Malaysia is the fattest country in Southeast Asia, with the number of obese and overweight people increasing over the past ten years – but how can we change it?
The health ministry recommends adopting a balanced meal of “suku suku separuh”, which means eating one meal with a quarter plate of grains, a quarter plate of fish, meat, and eggs, and a half plate of fruits and vegetables.
But despite all the education and encouragement, the change has to come within ourselves.
In recent years, various types of diets have become popular, including plant-based diets and more detailed ones like the whole food plant-based diet. But what does that mean?
A whole food plant-based diet (WFPB) and a plant-based diet mean taking fresh foods sourced from plants, and this is not limited to vegetables such as leafy greens and raw fruits only.
Plant-based foods include a wide variety of whole grains like oats, brown rice, and quinoa; nuts like almond and pecan, seeds like the popular superfood chia seeds, beans, legumes, soy tofu, tempeh, olives, and more.
These foods are rich in vitamins and nutrients.
Both of these diets emphasise the same ingredient, but the WFPB diet eliminates processed foods like vegetable patties and canned drinks, and instead encourages taking fresh, whole foods into the diet.
There are several types of plant-based diets: vegetarian, for those who do not eat meat or seafood but who still consume dairy and eggs; and vegan, which means eating foods that are not animal-based, or even derived from animals (this includes eggs, and honey, which is produced by bees).
A semi-vegetarian or flexitarian eats predominantly plant-based foods but occasionally consumes meat, dairy, and eggs, while a WFPB diet excludes meat, eggs, dairy, and processed foods.
According to Dr. Jessreen Kaur, who was formerly a doctor at the Emergency and Accident Department at Hospital Kuala Lumpur and is now attached to the Malaysian Vegetarian Society (MVS), a WFPB diet seems beneficial.
Jessreen recently gave a speech to employees of Berjaya Corporation at Berjaya University College on March 30, 2023.
She also shared information with theSun, after the event.
“The WFPB diet helps to improve many things; among them, health and energy, reducing the risk of chronic diseases, being good for higher longevity, and helping manage weight,” explained Jessreen.
Besides, immunity-levels among those who follow a plant-based diet have been shown to be higher.
Misconceptions
Jessreen also cleared up some myths about a plant-based diet, such as the belief that it does not provide sufficient important nutrition and has a low amount of protein and calcium.
Jessreen debunked the myth, saying lentils and soy both have an abundance of protein and nine amino acid chains.
While numerous vegetables, nuts, and seeds are rich in calcium, like almonds, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, fortified milk, dried figs, chia seeds, and others.
Another misconception, she said, was that plant-based food is expensive, but she says the costs should be much lower as meat, and other more expensive items on the plate are removed.
Instead of paying more when dining out at cafes that may hike up the price, Jessreen suggested implementing ‘smart shopping’ by buying vegetables at a much lower price and cooking at home.
People often say plant-based food is tasteless and not satisfying, but she explained that plant-based food consists of more than just salads. There are a lot of flavourful dishes, savoury bowls full of nutrients, and super-satisfying options.
It all depends on creativity when making dishes. Besides, the health benefits outweigh issues of taste.
Some worry that fruits have a high sugar content, but Jessreen explained that the natural sugars found in fruits are easy to digest and get eliminated much faster than refined white sugar mixed in beverages, which stays for a longer period in the bloodstream.
So, sugar from fruits is not a negative, and natural sugars found in fruits are good for health.
Tips to Transition
It sounds like a great idea to switch to a healthy diet, but changing eating habits overnight is easier said than done. Jessreen gave some tips for the transition that has to take place, gradually.
Start with a small step and then progress slowly by increasing your intake of plant-based foods over some time. Jessreen gave a few guidelines for beginning the diet:
Go meatless. Jessreen proposed to incorporate more veggies or go meatless for either lunch or dinner; for example, try “Meatless Monday” or pick a day in a week to have a meatless meal.
In the long run, vegetables can substitute for meat once a week.
Change the snacks. Usually, we will pick up unhealthy snacks or animal-based products like crispy salmon skin, but her advice is to opt for plant-based snacks.
Baked sweet potato crisps, granola, nuts, beans, or berries can make good replacements.
Besides these minor changes, she also suggested reducing sugar, oil, and salt – or what she terms ‘S.O.S’. These are crucial ingredients in every food we consume and yet taking too much can be detrimental to health.
One of her suggestions is to replace oil with water when making stir-fried dishes. Jessreen said the health benefits of plant-based foods can be reaped even with reduced oil.
Though all the knowledge shared is valuable, ultimately, no matter how much information exists out there, everything comes down to you because you are the one who is choosing what to eat and what not to eat.
So, whether it’s a WFPB diet or a plant-based diet, or any other type of diet, it’s up to you to choose as to what is right to achieve a healthy body.
We hope that these tips can help you make better dietary decisions!
