Important References on the Plant-Based Lifestyle, Nutrition and Health

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

WE TAKE FACTS AS SERIOUSLY AS WE TAKE WELLNESS. 

But, even we don’t make a habit of compiling works cited for no reason!

Below are the references from our Share & Savor Experience. And we’re giving them to you for FREEEE!

Scroll down for the references


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Plant-Based Chef/Educator, Araba Esoun, collaborated with Byte Wellness to provide you with a transformational introduction to plant-based eating. It’s called Share & Savor: a Plant-Based Experience. Click to check it out.

The 56-page Share & Savor Guidebook also included 4 pages of references that we cited throughout the experience (including the videos). We’re making those references available to you here.


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References

High Blood Pressure

Eating blueberries daily reduces blood pressure thanks to phytochemical anthocyanins: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2475299122120020



Type 2 Diabetes

Eating a plant-based diet  can reduces the risk of developing diabetes and helps manage it when people already have type 2 diabetes

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2738784

For people with type 2 diabetes: Changing some health behaviors can lower risk of peripheral blood vessel disease (which can eventually leads to limb amputation)

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Neil/publication/11390116_UKPDS_59_Hyperglycemia_and_Other_Potentially_Modifiable_Risk_Factors_for_Peripheral_Vascular_Disease_in_Type_2_Diabetes/links/0c96052495af141b2e000000/UKPDS-59-Hyperglycemia-and-Other-Potentially-Modifiable-Risk-Factors-for-Peripheral-Vascular-Disease-in-Type-2-Diabetes.pdf

These avoidable factors can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes: overweight/obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking:

https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/diabetes/understand-your-risk-for-diabetes

Beta cell fatigue and insulin resistance work together to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and accelerate progression in people who already have type 2 diabetes:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608918/#__sec1title


Heart Health

The PREDIMED study showed eating a mediterranean diet (rich in fresh produce and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fats) has a bigger effect on lowering risk of heart attack compared to a low-fat diet

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1800389?query=featured_home

Eating omega 3 polyunsaturated fats is linked to lower risk of heart disease, and lower risk of death from heart disease

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/circulationaha.114.015176


Plant-heavy diets are linked to lower risk of high blood pressure

https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/managing-blood-pressure-with-a-heart-healthy-diet

Overweight and Obesity

Plant-based diets can help people successfully lose weight and maintain it.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/



Cancer

Compared to eating a "Western" Diet (high in red meats, low in plants), eating a plant-heavy diet is linked to lower risk of colon cancer

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5447483/pdf/nihms855864.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15704172/


The CDC identified 13 cancers that are related to being overweight or obese. These include breast, ovarian, uterine and colon cancer

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1003-vs-cancer-obesity.html


Nutrition

Definition of Standard American Diet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_pattern_diet#:~:text=The%20Western%20pattern%20diet%20(WPD,products%2C%20eggs%2C%20refined%20grains%2C


The United Nations' NOVA food classification system helps us understand which foods are more and less processed:

http://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf



Bok choy is in the antioxidant-heavy cruciferous family

https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/food-beverages/cruciferous-vegetables


Nutrient content source for foods (i.e protein in quinoa) was retrieved from the USDA database called Food Data Central:

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/


The color of fruit and vegetables is a clue to their phytonutrient and phytochemical profiles

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/add-color-to-your-diet-for-good-nutrition


MyPlate eating pattern for well-balanced meals

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Apple cider vinegar that is unrefined and unfiltered has a cloudy collection of probiotic bacteria and yeast in it. Many people call this the “mother”

https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/debunking-the-health-benefits-of-apple-cider-vinegar


Fats

3 Types of Fats

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/fats/dietary-fats



Of the 3 types of Omega 3 fatty acids plants only make 1 type (ALA), which your body converts in small amounts to the other two types (DHA and EPA)

https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/other-nutrients/essential-fatty-acids

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1825498/


Trans-saturated fats are considered harmful (“not generally recognized as safe”) by the FDA

https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/trans-fat


Sugar

The daily limit for free sugars and added sugars varies across organizations. The CDC and AHA count added sugars only. The WHO recommends limiting both free sugars and added sugars:

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/know-your-limit-for-added-sugars.html

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/added-sugars

https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/

www.bytewellness.com/blog/plant-based-low-sugar-starter-byte


Eating food with flavonoids can help lower blood sugar

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6769509/


Whole Grains & Quinoa

The popularity of quinoa seems to be contributing to the wealth of indigenous farmers in the Andes.

http://webapps.towson.edu/cbe/economics/workingpapers/2016-06.pdf


Some researchers warn that the large volume of quinoa crop may have negative effects on the soil health and land availability in the long-run.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/532


The refining process that turns whole wheat (brown) into refined wheat (white) strips away nearly all of its fiber, 90% of the vitamin E, and half of its B vitamins

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/whole-grains/

http://webapps.towson.edu/cbe/economics/workingpapers/2016-06.pdf


The American Diabetes Association considers quinoa a superfood for people with diabetes

https://www.diabetes.org/nutrition/healthy-food-choices-made-easy/diabetes-superfoods


Quinoa is a complete protein

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/isnt-quinoa-a-supplier-of-complete-proteins


Science of Health Behaviors

In one study, people named the lack of availability and affordability of food and fear of family disapproval as the major barriers to eating a plant-based diet .

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20138584


Health Disparities

Compared to White Americans, Black Americans are more likely to live in a food desert, even when income and education level are equal

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17010248

Various definitions of food desert:

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/ajph.92.11.1761rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&url_ver=Z39.88-2003

http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas.aspx

www.bytewellness.com/blog/what-is-a-food-desert


Living in a food desert is linked to lower fruit/veggie intake and poorer health outcomes

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/ajph.92.11.1761rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&url_ver=Z39.88-2003

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16530621

Food Swamps are the New Food Deserts

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16530621

www.bytewellness.com/blog/what-is-a-food-swamp


Compared to White women, Black women are more than 3 times as likely to die during or shortly after childbirth

https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-mortality-surveillance-system.htm

Black women are TWICE as likely as White women to die from heart disease before age 75

https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/chdir/2011/factsheets/CHDStroke.pdf


Despite being less likely to develop breast cancer, Black women’s death rates from breast cancer are 40% higher than those of white women. 

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/articles/breast_cancer_rates_women.htm#:~:text=Breast%20cancer%20was%20more%20likely,the%20largest%20difference%20by%20race.



Studies show that (in addition to Black women’s tendency to have more biologically active breast cancers) societal factors like “poverty and racism” are partially responsible for the fact that Black women are more likely to die from Breast Cancer than White women. 

https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/cebp/17/11/2913.full.pdf

Here are some ways the social factors manifest, according to the authors: “lack of recommendation for screening mammography, poor access to health care, and cultural beliefs discouraging women from seeking care for a potential breast problem”.

https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/cebp/17/11/2913.full.pdf

Compared to White Non-Hispanic Americans, Black Americans and Indigenous Americans are 5 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19; Latinos are 4 times as likely.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/racial-ethnic-minorities.html

One study of patients in Northern California found that compared to non-Hispanic White Americans, non-Hispanic Black Americans had 2.7 times the odds of being hospitalized for COVID-19, even after adjusting for co-morbid conditions.

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00598#.XurMLU7UlsY


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