Yesterday we discussed a new, potentially earth-saving diet that’s also healthy for us humans, too.
According to researchers behind the EAT-Lancet Commission, the global “planetary health diet” could truly change the world. Designed to prevent several leading causes of death, the diet also helps decrease pollution and global freshwater consumption.
Of course, while that sounds fantastic, many of us are left wondering how we can start adopting this diet ourselves. Here’s what it entails.
Don’t panic, it’s not an entirely vegetarian diet – the report suggests you can consider it a “flexitarian diet.” This means that while it is largely plant-based, things like meat, fish, and dairy aren’t completely off the table.
According to the report, one half of your plate should consist of vegetables and fruits. The other half is broken down into seven other sections, whole grains being the largest, followed by plant-sourced protein.
“Healthy diets have an optimal caloric intake and consist largely of a diversity of plant-based foods, low amounts of animal source foods, contain unsaturated rather than saturated fats, and limited amounts of refined grains, highly processed foods, and added sugars,” explains the report.
So, what should a meal consist of? The report suggests you break things down like so:
Protein sources are broken down as follows:
These aren’t exact amounts, of course, each type of food has a possible range. However, this is a good guideline to follow. Basically, you’re allowed a little of everything in moderation.
In following this new diet, it’s important to source food from sustainable sources. This may mean increasing your diversity – not just to support biodiversity but to also get all your necessary nutrients.
When eating a diet made up of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains, variety is important. Luckily, there are tens of thousands of known edible plants to sample. Many are surprisingly good sources of dietary protein, too.
The diet allows for eating a variety of foods in moderation, yes. However, many people will need to significantly cut back on their meat consumption in order to meet the guidelines.
Not only is excess meat consumption bad for our health, but it’s also detrimental to the planet.
The study suggests consuming no more than 98 grams of red meat each week. For poultry, you should avoid exceeding 203 grams, and fish caps out at 196 grams.
The diet is focused primarily on cooking in our own homes as opposed to dining out. This allows us to bring more biodiversity to the table and better select sustainable sources for what we eat.
Planning a week’s worth of meals at a time is an ideal way to approach the diet as well. Not only will you save money, but you can also reduce waste, too.
