CARNIVORE ? VEGAN ? A BLEND OF BOTH ?
How often do you see the term “ Plant-Based ” now-a-days ?
It seems like 20 years ago it was not a very popular practice for the mainstream to be charmed by a plant-based diet . But in the recent years , there has been a huge movement trying to promote a plantbased diet and neglecting animal-based foods . Is it just a fad ? Is the hype true ? Is one healthier over the other ?
These are all questions that many people ask , so let ’ s see what the research says .
A plant-based diet , also at times referred to as a vegetarian diet , is a diet that consists of abstaining from foods that have meat and limits other animal products as well . Some people will find it okay to consume products that come from animals like cheese , eggs , and milk and mainly abstain from the actual animal flesh .
There are also those who choose to abstain from all animal by-products . These people follow a diet that is referred to as the “ Vegan ” diet . These individuals will not have anything that comes from an animal like cheese or eggs for example .
Now , why has there been such a big movement to eat plant-based foods in the recent years ? Plantbased diets have been around for thousands of years . Certain Indian communities have been basing their diet around plant-based foods since before Christ . I will not go into the detailed history of plant-based diets . What I will mention is that since the 1970 ’ s , it started gaining popularity in North America . When the 21st century came , a lot more people were making the switch .
Some of the main reasons why we see individuals switching over to a plant-based diet are because of the potential health benefits of avoiding animal foods . Many people claim that due to the acidic nature of meat on our system that we are much better off focusing on more alkalizing foods on our bodies . Others prefer to follow a plant-based diet as their conscience bothers them on how animals are treated in commercial mass farming .
Another main reason that many by Juan people Rojas feel the need for a plant-based diet is to reduce the carbon footprint left behind by the farming industry . There are many more reasons as well , but these are just a few .
Now , everyone reading this is in one way or another interested in having a muscular lean physique . So , the main question is : What is better to carry as much muscle as possible and as little body fat as possible , a plant-based diet , a meatbased diet or a combination of the two ?
Let ’ s take a look .
Meat eaters have naturally a much easier time getting protein in their diet as meats and many animal-based foods are mainly composed of protein and saturated fats . Getting enough of both is important for optimal hormone production . Not to mention , protein is the main building block of muscle , and if you are not eating enough of it , you are compromising the potential of your muscle gaining results . In the aspect of getting enough protein in the diet , meat eaters do have a bit of an easier time . Although it does not mean it is not possible as a vegetarian or a vegan to get in a high amount of protein . Vegetarians can often rely on eggs , whey protein and other dairy products to get in a large amount of their daily protein . Vegans have an even tougher time as they will often have to rely on things like peas , soy , rice , and other purely plant sources of protein .
The downside to many of these protein sources is that they are not complete proteins . What is a complete protein ? A complete protein is a protein source that includes all 9 of the essential amino acids required to maximize protein synthesis .
Animal proteins tend to be complete proteins , whereas most plant-based proteins are not complete proteins with different sources having different amounts of these amino acids . This does not mean that you cannot get all your necessary essential amino acids through plants ; it just
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