FAQs | Peas and Carrots

It’s the same reason why I would hire a personal trainer, mental health counselor, athletic coach, financial planner, or realtor—they have the “what to do” and “how to do it”, and I don’t! A Registered Dietitian (RD) can provide you with the knowledge, skill set, accountability, and confidence to achieve your health goals. According to Fay Nutrition, 85% of patients who work with a dietitian see improved lab results, 95% avoid hospitalization, 94% successfully make lifestyle changes that prevent further medical complications, and 79% of patients safely reduce or avoid the use of medication. Hard to argue with those results!

A registered dietitian (RD) or registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) is a credentialed practitioner who has, as of January 2024, completed a master’s degree and a supervised practice program, the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s exam, and a state license. Both RD and RDN are protected titles, meaning only those who have completed the qualifications can use the titles. Nutritionist, however, is not a protected title, and anyone can claim it. There is no standardized training for nutritionists, and many nutritionist training programs are unregulated. Registered dietitians can provide preventative care and treat conditions like diabetes, eating disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and many other medical conditions with medical nutrition therapy. I use the best available evidence when working with my patients, not my opinion or a random theory!

These aren’t requirements, but I always recommend scheduling an appointment with your doctor and getting up to date bloodwork drawn. Your bloodwork is like your roadmap: it’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are!

Secondly, if you are married, I strongly recommend discussing your goals with your partner. It can be really difficult to make changes if your spouse is not supportive or on board to make some of these changes with you.

Short answer: it depends.

Long answer: it depends on your goals, progress, readiness to change, and medical diagnoses. If you have a chronic condition, such as diabetes or heart disease, I recommend six months to a year of regular counseling to learn how to best manage (and potentially reverse!) your condition with your diet. Some simply need a jumpstart on their goals; for these patients, one to three months may be sufficient. Others need consistent accountability and guidance. You know yourself best! The end goal is to provide you the tools so you can go out on your own and be successful without me! I will never waste your time (or mine) and recommend continued counseling if I don’t feel it’s necessary anymore. Typically, appointments should become less frequent over time, transitioning from weekly to monthly to quarterly appointments, depending on your progress and how confident you feel with your new knowledge and ability to make lifestyle changes.

A whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet is a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and one that avoids highly processed foods, dairy, eggs, meat, seafood, and poultry. The scientific evidence that many chronic diseases can be prevented, controlled, or even reversed with a whole-food, plant-based diet is overwhelming (please see resources section if you want to dive into the nerdy stuff like I do!). The closer you can get to the whole, intact food, the better. I want to note that this pattern of eating is nothing new—many cultures around the world (remember the Blue Zones?) eat this way or very similar!

A basic WFPB plate: a veg (or two), a starchy veg, a grain, a healthy fat, a protein, and a whole grain

They seem similar, but they are actually very different! Vegan is the omission of all animal products, usually for ethical or environmental reasons. However, you can be vegan and eat only French fries and Oreos—hardly a recipe for a healthy diet! You can also be plant-based, but only eat meat substitutes and other processed foods. And while plant-based foods can be a great option for eating out or social gatherings, it’s not necessarily a long-term healthy way to live. That’s why the words “whole foods” are so important! Think edamame over a soy patty, or avocado instead of avocado oil, or oatmeal instead of a packaged breakfast bar. In short: veganism is an ideology, WFPB is simply a pattern of eating.

Oh, if I had a dollar every time someone asked me this question. Protein is perhaps one of the most hyped up and misunderstood nutrients in today’s world. Without fail, the number one question we get when people learn we eat plant based is…”but where do you get your protein?” And the answer is simple: we get our protein from the same place where the cow you eat gets theirs—from plants! Please read on.

The current recommended daily intake for protein is about .35 grams per pound of body weight. So for a 150 lb woman, that’s about 52 grams.

Now, if you are eating the recommended 2,000kcal/day (give or take depending on your needs), 1 cup of cooked lentils provides 18 grams of protein, along with a host of other fabulous benefits, like FIBER (that’s the real question we need to be asking, as 95% of Americans are not meeting the RDA for fiber), non heme iron (as opposed to the heme iron found in beef), B6 and magnesium. 2,000kcal worth of lentils is 156 grams of protein. WOW!

But realistically, we aren’t eating 2,000kcal worth of lentils a day. Nor should you! We need variety. So let’s take one of the least protein known foods for example: the humble potato. Even potatoes, which are not known for their protein content, still give you 52 grams of protein if you ate 2,000kcal worth! What!? Amazing.

The moral of the story? It is IMPOSSIBLE to be protein deficient eating a variety of whole plant foods without also being calorie deficient. Yes, meat gives us protein, but it also is packaged with TMAO, cholesterol (the cause of plaques forming in our arteries, leading to preventable heart diseases), group one carcinogens in many processed meats and saturated fat—and very little vitamins and minerals. Not only do whole plant foods give you all the protein you need, but all those beautiful colors are packed with a plethora of phytonutrients needed to sustain your hard-working body.

Let’s begin to shift the conversation away from protein and towards fiber, vitamins and minerals. Protein is not the problem when almost all Americans aren’t meeting the minimum RDA for fiber, essential vitamins, and minerals. This is not so much a case to stop eating meat as it is to please eat more plants! And to understand that you do NOT need animal products to thrive.

Absolutely! I always encourage patients to dig in for themselves and make an informed decision. But I always want you to be informed and not go with some random person says (yes, even me).

Scientific Literature:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30624697/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22575037/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27476051/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20234038/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1973470/\

Books:

How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger

The Power Foods Diet: The Breakthrough Plan That Traps, Tames, and Burns Calories for Easy and Permanent Weight Loss by Dr. Neal Barnard

Mastering Diabetes by Cyrus Khambatta, PhD

Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease by Dr. Dean Ornish

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esselstyn

The Unsavory Truth by Marion Nestle (this one’s great if you want to learn all the ick related to the food industry and lobbyists)

Films:

Forks Over Knives

The Game Changers

Websites:

https://www.forksoverknives.com/

https://nutritionfacts.org/

https://theproof.com/

I truly believe everyone can benefit from a whole food, plant-based diet. However, there are two circumstances that come to mind where it may not be appropriate to be on a plant based temporarily (key word). If you have a severe, acute condition, such as diverticulitis, gut dysbiosis, or toxic megacolon, a WFPB diet may not be appropriate until the condition has been addressed, and then you can begin to slowly introduce fiber (ie, plants) into your diet again. Moving forward, a WFPB diet can actually prevent many of these conditions to begin with!

The second circumstance where a WFPB diet may not be appropriate is if you have diagnosed anorexia nervosa or orthorexia. Those with these diagnosed eating disorders may not be able to embrace a WFPB diet because they are already so restrictive with their dietary intake. I recommend working with a team of dietitians and counselors to heal from your eating disorder first and foremost. With that said, those who have generalized distorted eating patterns (hi, hello, that was me) often find tremendous freedom in a WFPB diet, because you eat more foods, not less, and you don’t have to worry about how much you eat once you learn what to eat. For me personally, it’s been so freeing and liberating. I never weigh myself, I never count calories, and I never stress out about what I eat anymore. I wish that for everyone!