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One Diet Pattern Was Linked To Better Nutrition & Perhaps A Smaller Environmental Footprint
Eating well can feel like a balancing act, especially when you are also thinking about the impact your food choices have on the planet. But you don't necessarily have to choose between the two.
A recent study1 explored how the Planetary Health Diet, a flexible, plant-forward eating pattern, relates to nutrition, environmental impact, and sustainable food choices. And it doesn't require you to cut out meat or dairy, making it less restrictive and more practical than many other healthy diets.
What is the Planetary Health Diet
About the study
Researchers assessed 300 adults ages 18 to 64 attending a diet clinic in Turkey. Participants reported what they ate over 24 hours, which allowed researchers to measure how closely their diets followed the Planetary Health Diet.
The team also assessed diet quality and estimated the carbon emissions and water use linked to participants' food choices. These measurements helped researchers explore the environmental footprint of different eating patterns, since food production requires various resources and generates different levels of emissions depending on the food.
Better diet quality was the clearest finding
People who followed the Planetary Health Diet more closely tended to have better overall diet quality, suggesting that a plant-forward approach to eating is good for nutrition.
Environmental benefits were less clear. Greater adherence to the Planetary Health Diet was linked to a slightly lower estimated carbon and water footprints, but the association was weak and the differences didn't end up being statistically significant. The study therefore does not establish that this diet reduces environmental impact.
Researchers did find that women, people with more education, and students or civil servants tended to report more favorable sustainable food choice behaviors when following this diet. However, the study couldn't explain what caused the shift in behavior.
How to eat more in line with the Planetary Health Diet
A few practical changes can help you embrace this plant-based eating approach without complicating your grocery list.
- Make plants the star of the show: Add beans to grain bowls, extra vegetables to pasta, and fruit and walnuts to oatmeal.
- Rethink your main dish: Try lentil curry, chickpea salad, or bean-based chili instead of making meat the center of every meal. You can still enjoy animal products, just try to reduce how often you consume them.
- Choose whole grains: Oats, brown rice, and whole-grain bread add fiber and nutrients to everyday meals.
- Cover your nutritional needs: If you begin eating fewer animal products, make sure you are still getting enough protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin B12. Depending on your diet, fortified foods or supplements may help fill nutritional gaps.
The takeaway
The beauty of the Planetary Health Diet is that it doesn't require you to follow a strict set of food rules, yet you will still get the benefits of improved diet quality. Though its environmental benefits were less certain, thinking about how your individual habits may affect the planet is always a good thing. And, by simply adding some more beans, greens, and whole grains to your next meal, you will be taking a nutritious step in the right direction.