Health Ideas, Part XII

by

John Stephen Mauldin, MLA (not AI assisted)

All right reserved, copyright © 2025

Plant-Based Diet

Plant-derived food supports robust human health, particularly in the following seven ways: because of these benefits and several others, after two or three weeks on a plant-based diet, many people experience a new life from which they never wish to return.

1. Energy. Less work is required by our bodies when eating only vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts. This, of course, means we have more energy for other activities throughout our lives. As a rule, we are decidedly lighter than those who eat meat, both literally and figuratively; in other words, we are typically within our weight-to-height ratio and we feel lighter in the sense of agile mobility. And of course, a plant-based diet holistically revitalizes the body with nutrient-rich foods, whereas meat and processed foods are often deficient in these health requirements while placing energy-consuming demands upon us.

For athletes, a plant-based diet is likened to rocket fuel. We can exert unusual energy over time and yet remain energized. Some of the top athletes in the world have discovered this and attribute their success in part to a diet that is strictly plant-based.

2. Longevity. Because our bodies are working less to digest food, our longevity is probably increased since the digestive bio-mechanisms (the throat, stomach, digestive tract, and bowels) last longer as they undergo the least wear.

3. Nutritional. Plant-based diets are rich in fiber, antioxidants, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, and E.

4. Skin and hair. The vitamin A, C, and E-rich plant-based diet noticeably improves our skin and hair and may even slow the graying of hair.

5. Disease prevention. Eating red meat, chicken, or fish exposes us to the risk of parasites that can cause dramatic health complications, including death. By contrast, a plant-based diet is free from these threats and contains fewer saturated fats and more fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, carotenoids, and flavonoids.

Consequently, it statistically reduces the incidence of obesity, skin disorders, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, chronic constipation, diverticulitis, and many other health maladies, including cancer. In an article titled, “No Amount of Alcohol, Sausage or Bacon is Safe According to Cancer Experts,” The Daily Mirror reported that “Even small amounts of processed meats and booze increase the risk of a host of cancers outlined in World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) guidelines updated every decade.”

6. Headaches and Migraines. Because a proper plant-based diet is essentially a diet of anti-inflammatory meals, it may reduce the occurrence of headaches and even migraines since these are often associated with inflammation. For instance, the absence of dairy products in the plant-based diet reduces swollen sinus passages, which exacerbates headaches and migraines that may originate from tension and stress.

7. Weight loss. Because a plant-based diet typically entails fewer calories, vegans may find it easier to maintain their recommended height-to-weight ratio.

It is important to note that those who eat a strictly plant-based diet should take (1) a daily, high-quality protein supplement, (2) a vitamin B complex supplement, and (3) foods rich in Omega-3.

You may want to read the section on protein if you begin the plant-based diet. But always talk with your doctor before beginning a vitamin B regimen. Vitamin B is essential to a positive mental attitude. Without it, we may become chronically depressed, so we must compensate by taking vitamin B. An example of a B complex is:

Thiamin 100 mcg 6,667% of Daily Value

Riboflavin 100 mcg 5,882%     

Niacin 100 mcg 500%        

Vitamin B-6 100 mcg 5,000%     

Folate 400 mcg 100%        

Vitamin B-12 100 mcg 1,667%     

Biotin 100 mcg 33%         

DV Pantothenic Acid 100 mcg 1,000%     

Omega-3 is needed for our health, and some plant-based sources include chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, and soybeans. However, the absorption rates for Omega-3 from plants are low. For example, two tablespoons of ground flaxseed contain 3,590 mg of Omega-3, however, only ten to fifteen percent is absorbed, which equals only 359 to 538.5 mg. So, that should be considered when depending upon plants for Omega-3.          

Weight

The following chart uses the National Institute of Health’s body mass index tables to determine the healthy weight according to height for both men and women.

Height Normal Overweight Obese

4ft 10" 91-115lbs. 119-138 143-186

4ft 11" 94 -119lbs. 124-143 148-193

5ft 97-123 lbs. 128-148 153-199

5ft 1" 100-127 lbs. 132-153 158 -206

5ft 2" 104-131 lbs. 136-158 164-213

5ft 3" 107-135 lbs. 141-163 169-220

5ft 4" 110-140 lbs. 145-169 174-227

5ft 5" 114-144 lbs. 150-174 180-234

5ft 6" 118-148 lbs. 155-179 186-241

5ft 7" 212-153 lbs. 159-185 191-249

5ft 8" 125-158 lbs. 164-190 197-256

5ft 9" 128-162 lbs. 169-196 203-263

5ft 10" 132-167 lbs. 174-202 209-271

5ft 11" 136-172 lbs. 179-208 215-279

6ft 140-177 lbs. 184-213 221-287

6ft 1" 144-182 lbs. 189-219 227-295

6ft 2" 148-186 lbs. 194-225 233-303

6ft 3" 152-192 lbs. 200-232 240-310

Being overweight, obese, or very obese places us in a higher risk category for cancer, heart attack and heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, joint failure, lack of mobility, and an array of other deadly maladies. It also makes us less attractive, lowers our self-esteem, and wastes food and money.

Losing weight may seem difficult or even impossible, but it isn’t. You can start right now. The first step toward normal weight is understanding that losing weight is merely a mindset that can be changed with a small amount of willpower. Changing a mindset, or habit takes only about three weeks. So, follow these simple suggestions for three weeks, and they will become habitual; after three weeks, the more you follow them, the more strongly they will form within your mind until they become your normal lifestyle.

1. Enjoy one-half cup of buckwheat cereal for breakfast every morning, and you may find this helps you lose weight. You might try four or five almonds and four or five walnut halves (more than this amount may cause weight gain) mixed with cinnamon and molasses. Some people prefer blueberries, bananas, or strawberries.

2. Eat a gluten-free diet. Going one hundred percent gluten-free will allow you to drop several pounds in one week, and you’ll be able to keep it off as long as you’re gluten-free. As we have seen, gluten causes arthritis, gas, bloating, extreme fatigue, and, of course, excess weight. Forget gluten.

3. Weigh yourself every morning before drinking or eating and without wearing any clothing at all. Think of the scales as your friend. Seek their advice without fail each morning since they will suggest what you should eat that day to adjust your weight if needed.

4. Drink plenty of purified water, starting with a glass of room-temperature water first thing in the morning after weighing. The amount you need depends on your climate and diet. Generally, most of us need about four to six glasses of fresh water each day. This helps us digest our food, keeps our system cleansed, and increases our metabolism, all of which helps us lose weight.

5. If you have a television, you might consider removing it from your home by selling it or giving it away. This may seem like a peculiar suggestion to lose weight; however, most people overeat while watching television. I theorize this occurs because watching television is a non-reciprocal event; in other words, the television watcher gives their presence, sight, hearing, and many emotions to the event; yet the television does not, and cannot, since it is an inanimate object.

   
   

   Therefore, to endure, the illusion of interacting with a mindless machine that cannot return the presence, seeing, hearing, and an array of emotions one gives to it, one must compensate by eating. The more one watches, the more one must compensate by eating. Along with the unconscious desire to compensate by eating while watching television, the viewer is subject to many food commercials meticulously crafted by Madison Avenue marketing executives to entice their audience to do the very thing a dieter hopes to avoid, overeating. So, by not owning a television, you’ll almost assuredly eat less, become more active, and, most likely, lose weight.

6. Carb up in the morning, carb down in the afternoon, toward the end of the day, and at dinner. We need carbohydrates for energy throughout the day, so eat them in the morning. One-half cup of organic buckwheat cereal gives us plenty of fuel for the average workday. Yet too many carbohydrates eaten later in the day will probably turn into fat.

7. Avoid sugary foods, and do not put sugar on your food. Sugar becomes fat if not burned up and it is almost impossible to burn the sugar consumed in today’s average diet. Besides, we receive plenty of the sugar we require by eating fruit. So, enjoy two or three servings of fresh organic fruit every day.

8. Forget table salt. It’s purely a habit. Read labels to avoid foods with high sodium content, as this will cause water retention and weight gain. Too much salt is also inflammatory and damages many functions and parts of our body.

9. Never eat meals or snacks after 6 pm. This habit will make losing weight and keeping it off much easier. All it takes is a minimal amount of willpower for three weeks—the time required to break a bad habit and replace it with a new healthy one. So, think about eating dinner this evening before 6 pm.

10. Avoid meat. This is a fat producer, particularly when mixed with potatoes and other starchy foods. One of the unpleasant reasons that meat causes obesity is that it causes constipation.

11. Avoid fried foods, which are also fat producers, primarily because our bodies do not know what to do with them and so they are stored as detrimental fat.

12. Avoid any food that is processed. Again, this is a nonfood that becomes fat and, by the way, is sometimes dangerous carcinogenic.

13. Forget alcohol. It causes fat. If you feel that you cannot give up drinking, dear cousin, you may have a drinking problem. If interested, Alcoholics Anonymous can help with this, as it has helped millions of others. You may want to reread the section titled Alcohol to learn why it is so anti-life.

14. Exercise daily and vigorously. Of course, exercise alone is insufficient to lose weight; only a healthy diet can do this. Yet, exercise is an integral part of maintaining our ideal weight. Ask your doctor about an exercise routine that is best for you and start today.

15. Count calories. First, we must determine the number of calories we need. This depends upon various factors such as our height, weight, and physical activity. There are a few equations that determine our caloric needs, yet their results vary. A resting metabolic rate (RMR) test is, perhaps, more accurate. The long-time recommendation, however, is about 2,300 calories per day if you are a sedentary adult male, and about 1,800 if you are a sedentary adult female.

    
    

    If you are an unusually active adult, these values are as high as 3,000 for men and 2,400 for women. Use these figures as guidelines until finding the number that allows you to maintain your ideal weight established by the previous chart. Many bottled, canned, and packaged foods are labeled with their caloric content, while many fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and grains are not. Therefore, the following chart will help track your caloric intake of these items.

    
    

    Once again, dear friend, losing weight may seem like a hopeless cause. But it isn’t. You can lose weight. And you will lose weight by beginning these fifteen good habits today. It may seem too difficult to remember all fifteen steps. However, after three weeks, they’ll become an almost unconscious routine. And soon afterward, they’ll become a lasting lifestyle.

Fruits
Apple	1 apple	95 cal
Applesauce	1 cup	167 cal
Apricot	1 apricot	17 cal
Avocado	1 avocado	320 cal
Banana	1 banana	111 cal
Blackberries	1 cup	62 cal
Blueberries	1 cup	84 cal
Cantaloupe	1 wedge	23 cal
Cherries	1 cherry	4 cal
Cranberries	1 cup	46 cal
Dates	1 date	20 cal
Figs	1 fig	37 cal
Grapes	1 cup	104 cal
Jackfruit	1 cup	143 cal
Kiwi	1 kiwi	112 cal
Lemon	1 lemon	17 cal
Lime	1 lime	20 cal
Mandarin	1 orange	47 cal
Mango	1 mango	202 cal
Mulberries	1 cup	60 cal
Nectarine	1 nectarine	66 cal
Orange	1 orange	62 cal
Papaya	1 fruit	215 cal
Peach	1 peach	59 cal
Pear	1 pear	101 cal
Persimmon	1 fruit	32 cal
Pineapple	1 pineapple	453 cal
Plum	1 plum	30 cal
Pomegranate	1 pomegranate	234 cal
Raisins	1 cup	434 cal
Raspberries	1 cup	64 cal
Rhubarb	1 stalk	11 cal
Starfruit	1 star fruit	28 cal
Strawberries	1 cup	49 cal
Tangerine	1 tangerine	47 cal
Watermelon	1 wedge	86 cal

Vegetables
Artichoke	1 artichoke	60 cal
Arugula	1 leaf	1 cal
Asparagus	1 spear	2 cal
Bell Pepper	1 pepper	15 cal
Black Olives	1 olive	2 cal
Broccoli	1 bunch	207 cal
Bru. Sprouts	1 sprout	8 cal
Cabbage	1 head	227 cal
Carrot	1 carrot	25 cal
Cauliflower	1 floweret	3 cal
Celery	1 stalk	6 cal
Chard	1 leaf	9 cal
Cherry Tom.	1 cherry tom.	20 cal
Chives	1 tbsp, chopped	1 cal
Collard Grns.	1 cup, raw	12 cal
Corn	1 cup	132 cal
Courgette	1 courgette	33 cal
Cucumber	1 cucumber	66 cal
Eggplant	1 eggplant	115 cal
Endive	1 head	87 cal
Fennel	1 bulb	73 cal
Garlic	1 clove	4 cal
Green Beans	1 cup	34 cal
Green Olives	1 olive	2 cal
Green Onion	1 green onion	5 cal
Horseradish	1 tbsp	7 cal
Kale	1 cup, chopped	33 cal
Leek	1 leek	54 cal
Lettuce	1 head	90 cal
Mushrooms	1 mushroom	1 cal
Okra	1 pod	4 cal
Olives	1 olive	2 cal
Onion	1 onion	34 cal
Parsnips	1 parsnip	128 cal
Peas	1 cup	79 cal
Potato	1 potato	164 cal
Pumpkin	1 pumpkin	51 cal
Radishes	1 radish	1 cal
Red Cabbage	1 leaf	7 cal
Rutabaga	1 rutabaga	147 cal
Shallots	1 shallot	18 cal
Spinach	1 bunch	78 cal
Squash	1 squash	88 cal
Sweet Potato	1 potato	112 cal
Tomato	1 tomato	20 cal
Turnip Grns.	1 turnip green	34 cal
Turnips	1 turnip	34 cal
Zucchini	1 zucchini	33 cal

Seeds and Nuts
Almond	1 cup	546 cal
Beechnut	1 oz.	161 cal
Brazil Nuts	1 cup	872 cal
Breadfruit	1 oz.	53 cal
Butternut	1 cup	734 cal
Cashew	1 oz.	155 cal
Chestnut	1 cup	309 cal
Chia Seeds	1 oz.	136 cal
Coconut	1 coconut	1405 cal
Flaxseed	1 cup	897 cal
Hazelnut	1 cup	471 cal
Hickory Nuts	1 cup	788 cal
Macadamia	1 cup	962 ca
Peanuts	1 cup	828 cal
Pecans	1 cup	684 cal
Pine Nuts	1 cup	909 cal
Pistachios	1 cup	691 cal
Poppy Seeds	1 tbsp	42 cal
Pumpkin Sds.	1 cup	721 cal
Safflower Sds.	1 oz.	145 cal
Sesame Seeds	1 cup	825 cal
Sunflower Seeds	1 cup	818 cal

Grains
Barley	1 cup	556 cal
Barley Groats	1 cup	31 cal
Brown Rice	1 cup	757 cal
Buckwheat	1 cup	583 cal
Cornmeal	1 cup	442 cal
Cornstarch	1 cup	488 cal
Couscous	1 cup	650 cal
Flaxseed	1 cup	897 cal
Oat Bran	1 cup	231 cal
Walnuts	1 cup	523 cal
Quinoa	1 cup	626 cal