為什麼我吃的素食是「全食物蔬食」，而不只是純素食而已呢？
首先，「全食物蔬食」（WFPB）指的是完整、未經加工的食物，也就是從土裡長出來的真食物：蔬菜、水果、全穀物、種子、堅果等。
我14年前由葷轉蛋奶素、11年前由蛋奶素轉純素，3年多前又開始吃全食物，主要有兩個原因：一，在營養學組織NutritionFacts.org工作，每天看各種有關全食物蔬食對健康益處的影片，很難不身體力行。二，其實我天生就不喜歡吃太過沈重、油膩、鹹或甜的食物，吃下去是一種很不好的體驗。
那我是無時無刻都這樣嗎？當然不了。😛 我家裡沒有油、糖或鹽，也不會買精緻穀物，所以在家做飯的時候確實是百分之百實踐全食物蔬食。要是外食，我還是不會吃炸物，也盡量避免白米、白麵條這類的，但對油、糖或鹽就沒有這麼挑惕了。要是很想吃個vegan甜甜圈或起司蛋糕時，我也不會克制自己。重點不是要時時刻刻完美，而是讓健康飲食成為習慣，然後盡力就行了。
每個人吃素的原因都不一樣。我14年前剛開始的時候，一點也不在意健康，甚至還覺得很驕傲（「看，我只在意動物，多高貴的理由」）。不過因為我總是希望不斷提升、拓展自我，在吃素吃了十多年後，更進一步吃全食物對我來說是個挺自然的選擇。吃全食物時，我感覺到自己更有活力，思路更清晰，並且差別最大的，大概就是我的皮膚了（一吃油炸馬上爆痘痘）。同時，看到許多吃素的人因為健康出問題又回去吃肉，但其實他們的問題跟吃素不吃素一點關係都沒有，而是以不健康的加工素食為食、沒有運動習慣，或是沒有正確補充維生素B12（曾經有素食者跟我說她不用補充B12，因為她有一顆對動物的愛心......我只能說我很無語）。
如果把環境也考慮進去的話，全食物是不太需要包裝的，就是蔬菜、水果這些。我平時訂的都是一個紙箱裝滿有機蔬菜直接送上門，連包裝紙袋都沒有，然後下次訂箱子他們再收回去。買堅果則是直接拿罐子到市場去秤重裝。而反觀素漢堡排、素雞塊這類的加工食品，卻幾乎都是購買時就裝在塑膠袋裡的。大自然不是什麼身外之物，我們就是大自然的延伸，我們的健康和地球的健康是息息相關的。要是連自己的健康都不在意，該怎麼守護地球的健康？如果有任何問題，歡迎在底下評論，或是關注NutritionFacts.org的YouTube頻道，影片幾乎都有中文字幕翻譯可以選：https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCddn8dUxYdgJz3Qr5mjADtA
p.s. 配圖是我去年底擔任北京的ChinaFit素食大會主持。
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Why am I mostly whole food plant-based (and not just vegan)?
First of all, “whole food plant-based” (WFPB) refers to foods that are unprocessed. So in other words, real foods that grow from the ground: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, etc.
I went mostly whole food plant-based three years ago for two reasons: 1) When you work for NutritionFacts.org and watch video after video about the health benefits of a WFPB diet, it’s hard not to walk the talk. 2) My body naturally doesn’t like foods that are too heavy, oily, salty, or sweet. It just doesn’t feel good to consume those foods.
Do I do it 100% all the time? Of course not! 😛 I don’t have oil, salt or sugar at home, and I don’t buy any refined grains. So when I cook at home, I’m 100% WFPB & SOS-free. But when I eat out, I’m more flexible with SOS. I still wouldn’t eat deep-fried foods even when I eat out, and avoid white rice or white noodles as much as I can. But when I crave a vegan donut or cheesecake, I also won’t stop myself. The point is not to do it perfectly all the time, but to make it a habit to eat healthy and just do the best you can.
People go vegan for different reasons. I didn’t care about health when I first started my vegetarian/vegan journey 14 years ago, and I was even proud of it. But I always strive to expand myself, so going WFPB seemed like a natural next step. When I eat clean, I see the difference in my level of energy, cognitive function, and most notably - my skin. I also think it’s a pity to see people who went vegan reverse back to eating meat because they encountered health issues that have nothing to do with being vegan or not, but are actually about eating healthy/real foods vs. processed junk, not supplementing correctly (B12, for example), or not maintaining an active lifestyle.
Taking the environment into consideration, unprocessed fruits and vegetables also don’t require much packaging, unlike vegan patties or nuggets that usually come wrapped in plastic. Nature is not something outside of us - we are nature, and our health is interconnected with the health of the planet. So feel free to reach out if you have any questions, or even better, follow NutritionFacts.org ❤️
