Plant Based Diet: The 101 Best Whole Foods to Prevent Disease and Live Longer

One of the biggest problems in the diets of most people today is the fact that so much of our food consumption comes from processed meats and packaged foods. Not only will this cause the body's natural pH balance to shift, setting you up for problems, but it's also going to cause you to place a high number of toxins in your body that will end up damaging your organs, causing blood sugar instability, and could even impact the way your brain functions. By making the shift over to foods that are entirely natural, you eliminate the probability of these problems from ever occurring.

If you've seen the outstanding documentary Forks Over Knives you know its premise that "most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods." (If you haven't seen the film and you're contemplating a plant-based diet, it's a must-watch. Rent it tonight). The film gives an important overview of the 20-year China-Cornell-Oxford Project that led to findings that a number of diseases can be linked to the Western diet of processed and animal-based foods.

Here are 101 of the best foods to be eating as part of your plant-based diet plan.