A wholefood, plant-based diet is the perfect recipe for a long and healthy life. Discover how nutritious, rewarding and delicious it can be to nourish your body with nutrient-dense plant foods.
Nourishing our bodies with whole plant foods is an easy way to get the protein you need, including all the essential amino acids.
Pile up your plate with legumes, whole grains, vegetables, and nuts and seeds for a healthy dose of powerful protein.
From building, maintaining and repairing our body tissue to assisting in the production of enzymes and hormones, the protein we eat plays a wide array of important roles throughout our bodies.
Iron is abundant in some of the most delicious and healthy plant foods. Incorporate a variety of whole grains, beans, dark green leafy vegetables, dried fruits, and nuts and seeds into your diet. Increase the absorbability of the iron by including vitamin C-rich foods in your meals and by limiting your caffeine intake around mealtimes.
Iron is a critical component of the blood cells that transport oxygen around our bodies, providing the energy we need to function.
Pile up your plate with kale, bok choy, broccoli, beans, tahini, almonds, tofu or tempeh for a dose of healthy calcium. Plant sources of calcium provide an abundance of additional beneficial nutrients by default. For example, beans are a great source of calcium, and they’re magnesium rich, further aiding bone health.
There are plenty of plant-based sources of calcium that allow us to build and maintain strong teeth and bones. Exercise and vitamin D (from the sun) also protect our bone density.
Vitamin B12 is synthesised by microorganisms that live in the soil and water. However, modern-day water sanitation and soil degradation means that the plant foods we consume no longer contain adequate levels of this essential nutrient.
Along with being vital for the formation of our red blood cells, vitamin B12 also helps our neurological and immune systems function. Include fortified foods in your diet along with a supplement – this can easily be found on your local supermarket or pharmacy shelves.
Get a dose of these healthy fats by incorporating ground flaxseeds (linseeds), chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts and leafy green vegetables into your daily diet.
Omega-3s allow our bodies to build cell membranes, synthesise hormones, reduce inflammation and maintain a healthy heart.
One New Zealander dies from heart disease every 90 minutes. This alarming statistic, along with New Zealand having one of the highest rates of obesity in the world and over 200,000 New Zealanders diagnosed with diabetes, clearly shows that our diets need to change.
Fish and shellfish readily absorb heavy metals and other contaminants. These pollutants and toxins can accumulate in human cells, causing an array of health conditions. Farmed fishes also have high mortality rates due to overcrowding, leading to rapid spreading of disease and parasites.
Chicken meat contains nearly as much cholesterol as red meat. New Zealand chicken farms routinely use antibiotics in the birds’ feed, to prevent outbreaks of disease caused by severe overcrowding and the unhygienic conditions.
Dairy products have been shown to have little to no benefit for bone strength. Dairy foods are also high in cholesterol and saturated fat. They can increase the risk of children developing obesity, type-1 diabetes and heart disease and have been linked to the onset of prostate, ovarian, lung and breast cancers.
Leading scientists from all corners of the world are outlining the benefits of a global dietary shift towards a plant-based diet, for both human health and for the environment.
A Gisborne-based study revealed the power of a plant-based wholefood diet for those at risk of or already suffering from type 2 diabetes. There were large reductions in body weights of patients and lessening of medication requirements – with some eliminating their need for insulin altogether.
A University of Otago study looked at the transition towards a healthier, climate-friendly food system in a New Zealand context. Their findings? If more Kiwis adopted plant-based diets, we could expect substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while greatly improving population health and saving the healthcare system billions of dollars in the coming decades.
Get ready to kickstart a healthier lifestyle while saving lives and protecting the planet! Our Plant-Based Challenge has all the recipes, tips, information and inspiration you’ll need to get started on your journey to kindness.
Every major step forward for animals in Aotearoa has one thing in common — people like you.
SAFE is launching our very first Annual Giving Appeal and we need your help to raise $100,000 to ensure we can keep fighting for animals in the year ahead.