Stanford professor and nutrition scientist Christopher Gardner, PhD, examines the impact of diet on health and disease. He practices primary care internal medicine and studies strategies for preventing chronic disease. Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at Stanford. The next blog post will discuss the ketogenic diet. The series will review the eight currently most prominent diets in America. This is the third post in a series called A Skeptical Look at Popular Diets. In general, most non-vegetarians could move towards a healthier diet by reducing their consumption of meat and instead substituting fibrous vegetables, beans/legumes, fruits, and whole grains. It is not difficult, however, to turn a vegetarian diet into an unhealthy diet by eating too many processed carbs by way of desserts, breads, and ready-made foods. For some, eating humanely raised or caught animals has fewer ethical and environmental downsides compared to meat mass-produced through industrial farming.Ĭonclusion: A vegetarian diet can be a great choice given the benefits of many plant-based foods. If you’re going to cheat: Eating fish and/or poultry can provide an additional source of protein, that is more healthy than other meats. According to Stanford nutrition scientist Christopher Gardner, PhD: “It would be extremely challenging for an ovo-lacto vegetarian to find a combination of foods and beverages that would provide enough calories to maintain a healthy weight, but would be deficient in the quality or amount of protein.” Although many are concerned that a plant-based diet won’t provide enough protein, this is actually unusual. A plant-based pattern of eating will remain a healthy diet as long as highly processed foods are minimized. To make it healthier: A vegetarian diet emphasizing fibrous vegetables, beans/legumes, fruits and whole grains facilitates health. For ovo-lacto vegetarians, overconsumption of dairy products with added sugars (e.g., ice cream, and most snack-size fruited yogurt products) is another potential problem. Substituting highly processed plant-based products where sugars and refined flour dominate will create an unhealthy vegetarian diet for example, cake is vegetarian. When it goes wrong: For the average American, meat is a dominant part of many meals. Variations: Including eggs and dairy products (ovo-lacto vegetarian), including fish only (pescetarian), including meat on occasion (flexitarian), or eliminating all animal products (vegan) are options.Įasy to follow?: Relatively easy to follow at home, but sometimes more difficult in some restaurants or some regions of the country. Most common carbs: Good carbs found in fibrous vegetables, fruits, beans/legumes and grains Most common fats: Mostly mono- and poly-unsaturated fats (good fats) For ovo-lacto vegetarians, dairy and eggs are added protein sources. In contrast, despite a common misperception, meat consumption is not necessary to obtain a sufficient intake of protein.ĭominant sources of protein: Legumes (including soy products), nuts, grains. ![]() Lack of all animal foods does create a potential risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, so supplementing for this micronutrient may be necessary. ![]() These benefits are likely because of both the avoidance of meat and the predominance of dietary vegetables and fruits. Plant-based diets are healthier than diets where meat is consumed, whether measured by the occurrence of heart disease, cancer, or death. Health rationale slogan: By cutting out meat, you avoid an unhealthy food.Īnalysis: Numerous studies have shown that a vegetarian diet is one of the most effective for maintaining health. In general, most people’s diets could be improved by moving in the direction of less meat intake. Many vegetarians restrict their diets beyond a health rationale for ethical (animal cruelty) and environmental reasons (to reduce the resources consumed and pollution produced). With these exceptions, all other food sources are permissible. There are several variations depending on whether additional animal products are consumed ranging from vegan (avoidance of all animal products) to flexitarian (meat or fish occasionally consumed). A vegetarian or plant-based diet eliminates meat and meat products.
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