Benefits of a short- term plant based diet

Written By Crane Holistic

In need of a “reset”? Here’s how even short-term plant-based diets can reverse inflammatory processes….

Plenty of people go vegetarian and vegan for health reasons. But research shows that even short-term fasts from animal products can improve health.

A plant-based diet can induce positive changes in the gut that may decrease inflammation and increase nutrient intake [1]. A study of rheumatoid arthritis patients showed that even a 1-month vegan diet led to both rapid changes in the gut microflora, and decreases in rheumatoid arthritis symptoms [2]. Another study found that a 1-month vegan diet reduced the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae species in the gut, a family of bacteria associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation [3]. Yet another study found decreases in levels of compounds associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and inflammatory bowel disease after a month of a vegetarian diet [4]

Participants in a study who completed a 3-week “reset” (no refined sugar, heavily processed foods, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, meat, fish, dairy or oil) and then encouraged to follow a plant-based diet saw significant weight losses, reductions in BMI, waist circumference, and LDL and total cholesterol levels after 6 weeks. Interestingly, changes were seen both in participants who followed the diet strictly, and those who chose to incorporate some animal foods after the 3 weeks, with the most health benefits observed in those who consumed the highest amounts of vegetables, fruits, and fiber. [5]

Studies like this suggest that incorporating a greater percentage of vegetables into the diets can improve health – and that you don’t have to go meat-free for life (or even fully) in order to reap some of the advantages.

In addition to quick benefits, a short-term fast from animal products is also unlikely to present any significant challenges associated with a longer-term plant-based diet. One resistance people have in going plant-based is a concern about consuming enough protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin B12 [6]. Like any diet, vegetarian and vegan diets require some amount of planning. However, short term, such diets are unlikely to result in significant deficiencies, even if done without additional nutritional preparation.

Want to see what a short-term plant-based diet can do for you? Join our Community on a Cleanse! It’s free, and research shows it might feel pretty darn good :) We’ll be sharing tidbits like this each day of the cleanse, as well as health tips and ideas for making the most of a diet reset.

  1. Turner-McGrievy, G. M., Wirth, M.D., Shivappa, N., Wingard, E.E., Fayad, R., Wilcox, S., Frongillo, E. A., Hébert, J.R (2015). Randomization to plant-based dietary approaches leads to larger short-term improvements in Dietary Inflammatory Index scores and macronutrient intake compared with diets that contain meat. Nutrition Research. 35 (2)2015,Pages 97-106, ISSN 0271-5317, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2014.11.007.

  2. Peltonen R., Nenonen M., Helve T., Hänninen O., Toivanen P., Eerola E. (1997). Faecal microbial flora and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis during a vegan diet. Br. J. Rheumatol. 36:64–68. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/36.1.64

  3. Sidhu, S. R. K., Kok, C. W., Kunasegaran, T., & Ramadas, A. (2023). Effect of Plant-Based Diets on Gut Microbiota: A Systematic Review of Interventional Studies. Nutrients, 15(6), 1510. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061510

  4. Djekic D., Shi L., Brolin H., Carlsson F., Särnqvist C., Savolainen O., Cao Y., Bäckhed F., Tremaroli V., Landberg R., et al. (2020). Effects of a vegetarian diet on cardiometabolic risk factors, gut microbiota, and plasma metabolome in subjects with ischemic heart disease: A randomized, crossover study. J. Am. Heart Assoc. 9:e016518. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.016518.

  5. Brown, L., Rose, K. & Campbell, A. (2022). Healthy plant-based diets and their short-term effects on weight loss, nutrient intake and serum cholesterol levels. Nutrition Bulletin, 47, 199–207. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/nbu.12554

  6. Pilis, W., Stec, K., Zych, M., and Pilis, A. (2014). Health Benefits and Risk Associated with adopting a vegetarian diet. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig 65(1):9-14.

Crane Holistic