According to “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi, eating a plant-based diet will benefit more than just your waistline.

“Eating vegetarian is more economical,” she told HuffPost Live’s Marc Lamont Hill. “It’s hard to get organic vegetables that are lower priced, but a bag of beans or lentils, which gives you a lot of protein, costs less then the same equivalent weight [of meat].”

The diet may also contain other added perks. “It also makes your skin more beautiful. Your hair, your eyesight. All of those things,” she added.

Lakshmi occasionally will eat “a steak, roast chicken once in a while, a burger now and then,” but she strongly believes that “for a regular diet, you don’t need that much meat.” In order to get her daily protein, she goes for tofu, lentils and legumes, she said.

Check out the full HuffPost Live clip above for more on why Lakshmi chooses to follow a plant-based lifestyle and tips for starting one of your own.

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