the show notes. I hope to see you there. So I was honored to have been invited by fellow podcaster and group leader Janet Gourand, to address her tribe on how they can thrive with whole plant-based foods.

[00:01:39] As a planned peer communities pod leader and wellness educator, I spend countless hours studying materials on the topic. The same goes for my podcast. . So like I said, it was my honor to present what I know about plant-based nutrition. I briefly spoke about the western diet and its role indices. I mentioned lessons from the blue zones and what they have in common, including a plant-forward diet.

[00:02:04] Finally, we looked deeper into the nutrient composition of plant-based foods versus animal-based foods, and how plant-based foods are more satiating and lower in calories. I will also share how I incorporate plant-based foods into my diet by using the Daily Dozen app. So I hope that you enjoy this talk.

[00:02:25] Stick around to the end to hear my summary of this episode. Hello everyone. My name is Maya Acosta. First of all, I wanna say thank you for inviting me to speak a little bit about what I know in terms of plant-based nutrition. And I started by educating my husband's patients on what they can do to improve their health, and I wanna help empower anyone who's willing to make lifestyle modifications to prevent and reverse disease.

[00:02:53] Our organization is called Plant-based DFW, and that's for Dallas Fort Worth. So we're here in Texas, a state known for meats and barbecues. The photos here on this slide reflect the support that we offer our community. In the past, we held lectures, potlucks, and food demos. We screened documentaries related to health, and we even walked with our community as part of the Walk with the Doc Organization.

[00:03:21] My husband, Dr. Rizwan Bukhari, is a vascular surgeon who treats advanced cardiovascular diseases, it's not uncommon for me to hear about cases, difficult cases that he treats, and me then experiencing the agony within, knowing that some of these conditions could have been prevented years ago. Aside from his busy schedule as a surgeon, he volunteers his time offering free lectures to anyone interested in learning how they can prevent the condition that he treats. He is board certified in vascular surgery and lifestyle medicine, and I'm his biggest cheerleader. I'm passionate about learning the latest evidence to support our patients and community. Here you can see me at a nutrition conference with pioneers in plant-based nutrition.

[00:04:07] As we move into the area of nutrition, I first wanna introduce you to the Blue Zones. These are areas worldwide where people live the longest without advanced diseases. They are thriving in their environments. In partnership with National Geographic, the leading researcher Dan Buettner, set out to locate places with high concentrations of people over 100 who went out with a team of medical researchers, anthropologists, dieticians, demographers, and epidemiologists, and he wanted to find the secrets to longevity. By 2009, five regions now known as the Blue Zones were identified. Auria, Greece, Okinawa, Japan, Sarnia Lo, Melinda, California, Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica were the five blue zones. Next, they decided to look at what these communities had in common, having a sense of community moving naturally in their environment, believing in.

[00:05:09] And eating a predominantly plant-based diet seemed to play a significant role in longevity. As I continue researching, I learned about the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and then the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine. These colleges train health professionals to educate their patients about plant-based nutrition.

[00:05:32] Exercise stress management, sleep building healthy relationships, and minimizing risky substances to prevent, halt and reverse disease. Patients can adopt evidence-based lifestyle modifications to take control of their health. And we were excited to learn that finally, these colleges were filling in the gap that is missing in medicine.

[00:05:55] So I wanna point now that one of the biggest pillars of lifestyle medicine is healthful eating, which means that they promote a predominantly plant-based diet. And this is set to help prevent, reverse and halt disease. Another thing that I wanna mention about lifestyle medicine is that they believe that minimizing the use of risky substances, such as tobacco and alcohol, are the best things for our health.

[00:06:22] And this is one reason that I'm excited about Tribe Sober because it promotes sobriety, which means we're one step closer to a healthy life. So Dr. Kim Williams, a former American College of Cardiology President once said, there are two kinds of cardiologists, vegans, and those who haven't read the data.

[00:06:44] And that's exactly true, that many physicians who are not on board with the plant-based lifestyle are simply not informed. They have not read the evidence behind the power of eating plant-based foods. However, there's much research out there. These are some books full of research that you might be interested in, but China Study is the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, and I recommend that you read it.

[00:07:10] It's full of science. And then we have Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, who wrote, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and basically was based on studies that he did with hard patients. He was able to reverse their disease for years. Experts like Dr. Michael Greger have told us why eating more plant-based foods is beneficial.

[00:07:30] He's also the creator of NutritionFacts.org, which is full of research and evidence on this topic. The standard Western diet is rich in processed foods, additives, preservatives, sugar, sodium, and oils that can harm our health. Cardiovascular disease affects us in so many areas of our health. In the states alone, there are 650,000 cardiac deaths, 140,000 strokes per year.

[00:07:58] 200,000 amputations every year. Dementia in the millions, impotence in the millions. Kidney failure cardiovascular disease is basically the number one cost of death and disease. So what is atherosclerosis? Well, this is the hardening of the arteries. It's plaque that has built up in the artery causing narrowing and blockages.

[00:08:23] So on the left side you see a slide that has a healthy artery where the blood can easily circulate throughout our bodies. On the right, we see a compromise artery for this individual. It's just a matter of time before an event occurs. Once you develop atherosclerosis, you are at a higher risk of developing all sorts of complications, heart attacks, strokes, limb loss, erectile dysfunction, and even death can resolve from these blockages.

[00:08:49] While many people still believe their chronic disease may be due to genes, studies show us that only. Five to maybe 10% of chronic diseases have a genetic component. The risk can be attributed to lifestyle. The World Health Organization declared processed meat as a Class one carcinogen, and yet people continue to feed these foods to their children.

[00:09:12] Then I learned that the World Health Organization declared alcohol in 1988 to also be harmful for our body. So what is the answer to these problems? Plant-based foods. Again, we talked about reversing heart disease. The work that Dr.Caldwell Esselstyn did in, basically patients who already had advanced diseases.

[00:09:36] And here you can see it's an angiogram. An example on the left, you can see the blockage in the artery. And then a little over two years later, you can see that by making simple lifestyle change, He was able to reverse the plaque that the patient had in his artery. But here's an image of the type of foods that we're talking about when we talk about whole Foods.

[00:10:00] We talk about foods that come from the ground that grow in trees, green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, cauliflower. So those are the cruciferous foods and all sorts of fruits that we encourage along with beans and whole grains. Let's look at the nutrient composition of plant-based foods versus animal-based foods, and this is per 500 calories of energy.

[00:10:25] I'm gonna skip to protein because that's the biggest concern that people have when they adopt a plant-based lifestyle. Now compare that to animal-based foods, and you have about the same amount of protein. So this is a widespread myth that we know is not true. All vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds contain protein.

[00:10:42] There is no such thing as an incomplete plant protein. So we know that amino acid are the building blocks that combined to form proteins, and on average we only need about 58 grams of protein every day. However, most people get more than enough. Protein in their diet, and then that can cause a strain on the kidney.

[00:11:04] Now let's look at cholesterol. So our main source of cholesterol comes from animal-based foods. All the meat, such as red meat and pork, and chicken have cholesterol, whereas you don't find any cholesterol in plant-based foods. Another thing that I think is important is dietary fiber, and you'll learn a little bit more when I go through the.

[00:11:25] Groups, you'll learn about the benefits of dietary fiber, but whereas people who mainly consume a Western diet will ask us, Where do you get your protein? We ask them, Where do you get your fiber? Because we know that we need fiber for many reasons. And like I said, we'll talk about that. Here is a slide that talks about the calorie density of various.

[00:11:48] Food groups, and let's look at that line in the middle, the red line in the middle, and all the foods to the left of that. And these are calories per pound. So the foods that are to the left of that are the whole plant-based foods that we recommend that you have in your diet. They are low in calories, but they are high in the level of nutrients.

[00:12:09] They are rich with phytonutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins, and they are the ones that you want in your diet on a regular basis. The foods to the right of that red line are the foods that are the highest and more calorie dense, but they also have less nutrition. So here we're looking at animal meats.

[00:12:31] We're also looking at whole processed starches, which can include vegan starchy foods or vegan processed foods. You have the sugars and the refined processed junk food. There's nuts and seeds and oil and fat. Now, we do recommend that you have a daily intake of nuts and seeds, but we also say have just a small amount that you can sprinkle on your salads or over your oatmeal so that you're not taking in too many calories.

[00:12:57] Here's another slide on the caloric density that gives you a be of visual of what I'm talking about. Fruits and vegetables being rich and nutrients, and also very satiating per 400 calories. All right. Here is the plant-based foods, and this is a slide from Kaiser Permanente. They encourage their employees to go plant-based because they know about the science.

[00:13:21] Before I talk about this slide, I wanna mention buddha bowls because I've done a presentation on how to use a Buddha Bowl to incorporate all the food groups that we're talking about, but also how it's just used to simplify how we prepare foods. Rather than focusing on creating one new recipe every day, just focus on making sure that you.

[00:13:41] The necessary foods on your plate. So for example, here in this image, you see that half of the plate is comprised of non-starchy vegetables, and this includes carrots, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, green beans, pepper, zucchini, onions, all sorts of green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce. That's half of the plate.

[00:14:02] And the plate can look however you want, but just make sure you have all those ingredients on half of your plate. And then a quarter of your plate can be plant-based sources. Of proteins such as cooked beans, lentils, tofu. I now eat chickpeas almost every day. I put chickpeas on almost anything over a potato, over a salad, in a soup with chickpea and barley.

[00:14:26] So you can make all sorts of combinations. It doesn't have to look exactly like this, and then the other quarter of your plate, you wanna have those whole grains that we're talking about now. These are the foods that are going to sustain you, that are going to make you feel satisfied so that you're not hungry.

[00:14:44] So you want foods like brown rice and whole wheat pasta, quinoa, bulgar, corn piece, barley, pharaoh, amaranth. You can also do whole grain bread. Or two corn tortillas or a whole wheat tortilla. Just make sure that you read the labels because sometimes corn tortillas have added oil. We also advocate for fruits, and we'll talk about the benefits of eating fruits, but those can be eaten as snacks or as a morning breakfast.

[00:15:13] Dr. Michael Greger has made it easier for us. He developed an app called The Daily Dozen, which includes these food groups. Uh, we are talking. He also adds the importance of drinking water and exercising. This app you can download free of charge. And also when you go through each of the categories, not only are you able to check off your daily intake, but you can see videos on each of the food groups and you can learn more about the benefits of all of these foods.

[00:15:43] To break down each of these 10 food groups found in the Daily Dozen. I'm gonna go through each one, kind of describe the different types and servings along with how you can add 'em to meals, and then what the health benefits are. So I hope that this will be beneficial to you. I'm a visual person, so therefore I try to find as many images as I could to reflect what we mean by beans, Also known as legumes.

[00:16:10] So black beans have become my favorite, along with cannellini beans and chickpeas and edamame. So there are great northern beans and kidney beans and lentils, and you're just recommended to eat about three servings of half a cup of cooked beans every day. You could also have it in the form of a hummus or a bean dish.

[00:16:29] You can eat a cup of fresh peas or sprouted lentils, but you can learn all that in the app. Basically add beans to your soups, to your salads. I add chickpeas on top of my salads or have a bean burrito, or like I said, make a spread. So the benefits of eating beans include having high amino acids, which combined.

[00:16:51] Proteins and help build muscle fiber is very satiating, and beans are rich in fiber. You will feel fuller and thus prevent overeating. As a result, this will contribute to weight loss. Beans help regulate blood sugar. There's a thing called the lentil effect, which means that hours after consuming a Serena bean, Your blood sugars remained leveled, which means that beans are very good for our health.

[00:17:19] They also have prebiotics which help the healthy gut bacteria. They help lower high cholesterol levels, and they help also with high blood pressure. You have a reduced risk of heart attack, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems, grains. And in this category, we're talking about amaranth and barley, brown rice.

[00:17:40] Buckwheat, millet, oats, quinoa, rye, sorghum, tef, whole wheat pasta, wild rice. And it's recommended that you have three servings of only half a cup of cooked grains. It could be also whole wheat pasta, and this is where I say you can have a lot of fun by creating bud portables because your grains can be the foundation of a Buddha bowl, and then you can top them with the rest of the ingredients that we'll talk here are the health benefits to consuming grains. A 2015 analysis found that people who eat more whole grains tend to live longer. A diet rich and whole grains can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Type two diabetes, obesity, and strokes and literature points out that if the world population ate more whole grains, more than a million.

[00:18:31] Would be saved each year. The soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol and reduce blood sugars. Also helps keep you fuller, like I've mentioned, which can contribute to weight loss. Also, something that I learned when I came into this way of eating is that the pigmented colors in the grains indicate greater amounts.

[00:18:52] Antioxidants. So when possible, pig red quinoa over white quinoa, blue corn over yellow corn, and of course yellow corn over white corn, red, purple, and black rices have five times more antioxidants than brown rice. As a matter of fact, I now keep what is called the forbidden rice, the black rice in my home because I've learned about how powerful it is.

[00:19:18] Greens. These green leafy vegetables include arugula, be greens, collared greens, kale, young salad, greens, mustard greens, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnip greens. And you wanna consume about two cups of raw greens or one cup of cooked greens. And so this is again, where you can create a fun bootable where you have a foundation of your grains, add a little bit of legumes, and then.

[00:19:46] A little bit of your greens to make sure that you're getting all this nutrition in there. So green leaf vegetables are among the healthiest foods on the planet, and they are packed with nutrients rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber. The antioxidants and green leaf vegetables can fight free radicals that are depleting your arteries of nitric oxide.

[00:20:08] And remember the researcher, the scientists that I told you about, that reverse heart disease. So he was prescribing six servings of green leafy vegetables to his patients. These contain high levels of nitrates, which when chewed and ingested convert into nitric oxide. So eating green vegetables are associated with reduced rates of heart disease and longer lifespan, and so you want that nitric oxide to support your arteries.

[00:20:36] You'll also see improved high blood pressure, improved athletic performance, and reduce cancer risk carcinogens as a result of the nitric oxide vegetables. So many vegetables that are included in this category. Unless, like we spoke about, you have food allergies, but artichokes as. Verus beads, bell peppers, carrots, corn, garlic, mushrooms, okra, onions, purple potatoes and pumpkin, sea vegetables, snap peas, squash, sweet potatoes, yams, tomatoes, zucchini.

[00:21:08] So it's recommended that you have two servings of one cup of raw leafy vegetables or half a cup of raw or cooked vegetables. These are pretty easy to consume. Steaming your vegetables or you're roasting your vegetables, and then you can put them on your bootable. You can also eat 'em raw vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, celeries, peas, tomatoes, they're delicious.

[00:21:33] You can try roasting asparagus, beets, purple potatoes, and zucchini health. Benefits associated with consuming vegetables in additional two servings of different fruits and vegetables per week have been associated with an 8% reduction in type two diabetes. So mushrooms contain ergo, which can actually penetrate the mitochondrial membrane and behave like a cell protector against free radical damage.

[00:22:00] Oyster mushrooms have the highest concentration. Sweet potatoes, which happen to be one of my favorite vegetables, are a superfood. With peel having 10 times more antioxidants than the flesh consuming purple potatoes daily has been associated with a reduction of hypertension within a month. Cruciferous.

[00:22:22] Foods like arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, colored greens, horse radish, kale, mushroom or mustard greens, radishes, turnip greens, and water crest. So daily recommendations. For cruciferous vegetables would include half a cup of chopped cruciferous vegetables or a quarter of a cup of Brussels or broccoli sprouts.

[00:22:48] So if you're sprouting your own vegetables, you only need about half a cup or one tablespoon of horse radish. Here are some ideas as to how you can prepare your cruciferous vegetables. You can roast them, so roasting, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, or with spices can be delicious for a salad you can add kale, arugula, water crest, and radishes.

[00:23:13] Soups, Bok Choy is delicious in a soup, shredded cabbage, collared greens, mustard greens, turnip greens. And for smoothies, you can add kale or arugula for added benefits. Now, these are great for the heart due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. Purple cabbage has nearly three times more the antioxidant power than blueberries, and Sulforaphane is a compound that develops in cruciferous vegetables 40 minutes after you chop them up.

[00:23:45] Sulforaphane helps protect the brain, the eye. It reduces nasal allergy inflammation and manages type two diabetes. Cal is the queen of greens, is very effective in reducing bad LDL cholesterol while boosting good HDL cholesterol. In a study of 30 men, Cruciferous vegetables provide an immune boost to protect us against pathogens found in food and against environmental pollutants.

[00:24:13] And like I say, make sure that you chop your broccoli about 40 minutes before you consume them so that you have a great formation of Sulforaphane. In terms of herbs and spices, there's an entire array of spices that you can add to your kitchen. And let me tell you, I've never consumed. Spices like I do today. And if you were in my kitchen, you'd be amazed by all the colors that I have.

[00:24:38] I have basal and bay leaves. You can add allspice and card chili, powder, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry powder, Dale, fenugreek. Garlic, ginger, horseradish, lemon grass, mustard powder, nutmeg, oregano, smoke paprika, parsley, pepper, peppermint, rosemary, saffron, sage, turmeric, and vanilla. If you happen to have a small garden where you're growing some of these herbs, you are blessed because you can add these ingredients like the parsley and the rosemary into your dishes as you.

[00:25:12] Now, a daily serving of a quarter of a teaspoon of turmeric is recommended because of its health benefits. And as you know, many of these herbs and spices can be added to smoothies, soups, and vegetables, or just even to flavor foods like eggplant or mushrooms. Some of the benefits that you'll find is, for example, consuming turmeric with soy may help osteoarthritis suffer.

[00:25:39] Cayenne is great for headaches and it's also a vasodilator. Ginger helps with migraines, menstrual cramps, and anti-nausea. Pepperman has the most antioxidant power of all herbs and is good for colon health. Clothes has the most antioxidant power of all spices. Rosemary's good for brain health and saffron can help alleviate depression.

[00:26:06] Now, I have found that the foods that I cook the most with a lot of spices tend to be Indian Pakistani dishes that my husband has taught me. And this is where. Full use of many of these ingredients like cayenne and ginger. We add garlic of course, and then cumin and saffron. So you might wanna look into some of these beautiful and delicious meals where you can add a host of spices, Berries, this is the one category that I encourage people to purchase organic, if possible.

[00:26:40] Especially here in the States, many of our foods are sprayed with pesticides. But let me start by saying that these are easy foods to consume. So acai berries and blackberries and blueberries, cherries, concord, grapes fall in this category. Cranberries Goji Berries, cumquat, raspberries, and strawberries.

[00:27:01] A daily serving of half a cup of either fresh or frozen berries is recommended, and if you will have them dry only a coder of a cup of dried berries is recommended daily, and you can sprinkle those over your oatmeal, your salads, put 'em in a fruit bowl. If they're frozen, you can simply put 'em in your smoothie or just enjoy a handful of fresh berries as a snack.

[00:27:25] The benefits to consuming berries daily is that they're packed with fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. They are the king in the fruit category. Regular consumption of berries lowers the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and they contend 10 times more antioxidants than any other. Or vegetable.

[00:27:46] We're looking at the units of antioxidants. Let me just explain what you would be looking at. Strawberries containing 310 units of antioxidants. Power per cup, cranberries would be at 310. Raspberries at 350. Blueberries at 380, and blackberries at 650. Deep blue, black, purple, and red colors. The antioxidants called anthocyanin are believed to increase longevity cardiovascular health and prevent cancer, as well as improved dementia as I eat berries I have 10 times more antioxidant power than common fruits and goji berries ranked third highest in antioxidant capacity of all the dried fruit. Speaking of fruit, we recommend that you eat fruit on a regular basis. Only three medium fruits or three cups of chopped fruit, or if you're gonna have dried fruit only.

[00:28:46] Three-quarters of a cup of dried fruit on a daily basis. So we're used to like apples and bananas or maybe oranges. But I invite you to explore other fruits that are not in your diet regularly, like cantaloupe dates. Are very beneficial and they are a natural sweetener that you can use for other dishes, Figs and honey, dew and kiwi, grapefruit, lemons or limes, Leche or leis, and mangoes, which are one of the most powerful foods when it comes to antioxidants.

[00:29:18] Papayas are so beneficial for the digestive system. Peaches, pairs, pineapples, plums, pomegranates. That's one thing that I enjoy having regularly and watermelon. So again, you can have fruit in the morning or at the fruit to your oatmeal, like berries and bananas, and apples can be added. Or Adam, on top of your large green leafy salad, here's some health benefits, having more fruit in your life.

[00:29:45] So the fiber, again, can help with digestion. They help move things along, bind to LDL, they help lower cholesterol. They help balance insulin levels and prevent sugar spikes. Watermelon is not only hydrating, but high in antioxidants, and it contains a. High amount of ci, which helps dilate blood vessels, pomegranate seeds, they're high in antioxidants, which protect the body against inflammation and free radical damage.

[00:30:14] One kiwi a day can help provide a lower risk of stroke, blood clots, and cardiovascular diseases. Papayas, which we eat as often as we can, have a digestive enzyme called Papain, which aids in digestion and it reduces inflammation, and mangoes are probably my favorite, if not in the top five fruits that I enjoy.

[00:30:38] They contain high amounts of pectin, which can help lower cholesterol levels. They help lower blood pressure levels, and they reduce the risk of heart disease. Nuts and seeds. Again, I invite you to explore outside of the typical things that you have. Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashew, chia seeds, hazel nuts, ham seeds, macadamian nuts, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts.

[00:31:07] I did. Say in the calorie density slide, that nuts and seeds are high in terms of calories, so we only recommend that you have every day about a quarter of a cup, and you can add these. You can add the nuts and seeds to your salads, your smoothies, your soups. You can even make a sauce. As a matter of fact, in place of an Alfredo sauce, I make a sauce with cashew.

[00:31:30] One cup of unsalted, not roasted cashews. I blend in a power blender with one cup of water, and that makes about two cups of what I call Alfredo sauce, and I use it over my pasta and you can get real creative. I make a nice potato soup with it, so it takes the place of dairy. Some of the health benefits to having more nuts and seeds in your diet is that you can expand your life by two years by simply eating a handful of nuts.

[00:32:02] So five days a week or more, according to Dr. Michael Greger. The walnuts have the highest antioxidant and omega-3 levels all the nuts. You can still make like blueberry muffins with the right ingredients and add walnuts, for example, and still get the benefits of that. Another one is the pecans. The USDA includes pecans in the list of top 20 foods for antioxidants.

[00:32:28] Capacity. Well, we're talking about nuts and seeds. I mentioned that flax seeds and chia seeds are great sources of omega threes. So if you're concerned about where you will get those, add 'em to your salads, add 'em to your smoothies so that you're covering the area of omega threes. Speaking of flax seeds, a daily amount of one.

[00:32:49] Pluto ground flax seeds are recommended. And so you see in this slide that mainly the flax seeds are whole. You wanna grind them. Many people use a coffee grinder and that will release its availability when you're consuming them. And you can sprinkle flax seeds on your oatmeal over your salads, over your soups.

[00:33:11] They also make flax bars, crackers, and snacks. Ground flax seeds are a great substitute for eggs and a recipes so that you can still continue to bake using this. Another good egg replacer is the liquid found in the can of chickpeas, and that's called Aquafaba, so you can use that in place of an. Flax seeds are a gray source of Omega three fatty acids.

[00:33:36] They are rich in ants, which contain 100 times more ants than any other food. So the Phyto estrogens behave like estrogen and attach or bind to the estrogen receptors, preventing the absorption of excess estrogen, which can cause painful breast or menstruation, and a host of other problems. So we know that less estrogen means reduced risk of breast cancer. Flax seeds can be just as effective in treating hypertension, but with positive side effects. Here are some delightful photos of what these daily dozen foods look like in a meal. So rather than thinking of the food groups as being separate, let's see how we can combine 'em. So here you have an Asai bowl, so you know that Asai or some people pronounce it, Asai, is a berry.

[00:34:27] One of the riches in antioxidants and it's. Smoothie bowl, you top it with kiwi. Bananas, you have, it looks like a cow, chips, and then other nuts in there. That is a chia pudding. Chia needs to be soaked for a few minutes for it to fully absorb and expand, and then it actually helps to satisfy you so you're not left feeling hungry.

[00:34:51] All right, here's another one. So in terms of a breakfast, what we have on the left-hand side is sort of like a scrambled egg. You have tofu as the main component along with cauliflower and vegetables, and the, the beautiful color that you see comes as a result of the turmeric spice, which we try to add to soups and tofu eggs.

[00:35:13] You can still have toast as long as this whole wheat and the pancakes are even whole, so you can have that. Or a burrito and burritos are my favorite. So it could be a brown rice and black bean burrito filled with other vegetables. So the tortilla is a whole wheat tortilla. All right. Potatoes are one of our favorite meals, and so you can still have a white potato, a sweet potato, a purple potato, and instead of putting cheese and bacon and sour cream on top, you can add a variety of different sauces and flavors and add, This is like a chickpea masala that's added on top of this potato.

[00:35:51] You can still have burgers if you like, burgers or sandwiches, but now you're having the healthier alternatives, and so this is a vegetable patty. We try to recommend people stay away from the fake vegan foods because they're still loaded. With all sorts of additives, preservatives, and fat. This is sort of what I would call a buddha bowl.

[00:36:11] So here you have a wonderful combination of all these food groups. You have the grains, you have the legumes, you have a little bit of fat with the avocado, you have bok choy greens. And then back there you have radishes, which we said that's a cruciferous and then you have the vegetable, like the carrot.

[00:36:29] You can still have pizza and make it a cauliflower crust, which we have on a regular basis. We don't advise that you put oil on top, but you can do all sorts of things. You can still have the pizza sauce on top of your cauliflower, and you can top it with all sorts of vegetables. What I like on my pizza are jalapenos, and I like artichoke, and I like mushrooms and tomatoes and onion and all sorts of things, and you can still make it delicious.

[00:36:58] We still recommend stir fries and noodles if you'd like, but just avoiding the use of oils or minimizing your use of oils and adding other flavors and spices so that you're not using dressings that are loaded with oil. Here's another example of what you can either consider bootable or a beautiful salad and hummus made outta chickpeas.

[00:37:20] When you make it at home, it's even healthier because you don't have to use the amount of oil that most commercial restaurants or kitchens use and see. You can have a variety of different vegetables like the tomatoes and chives and carrots. All right, More use of chickpeas and beautiful. And then when you see on the right-hand side are microgreens, and we spoke about microgreen size being some of the richest nutrient-dense foods that you can have on the planet.

[00:37:48] So if you are able to sprout at home and grow your micro grain, You are having. Not only are you saving money and not having to worry about whether your green, leafy vegetables will spoil in the refrigerator or how expensive they are, you can simply make micro greens, which take about seven to 10 days to grow, and then rotate them out so that you're always having them available to you.

[00:38:11] So here's some examples of healthy snacks that you can have. You can make your own. There are lots of recipes on the internet and I'm gonna give you a website. So we've come to the end of our presentation. So I put this slide out because my husband often uses it in his conversations, in his lectures, and you see that there's a gorilla.

[00:38:31] He makes a statement saying, Yes, I am vegan. Will you like to discuss where I get my protein? So like any other significant life change, people will ask many questions. Change can be challenging due. Family dynamics and traditions, it can also be difficult because of the marketing that is all around us on magazines, television shows, everywhere we go, we're told to consume the unhealthy foods.

[00:38:58] I wanna remind you that our Tribe Sober. You know that the key to creating change is to remain connected, to find support, and to do the work. So being prepared is just as important. We teach people how to do groceries, how to meal plan, and how to make simple dishes so that they can thrive in life by making these healthy decisions so that these changes can be sustainable.

[00:39:23] All right, so once again, here are some of the recommended books that I think you'll enjoy. Blue Zones, How Not To Die. I mentioned the China Study, Preventing Reverse Disease, and also we're going into the month of Breast Cancer Awareness month. I wanted to mention Dr. Kristi Funk’s book. It's titled Breasts the Owner's Manual.

[00:39:44] Dr. Funk is known for heaven-treated Angelina Jolie when she discovered that she had the gene mutation that puts her at a higher risk for breast cancer. And Dr. Funk now understands this way of living. She now understands lifestyle medicine and the power of plant-based nutrition, and this is a wonderful guide for every woman.

[00:40:06] I think every woman should have. Book. She talks about lifestyle as well. She discourages alcohol consumption. She encourages exercise, and she goes into detail about nutrition. She also helps to advise women about their risk modifiable and non-modifiable risks. Of breast cancer, and if you do have the BRCA one or BRCA two mutation, she helps to give you advice as to what you should do about that.

[00:40:34] All right. This is another great book, The Pleasure Trap, which I highly recommend, and once you read this book, you understand why change is difficult. Also, as Tribe Sober, you will understand how we've been marketed to and how scientists go out of their way to make sure that the foods that are rich. And Tasty are the ones that are also addicting, and we will continue to purchase them.

[00:40:59] So this will put power back into your hands by understanding that we are wired to seek the highest amount of nutrition for the least amount of effort, which means that we're programmed to eat those junk foods. That's how we were wired to be. However, by understanding the psychology behind all of this and the physiological changes of how everything happens in our body and when we eat certain foods, you will understand that you have power to create that change.

[00:41:27] Finally, this is a great website that I recommend to everyone. It's actually based off a documentary called Forks Over Knives. If you haven't seen it, you might still be able to find it. Actually, it's found on the, for. Overnights website, and I think you can rent it for about 3.99. And it's the movie that changed many lives, that raised awareness about how we can actually change our biometrics in seven to 10 days by making these healthy lifestyle changes.

[00:41:56] So people have seen their cholesterol go down, their hypertension improve, their diabetes improve, and of course they experience weight loss. So I recommend that you watch the document. This is where you're gonna find lots of recipes. You can simply do a search according to the type of food you like. So if you like potatoes or if you like pasta, or if you like noodles, look at that and you'll get a list of recipes and then all the ingredients you can put 'em in your shopping list and even use the app to do groceries.

[00:42:26] I just wanna add that we are creatures of habit, and in general, we only eat about nine, eight to nine meals consistently. And if you. The food site you eat on a regular basis, you're probably gonna see that you like the same meals over and over again. So I advise you not to go too much outta your way in terms of collecting new recipes.

[00:42:48] Just find the foods that you really like and improve them. Find better versions of them. So Forks Over Knives has the website, the recipes are on the website, or you can download the app for a one-time fee, I think of 4.99. All right. And then finally, I am the host of the Healthy Lifestyle Solutions podcast.

[00:43:06] I'm available on all apps where you can listen to podcasts, and this is what I do on my podcast. I invite health professionals that are trained in lifestyle medicine to come and speak to my audience, to my listeners. So we talk about heart disease, we talk about breast cancer, we talk about type two diabetes.

[00:43:27] We talk about weight issues, mental health issues, disordered eating. These are all the topics that are important to me to support people. And sometimes I have testimonies so people come on and they tell me their health improvements that they've witnessed, and those are probably one of the most motivating conversations that I have are when people come and share how they have improved their health.

[00:43:49] Or how they have reversed disease. So this is a plant-based nutrition quick start guide that was provided to us by the Plant Nutrition Project. I can make it available and give you a free copy. If you just click on this link, it's bit.ly/vegstarter, or I can email you a copy. Simply email me.

[00:44:10] At plantbasedmayagmail.com and I'm gonna give you a copy of this guide because it tells you everything from what staples you should have in your pantry to how to do groceries, to how to store foods in your refrigerator. And it helps answer concerns as to where do you get your protein. Where do you get your calcium?

[00:44:31] So I find it to be a great resource. Friends, I wanna thank you once again for allowing me to speak about what I'm passionate about, which is to share resources for people who wanna take control of their health. And so again, you can find me on healthylifestylesolutions.org. Thank you, friends. I hope that you enjoyed this presentation.

[00:44:52] When it comes to plant-based nutrition, there is a lot of misinformation out there. People often think that they will not get enough protein or that they have to give up their favorite foods. However, this could not be further from the truth. Plant-based diets are not only healthy. But they can help to prevent in reverse disease.

[00:45:11] Plant-based foods contain nutrients that are essential for our health. These include antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber. In addition, plant-based diets help lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure. They can also help to regulate blood sugar levels. So incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet is an excellent start towards improving your health.

[00:45:34] It may take some time to adjust. If you're not used to eating a plant-based diet, start by slowly incorporating more fruits and vegetables along with whole grains in your meals. Try adding beans to soups and salads. You may also try meatless Mondays where you eat no meat or animal products for one day.

[00:45:53] Each week as you make these changes, you'll find that your taste buds change and you crave unhealthy foods. I'd love to hear how you apply plan-based foods to your diet. Again, you can grab a copy of the vegetarian starter kit by going to the following link, and that's bit.ly/vegstarter.

[00:46:16] Leave me a comment on how it went for you or drop me any questions that you want me to answer. And as always, my friends, thank you for listening. You've been listening to the Healthy Lifestyle Solutions Podcast with your host Maya, if you've enjoyed this podcast, do us a favor and share with one friend who can benefit from this episode.

[00:46:37] Feel free to leave us an honest review on Apple Podcast that helps us to spread our message. Thanks for listening.