There is no shortage of options when it comes to deciding what to include in your diet. Many studies have shown that diets that include mostly whole foods, specifically plant-based items, provide the most benefits. The Flexitarian diet was created by dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner to help people reap the benefits of vegetarian eating while still enjoying animal products, such as meat, fish, and dairy, in moderation. Research on the topic has found that those that consume a “flexitarian” diet may experience improved cardiovascular health.
A plant-based diet is widely shared to be a great way to support your body’s function. Studies have shown a significant decrease in all-cause death and risk of cardiovascular disease when diets included plant-based proteins. Consuming a wide variety of fruits and vegetables provides an array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory elements, and more.
Eating fewer meat products protects from several health concerns including:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Obesity
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Type 2 diabetes
- Many cancers (pancreatic, prostate, breast, colorectal, and more)
The latest study found that a “flexitarian” diet, which promotes eating mostly plant-based foods while permitting a moderate amount of animal products can still provide cardiovascular benefits. The flexitarian diet generally follows these guidelines:
- Eat mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.
- Focus on protein from plants instead of animals.
- Be flexible and incorporate meat and animal products from time to time.
- Eat the least processed, most natural forms of foods.
- Limit added sugar and sweets.
Researchers of the latest info, published in BMC Nutrition shared, “While the multiple cardiovascular health benefits of an exclusively plant-based vegan diet have been widely described, current studies focusing on a plant-based flexitarian diet are still rare,” wrote corresponding author Prof. Andreas Hahn, a scientist with the Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition in Germany, and colleagues. “Therefore, it is unclear whether a diet that is healthy for the cardiovascular system necessarily excludes animal products, or whether a reduction in meat and processed meat products is sufficient to benefit from the health-promoting effects.”
Participants included 94 young to middle-aged German adults that followed roughly the same basic diet for one year.
- All were considered generally healthy, nonsmokers, with a “normal” BMI
- 32 participants were flexitarians that agte less than 50 grams of meat products per day
- 29 were omnivores who ate more than 170 grams of meat per day
- 33 were vegans
The results were:
- Flexitarians and vegans showed “more beneficial levels” of insulin, triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol than omnivores. Both groups also had a higher overall diet quality.
- Flexitarians had more favorable metabolic syndrome results and better pulse wave velocity values (a measure of arterial stiffness) than vegans or omnivores.
“Overall, the results supported a beneficial impact of a flexitarian diet on CVD risk parameters in the present cohort,” the authors wrote. “However, further research with larger, clearly defined flexitarian study populations is needed to better understand the influence of this dietary pattern on CVD risk factors.”
Additional studies support the benefits of a flexitarian diet. A 2020 study on vegetarian, pescatarian, and flexitarian diets that included 10,797 participants found that those who adhered to any diet excluding/reducing meat intake had lower body mass index, total cholesterol, and blood pressure than those who ate meat.
A study with more than 200,000 participants found that a diet that emphasized plant foods and was low in animal foods was associated with about a 20% reduced risk of diabetes.
While additional research is needed to iron out the nuances of the data in the latest study, overwhelming information shows that the less meat we eat, the better for our body. Incorporate more fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts to best support your health.
-https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/how-does-plant-forward-eating-benefit-your-health
-https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/nutrition/does-meat-cause-cancer
-https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/flexitarian-diet-guide
-https://cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/clinical/heart-health/flexitarian-diet-plant-based-option-includes-small-amounts-meat-linked-key-cardiovascular-benefits
-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28111625/
-https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002039
-https://www.datasci.com/solutions/cardiovascular/pulse-wave-velocity-(pwv)