What if getting older didn’t automatically mean slowing down, losing strength, gaining weight, or accepting chronic disease as inevitable?
At 84, registered dietitian, bestselling author, and plant-based nutrition expert Vesanto Melina is living proof that our later years can still be active, strong, and filled with purpose.
Vesanto takes five fitness classes and two yoga classes each week, continues writing and speaking, works with nutrition clients, and recently completed a 12-session women’s self-defense course.
In this episode of Plant Based Eating for Health, I talk with Vesanto about what we can do to support our health, strength, mobility, and independence as we age.
Her newest book, Plant Powered Seniors, addresses something I wish I had found when I first began eating plant-based at 64: practical
information specifically for those of us navigating nutrition and health in our 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond.
From Vegetarian Pioneer to Plant-Based Nutrition Expert
Vesanto’s journey began long before plant-based eating became mainstream. After spending several years in India, she became vegetarian in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Her first book with longtime co-author Brenda Davis, Becoming Vegetarian, was published in 1993. Today, her body of work includes 15 books published in 10 languages, with more than one million copies sold in English.
Through it all, Vesanto has continued to evolve her recommendations as nutrition science has evolved.
Vegan Doesn’t Automatically Mean Healthy
One important distinction Vesanto makes is that eliminating animal products doesn’t automatically create a healthy diet.
With so many vegan convenience foods available today, someone can be completely vegan while consuming a diet filled with ultra-processed foods.
The goal is a well-planned plant-based diet that provides the nutrients our bodies need, something that becomes increasingly important as we age.
Muscle, Movement and Independence
Nutrition is only part of the healthy-aging equation. Movement matters.
Maintaining muscle and balance affects our ability to climb stairs, carry groceries, get out of a chair, recover from a stumble, enjoy activities with family, and remain independent.
Vesanto isn’t simply talking about this. At 84, she’s living it. She takes regular fitness and yoga classes and recently completed a women’s self-defense course where most of the other participants were around 30.
Healthy aging is about more than adding years to our lives. It’s about maintaining enough vitality to participate in those years.
Menopause, Belly Fat and Metabolic Health
We also talk about a reality many women experience: our bodies change after menopause.
I started lifting weights in my 30s, when building muscle and leaning out was considerably easier. Decades later, my body responds differently.
Vesanto explains how hormonal changes can influence fat storage, including increased visceral fat around the abdominal organs. Plant foods can be helpful for weight management because they provide fiber, nutrients, and volume without the high caloric density of many animal-based and highly processed foods.
Protein, Creatine and Maintaining Muscle
Protein is another important part of the conversation.
Vesanto explains why legumes such as beans, lentils, peas, tofu, soy foods, and peanuts are valuable sources of plant-based protein.
We also get into creatine and its potential role in supporting muscle as we age, particularly when combined with resistance training.
And what about the old idea that vegans need to combine specific proteins at every meal? Vesanto explains why you don’t need to carefully pair beans and grains at every sitting. Our bodies can use amino acids consumed from different foods throughout the day.
Making Plant-Based Eating Simple
Healthy eating doesn’t have to mean spending hours in the kitchen.
Vesanto shares practical strategies such as batch cooking and keeping simple foods ready to go. She also shares some of her favorite ways to prepare tofu, including a quick marinade with ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, and tamari, soy sauce, or Bragg Liquid Aminos.
We discovered we both love using the air fryer for tofu. Simple, fast, and delicious.
What If Your Family Isn’t Plant-Based?
Many people want to eat plant-based but live with someone who has no interest in changing.
Vesanto’s advice is simple: don’t make converting them the goal. Make good food.
Let them discover that plant-based meals can be satisfying and delicious. Sometimes change begins not with an argument about nutrition, animals, or the environment, but with someone taking a bite and saying, “I could eat this again.”
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect
Perhaps one of Vesanto’s most encouraging messages is that you don’t have to change everything overnight.
Start where you are. Add more whole plant foods. Experiment with beans, lentils, and tofu. Find movement you enjoy. Learn what your body needs. Surround yourself with people who support your choices.
Then keep going.
At 84, Vesanto is exercising, practicing yoga, writing, speaking, working with clients, learning new skills, and thinking about what comes next.
The bigger question may not be how long we live, but how we want to live for however many years we have.
Strong. Independent. Engaged. Curious. And fully participating in life.
That’s what being plant-powered can really be about.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover
- Why vegan doesn’t automatically mean healthy
- How plant-based nutrition can support healthy aging
- Why maintaining muscle becomes more important as we age
- The connection between movement, balance, and independence
- How menopause can change weight and fat distribution
- Why legumes are important sources of plant-based protein
- What Vesanto says about creatine and muscle
- Why you don’t need to combine plant proteins at every meal
- Simple ways to make plant-based eating easier
- How to navigate eating plant-based when your family doesn’t
- Why healthy aging is about far more than the number on the scale
About Vesanto Melina
Vesanto Melina, MS, RD, is an internationally recognized registered dietitian, author, speaker, and authority on plant-based nutrition.
For more than three decades, Vesanto has helped bring credible, evidence-based vegetarian and vegan nutrition information into the mainstream. Along with longtime co-author Brenda Davis, she has written numerous influential books that have helped people around the world understand how to build nutritionally sound plant-based diets.
Their books have been published in multiple languages and have sold more than one million English-language copies.
Vesanto’s newest book, Plant Powered Seniors, focuses on helping older adults use plant-powered nutrition and lifestyle choices to support strength, health, independence, and vitality throughout the later decades of life.
At 84, Vesanto also practices what she teaches. She remains physically active, participates in regular fitness and yoga classes, continues writing and speaking, and works with clients who want to improve their nutrition and health.
Her work demonstrates that growing older does not have to mean giving up strength, curiosity, purpose, or an active life.
About Kathleen Gage
Kathleen Gage is a multifaceted professional, renowned as the founder of Vegan Visibility. With certifications in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell University, she’s a seasoned business consultant, keynote speaker, and marketing strategist.
Kathleen’s impact extends to hosting the Vegan Visibility Virtual Summit, a niche event supporting vegan and plant-based entrepreneurs with top-tier training from industry experts. Since establishing her business in 1994, she’s navigated economic challenges across various sectors, including high-tech, healthcare, and publishing.
Her influential voice resonates through popular podcasts like “Vegan Visibility” and “Plant Based Eating for Health,” where she advocates for a sustainable, compassionate world and provides guidance to thousands globally. Moreover, as an award-winning speaker and past president of Utah’s National Speakers Association chapter, Kathleen excels in crafting effective marketing strategies.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Kathleen resides in Central Oregon, where she champions animal rescue and enjoys outdoor activities. Her commitment to creating a more compassionate and sustainable world shines through in both her personal and professional pursuits. Kathleen recently joined the Board of Directors for Blue Barn Farm and Sanctuary in Creswell, Oregon.