Mark Bittman, a renowned food journalist and author, introduced a flexible dietary strategy called "Vegan Before 6" (VB6). This approach emphasizes plant-based eating for the majority of the day, offering a sustainable and enjoyable path to better health and a more ethical relationship with food.
Understanding the VB6 Philosophy
The VB6 concept is simple: eat vegan meals for breakfast and lunch, then enjoy whatever you'd like after 6 pm. Bittman adopted this approach not just for health benefits but also to reduce his carbon footprint. The idea is that by eating plant-based meals for the majority of the day, one can enjoy the health advantages of a vegan diet while also contributing to a more sustainable food system.
The Appeal of Flexibility
What's particularly appealing about VB6 is its flexibility. It's not about strict rules or a complete dietary overhaul; it's about making conscious choices for a significant portion of the day and then savoring other delicacies in the evening. This balance ensures that individuals can enjoy the best of both worlds-health and indulgence.
The Core Principles of VB6
The VB6 diet encourages a strong emphasis on plants, more natural foods, more whole foods and fewer hyper-processed foods and fewer animal products. It promotes a simple message: eat mostly fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, sometimes meat, and, if you must, junk as the occasional indulgence. You don’t need a points system to know which foods you should eat, and if you’re not doing it 100 percent you can still do it well.
Real Foods and a Balanced Diet
A balanced diet means a wide variety of real foods, not hyper-processed foods. Meat and dairy can be a part of that diet, but it should not be a part of that diet in the way that it is for most of us now, which is to say we eat a pound and a half or so of animal products every day on average, which is conservatively ten times as much as we need and ten times as much as is good for us.
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Addressing Overconsumption
The overconsumption of animal products is detrimental to our health. The overproduction of industrially raised animals - as in factory farms - is not only bad for us but terrible for the environment, for the people who live around those factory farms, and for the animals, of course. The idea is really a balance of real foods, but with a much stronger and much heavier emphasis on plants than we've done in the United States for 100 years.
Why We Crave Rules
We crave rules - a way of thinking that makes it easier to shift to a healthier diet. Vegan Before 6:00 is a perfect example. It's not enough to say, "Eat more plants," because then you wake up and you say, "I'm going to eat more plants, but maybe not at breakfast." And then you say, "Maybe not at lunch, and maybe not at dinner, either." And days go by. The VB6 rule is to eat as a very strict vegan all day long. That is, eat very heavily from the plant kingdom and exclusively from the plant kingdom, and no white flour, no white pasta, no white rice. Nothing white. No meat, no dairy, no junk.
Implementing the VB6 Diet
When Bittman committed to a vegan before 6:00 pm diet, he quickly realized that everything about it became easier if he cooked his own meals at home. In The VB6 Cookbook he makes this proposition more convenient than you could imagine. Drawing on a varied and enticing pantry of vegan staples strategically punctuated with “treat” foods (including meat and other animal products), he has created a versatile repertoire of recipes that makes following his plan simple, satisfying, and sustainable.
Meal Planning for VB6
- Breakfasts: A full range of hot cereals, whirl-and-go-dairy free smoothies, toast toppers, and brunch-worthy entrees.
- Lunches: Hearty soups, sandwiches, beans, grains, and pastas to pack along wherever the day takes you, and more than a dozen snack recipes provide the perfect afternoon pick-me-up to banish the vending-machine cravings that can undo a day of eating well.
- Dinners: Flexitarian, focusing on vegetable-forward meals that are augmented by a range of animal products for fullest flavor, satisfaction, and nutrient density.
- Building Blocks: Make-ahead components you mix and match - ensures that a flavorful and healthy meal is never more than a few minutes away.
Snacking Strategically
Bittman encourages snacking when the urge strikes, as long as you don’t eat when you’re not really hungry and don’t choose processed foods. He recommends reaching for fruit when you crave something sweet, even if that means eating two or three pieces. He cautions against eating too many white potatoes, chips, and fries.
Dinner: Freedom with Moderation
For dinner, nothing is off-limits -- you may eat whatever you like. But if you’re trying to lose weight, Bittman suggests that you eat and drink them in limited quantities, or use as a garnish rather than as the centerpiece of a meal.
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Addressing Common Concerns and Misconceptions
Many people find the science behind healthy eating boring, preferring to look for silver bullets or expecting magic to happen. When the science says that a good diet is actually a very, very simple thing, people find that boring. Everybody says, "Oh, it's so confusing." Well, the reason it's confusing is because the industry wants you to be confused.
The Role of Industry Influence
If I say to you, "Eat lots of tomatoes," and then a study comes out and says, "Well, tomatoes are good because there's lycopene in it," then the industry wants to promote lycopene because it can take lycopene and put it in Trix, and now tell you that Trix are good for you because there's lycopene in them. But the fact is that's not how it works. What works is eating a wide variety of foods, as I've now said three times - most of them plants. And that's so simple that people think, "Well, it can't be like that. It has to be that some scientist invents something." That's not how things are going to get better.
Access to Healthy Food
Some people don't get to eat enough, some eat too much of the wrong things, and then there are the environmental problems. There's a notion that so-called "healthy food" is more expensive than junk food, and it's really not true. If you compare a dinner for a family of four at McDonald's or Burger King or any fast food joint you want to name (and that is for the most part unhealthy food because no one's going there to order salads) to what it costs to cook a normal meal for a family of four, and I'm not talking about organic and I'm not talking about going to a fancy supermarket, we're talking about buying regularly grown vegetables and fruits, a little bit of meat, beans and rice, whatever, that is less expensive. You know, your $20 goes a lot farther at a regular supermarket than it goes in a fast food joint.
The Benefits of VB6
People turn to veganism for a number of reasons, but not usually because it’s particularly easy-until Mark Bittman wrote a book about doing it part-time. Its message is a simple one: eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains; less meat and processed foods; and enjoy your favorite foods occasionally. It’s not a new message by any means, but what’s refreshing (and practical) about Bittman’s approach is that it doesn’t aim for perfection.
Health Improvements
Bittman's doctor told him that he was 40 pounds overweight, prediabetic, and had high cholesterol. He says his doctor recommended that he go on a vegan diet. Bittman decided to radically change his diet but not totally give up all animal products, to see if that would help improve his health without medication. When he started VB6, all his blood numbers, his weight, his cholesterol, all of that stuff went in the right direction.
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Sustainable Lifestyle Change
Many diets are too strict; they cause feelings of guilt when you fall off track, and they don’t let you back on. Nothing is easy or simple. VB6 promotes a simple message: eat mostly fruit, vegetables and whole grains, sometimes meat, and if you must, junk as the occasional indulgence. You don’t need a points system to know which foods you should eat, and if you’re not doing it 100 percent you can still do it well.
Integrating VB6 into Your Life
Bittman also gives you some margin. If going vegan apart from dinner doesn't work for you, could you do it for another part of the day? For dinner, nothing is off-limits -- you may eat whatever you like.
Cooking and Shopping
You’ll likely prepare and eat far more fruit, vegetables, and grains than you ever have before. Bittman provides very easy recipes and cooking techniques for a wide range of foods. Plus, the book gives you the tools you need to make the diet work, even if you eat out frequently and don’t like to cook.
Exercise
Bittman suggests you get moving because exercise helps bolster your physical and mental health. He doesn’t give specific recommendations.
Adapting VB6 for Different Diets
The VB6 diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes and requires you to eat vegan at least part-time. It wouldn’t be difficult to continue the vegan plan or make it simply vegetarian for dinner. The plan is not necessarily low-fat, but you’ll eat mostly heart-healthy fats from avocado, olive oil, nuts, and seeds, and as much or as little salt as you like. If you have diabetes, you can continue to count carbs to control blood sugar. If you have a health condition, talk to your doctor before making major changes to your diet.