Plant-based products
Putting plants at the heart of the diet has been demonstrated to offer both improved health benefits and environmental benefits.
An advantage of consuming an ambundance of products from the plant kingdom? Their great diversity!
For example, favoring the consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, offers a diverse selection including choices of nutrients, flavours and sensory profiles. Food based dietary guidelines recommend that plant based foods should make up a large part of what we eat.
Among the products of plant origin, you can find many different types of plant based products including plant based drinks, plant-based alternatives to yogurt (plain or fruit or flavoured), plant-based alternatives to cream and other plant based cooking aids (like custard), or even plant-based desserts! These products are designed to be used in similar occassions to dairy milk (e.g. with breakfast cereals, in coffee, for cooking, eaten as dessert...).
Among these products, some have a nutritional composition similar to that of dairy products (source of qualitative proteins and calcium in particular). In the UK within the Eatwell guide, unsweetened calcium fortified dairy alternatives fall under the dairy or dairy alternatives family. In Ireland, dietary guidelines recommend that if a dairy alterantive is used, it should be fortified with calcium.
Soy products
Soya products are naturally good sources of protein and are often fortified with vitamins such as D2, B2 and B12 as well as minerals such as calcium and iodine. In addition, they are naturally low in saturated fat. Soya is a good source of plant protein, containing all nine essential amino acids.
Nut or oat product
Nut or oat products are also a good choice in a plant-based diet. Oat and nut based products for example are often good sources of fibre and can be fortified with vitamins and minerals such as D2, B2, B12 and minerals such as calcium and iodine. Like soya, oat and nut based products are naturally low in saturated fats.
Plant-based alternatives not only contribute to your health, but also to the health of the planet. Recent studies support the view that plant-based alternatives to dairy products play an important role in a more sustainable diet, as well as can contribute to a better nutritional balance with a lower impact on the environment. This means that plant-based alternatives will become an increasingly important part of dietary patterns in the coming years.