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Plant-based Snacks: What Are They & Why You Should Try Them?

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By Efrat Vulfsons

If you want to live a healthier life or lose weight, then kudos, you are at the right place. Here, we will discuss what a plant-based diet is, and what are some of the best Plantraw’s plant-based snacks to eat.

In the past few years, the food industry has witnessed a tremendous shift towards a plant-based diet. Nowadays, more people are eager to know what their food is made of and how it can be helpful for their health.

Identifying what to eat and what not can be challenging when changing from a diet that you have been used to. But the advantages of a plant-based diet are immense, can’t be ignored, and you just can’t avoid it. According to The Recipe Guru, plant-based food sales grew by 20% in 2018, reaching $3.3 billion and outpacing other food sales significantly.

But what is a plant-based diet? What are its potential benefits? Let’s dive in.

What is a Plant-based Diet?

Unlike other traditional diets, there’s no one specific plant-based diet. Usually, a plant-based diet centers on eating mostly whole, plant-based foods with less or no animal products.

Animal products include meat, such as beef, pork, chicken, and seafood, as well as eggs and dairy. As a result, a plant-based diet can often be confused with a vegan or vegetarian diet:

  • Vegan: It does not include any meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, or any foods made from animal products.
  • Vegetarian: Vegetarians are those who also don’t eat any animal-based products. However, some vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products.
  • Plant-based: It consists of whole, plant-based foods, with a small amount of meat that may still be consumed.

Moreover, a plant-based diet doesn’t specify the number of calories or macronutrient percentages.

Benefits of Plant-based Food

As we have mentioned above, a plant-based diet comes with a lot of health benefits. Let’s break down some of them.

1. Lose Weight

With more than 69% of Americans being overweight or obese, it's good news that making dietary and lifestyle changes can facilitate weight loss and have an enduring impact on health. Research has proven that a plant-based diet can be helpful for weight loss.

The high fiber content of the WFPB diet (whole-foods, plant-based), along with the elimination of processed foods, is a win-win situation for dropping excess pounds. A study in 65 overweight adults found that those who take a WFPB diet lost more weight than those who were able to maintain that weight loss of 9.25 pounds (4.2kg) over a year of the follow-up period.

So, adopting a plant-based diet can help you maintain weight loss in the long run.

2. Improve Health Conditions

A plant-based diet not only helps you lose weight but can also reduce your risk and lessen symptoms of various incurable diseases.

  • Heart disease– The quality and your food preferences matter a lot. Unhealthy diets that include sugary drinks, fruit juices, and refined grains were associated with a somewhat increased risk of heart diseases. This is why consuming a plant-based diet is important to minimize the risk of such diseases.

  • Cancer– Research states that the plant-based diet is the most inclusive protection from colorectal cancer with a 43% reduced risk compared to non-vegetarians.

  • Diabetes– A plant-based diet is associated with about a 50% decrease in the risk of type 2 diabetes compared to non-vegetarian diets. Also, a plant-based diet improves blood sugar control in people with diabetes.

Plantraw's Plant-based Snacks You Must Try

Plantraw is an eCommerce store that sells only plant-based, gluten-free, and vegan snacks. It is consumer-centric and they aim to provide nutritious food to its consumers. Let’s take a look at its best plant-based products which are worth a try.

1) Cocoa-Date Truffles

Cocoa-date truffles is a raw product that is rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other micronutrients. These truffles are full of nutrition and close to nature as a cocoa-based treat can likely get. However, regular chocolate is often Dutch-processed, cooked, and loaded with refined sugars.

Cocoa-date truffles don’t produce any kind of blood sugar spike that refined sugars do. Instead, this fiber works as a prebiotic substrate for the microbiota populating the digestive tract.

2) Raw Crisps

As all their products are keto-certified, raw crisps are not an exception. Raw crisps consist of Omega 3, dietary fiber, and plant-based protein, including all necessary amino acids. It consists of fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other micronutrients. No sugar, no sweeteners, no chemicals, and no additives are added in raw crisps.

3) Ice Crage

Ice crage is a plant-based ice cream that is grown on trees. It is not cooked or heated and doesn’t contain any sugar or sweeteners. Instead, it is sweetened with whole, organic, and fiber-rich dates. It also consists of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids, and other micronutrients. The best thing about ice crage is that it is compatible with paleo, raw, vegan, and gluten-free diets.

Final Word

With that said, a plant-based diet focuses on eating more minimally processed and it also offers several benefits to our health.

Following a plant-based diet can help in weight loss, heart health, chronic disease risk, and the environment. Lastly, to keep your body healthy, you need to make some changes in your diet and lifestyle because it’s important that your body gets the nutrients it needs.

Benefits, Comparisons, Diet, health, Health Conditions, Healthy Foods, Options, Plant-Based, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Weight

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