By Melisa Philogene, Health and Wellness Reporter (@AYEEmel)
On March 7, 2017, our world became a little greener following the release of the groundbreaking Netflix documentary, What the Health. The film prompted a frenzy of individuals beginning to switch over to a plant-based diet, ditching their old processed food diets for #MealPrepSundays and #MeatlessMondays. However, with the growing popularity of the trend, it is imperative to verify the validity of the source. Although the documentary discussed vital information, it also included a slew of unsubstantiated claims. The documentary claimed that eating one egg a day is just as bad for you as smoking five cigarettes a day. The effects of eating eggs are nowhere near as deadly as that of cigarettes, according to TIME Magazine Health Writer Alexandra Sifferlin. With research, one may find other statements made in the documentary to be untrue or dramatized.
Despite the documentary’s inaccuracies, the immense benefits of a plant-based diet remain true. Raisa Dorsainville, a senior biology major from New York, intends on becoming a Naturopathic Physician. She has recently created “Rai Naturals,” a lifestyle branch utilizing various modalities to promote holistic health and wellness. She is tremendously passionate about nutrition and physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and aspires to share her knowledge and light with the world.
“There are endless benefits that go along with living a plant-based lifestyle, but I will share some of the major ones,” said Dorsainville. “The physical benefits are out of this world! Biologically speaking, our human body functions optimally when we take in the same pure nutrients that it’s made up of.”
“Almost 90 percent of all disease stems from your lifestyle and diet, especially the leading causes of death in America, which are heart disease, cancer, Type II diabetes, obesity and chronic illnesses. If you take in only whole plant-based foods, your entire being will transform. I’m a prime example,” continued Raisa. “
Raisa has been vegan for almost two years. Her vegan lifestyle has led to clearer skin, improvements in her mood, mental clarity, more energy, faster hair growth and proper weight loss.
Follow Raisa on Instagram, @rainaturals, where she shares scads of nutritional information, recipes, and advice about holistic health.
The benefits of a plant-based diet are vast, but remember that it’s your body. Live how you want, but in accordance with your own research rather than with a passing fad. It is your choice how you want to live and what you want to put in your body. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to always do what makes you the happiest.
