Veganism and whole food, plant-based living often share the same core values around compassion, environmental stewardship and reducing harm. But they aren't always the same in practice or focus.

​

Veganism is a broader ethical framework, as most vegans avoid animal products for reasons that include animal welfare, environmental protection and personal values. Veganism also extends beyond food to clothing, personal care products and other items that may involve animal harm. But veganism doesn't require a focus on health, just the omission of consuming animal and animal derived foods and products. Therefore a  vegan diet could include highly processed foods, refined sugars, oils, salt-dense snacks, ultra-processed meat & dairy alternatives, while a vegan lifestyle could include smoking and the consumption of alcohol. 

 

Whole food, plant-based living (WFPB) is an evidence-based nutritional and lifestyle approach that focuses primarily on preventing, halting and often reversing lifestyle-driven chronic illness with an emphasis on minimally processed plants, fiber-rich foods, anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense meals, longevity and metabolic health and lifestyle driven chronic disease prevention and sustained quality of life

 

Many WFPB practitioners also care about animal welfare and the environment, but the lifestyle is fundamentally centered on optimal wellness.

Whether you're vegan, WFPB or a meat eater, most people need these two: 

​​

-VITAMIN B12 (methylcobalamin)

Because B12 comes from soil microbes that are no longer present in sanitized food systems.

​

-VEGAN VITAMIN D3
Especially for people without consistent direct sunlight.

 

Everything else such as:  iron, calcium, omega-3 fats, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants and phytochemicals is abundantly available in whole plant foods, which also deliver the fiber missing from 95% of American diets and is a key factor in inflammation and disease progression.

YES. Physicians like Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Milton Mills, Dr. Kim A. Willams, Dr. Brooke Goldner, Dr. Columbus Batiste and Dr. Saray Stancic routinely observe that patients’ biomarkers improve so quickly that medication adjustments become necessary.

​

But because cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar can shift rapidly, you must work with a clinician as you adopt a whole food, plant-based lifestyle.

This isn't  dieting, it's metabolic intervention.

NO.  Randomized dietary trials published in JAMA Network Open show people who shift to plant-based eating reduce grocery costs by 16 to 25% per family member.

​

WHY? 

Because the foundational foods that arrest and help reverse lifestyle driven chronic disease such as: fresh or frozen beans, lentils, quinoa, peas, potatoes (Sweet, Japanese, yams), tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, oats, leafy greens, cabbage, carrots, brown rice, fresh fruits, herbs and spices are some of the cheapest foods in any grocery store.

​

Expensive food is a marketing choice, not a nutritional necessity.

NO. The term plant-based has been widely used by the food industry as a marketing tool. Many products labeled “plant-based” are ultra-processed, high in oils, sodium, additives and refined ingredients. While they are free of animal products and are often better than the consumption of any animal or animal derived food, they still fuel inflammation and chronic illness because of this processing, which also depletes nutrients from the plant. 

​

Whole food, plant-based (WFPB) is not a marketing term, it's  a clinical, evidence-supported approach used by leading physicians and researchers that exclude:  oils, refined grains, highly processed or engineered foods, added sugars, foods shown to increase LDL, glucose instability and inflammation, smoking and the consumption of alcohol. 

 

IWFPB focuses on what actually heals the body, not what qualifies as “not meat or not dairy alternatives.”

 

There are some brands that have fewer than 5 ingredients and are nominally processed but by and large, plant-based labels aren't always indicative of  the optimal health choice.  

YES. While individual experiences vary, population-level models from Oxford University show plant-based eating is one of the only approaches capable of reducing national healthcare costs by hundreds of billions per year, driven by lower rates of:

• heart disease

• type 2 diabetes

• hypertension

• kidney disease

• obesity-related complications

 

When disease burden falls, household-level expenses often drop as well:
fewer medications, fewer emergency visits, fewer invasive procedures and fewer chronic illness complications. 

 

This is not theory, it's the clinical architecture of lifestyle medicine.

YES. All protein originates in plants. Animals do not make amino acids; they obtain them by eating plants, then humans consume that second-hand protein stripped of fiber and packaged with saturated fat, cholesterol, heme iron, heterocyclic amines and advanced glycation end products , all of which increase inflammation and cardio-metabolic risk.

​

Research from PCRM, China Study, and countless peer-reviewed studies confirm:

• beans, lentils, whole grains, greens, nuts and seeds supply every essential amino acids

• human protein requirements are easily met when caloric intake is adequate

• deficiency is essentially nonexistent in people eating enough whole plant foods

 

The idea that plant proteins are “incomplete” is outdated. As Dr. Michael Greger and other nutrition researchers explain, all whole plant foods contain all essential amino acids, and when you eat enough calories from a variety of whole plant foods across the day, you meet your protein needs without “food combining.”

​​

Protein is not the issue, poor fiber intake, inflammation, oxidation, impaired endothelial function and excessive saturated fat are.