re: Plant based diet?

It's worth mentioning that one thing to look out for when people mention "How great they feel" after changing to a diet is the honeymoon effect of a new diet.

So many people try out these restrictive, specific approach diets that are often lacking in key nutrients. When they switch to a new, similarly strict diet, they feel great because they are still high in the nutrients from the previous diet, as well as the nutrients the new diet is high in.

For example...

Let's say someone is fringe paleo. They are getting tons of protein, plenty of B-12, and lots of zinc, copper, omega 3's, etc. But, since they are fringe paleo and don't focus on veggies enough and rarely eat legumes, they may have:

1.) Low magnesium, or poor magnesium/calcium balance
2.) Gut issues because they aren't providing enough fermentable fiber for their gut bacteria.

Now, let's say this person switches to a vegetarian or vegan approach. Once again, this is a fringe diet and is pretty restrictive. Now they are getting tons of veggies and lots of legumes. They feel better as they correct some of their nutrient deficiencies and get a better gut balance. They still have high levels of everything the fringe paleo diet provided.

Honeymoon Effect.

However, as a few months go by, this restrictive diet may lead to low B-12 and other nutrients abundant in animals, and if this person isn't really working toward getting enough protein, they may see some effects there.

Now, the honeymoon effect goes away, and another set of issues pop up.

This is why uber-restrictive diets often fail over time, but almost always grant the dieter a few weeks of honeymoon effect.

I learned this from a doctor who works with elite athletes and helped me through recovery from a bad illness (for a hefty price, of course)