The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and major health organizations have all weighed in, approving more plant-based eating. As the effect of climate change becomes increasingly a daily reality, environmental experts also suggests that we eat more plants and less animal food in order to use our land and water resources more sustainably. A huge landmark in this effort came in January 2019, when EAT-Lancet, a consortium of international researchers, released a report mentioning a “Great Food Transformation” to achieve an environmentally sustainable healthy diet for the world’s population by 2050. The key recommendation: as much as possible reduce the consumption of animal’s foods and double the intake of plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts. By making these changes, they argued, some 11 million deaths could be avoided.
There is a “flexitarian,” or “semi-vegetarian,” eating pattern, which occupies a happy middle ground: on most days eating the vegetarian way but having meat or fish occasionally. While estimates differ, already about one third of us are likely to eat this way.
There is a lot to recommend in the flexitarian method, where most of us might find it easier to accept than going full-on vegetarian or vegan. Compared with other individuals, flexitarians are more likely to get the recommended daily consumption of fruits, vegetables and fiber and obtain more health benefits, such as a healthy body weight and a lower risk of high blood pressure and diabetes.
A plant -forward diet has been linked to a reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Plant- based diets can also provide many good – quality protein. Vegetarians used to be encouraged to combine plant-based protein sources such as rice and beans in their meals to get a full balance of protein.
Traditional diets throughout the countries of Asia differs From India to Japan to China to Indonesia, daily meals are built around rice and plenty of vegetables, fish, whole grains, soy food, legumes, herbs and spices. Dairy foods tend to be fermented, which adds gut-friendly probiotics to the menu. Vegetarian diets are usually practiced and many are grounded in religious practices, and meat, if eaten at all tends to be a small section of a dish.
There are many benefits for the environment, when individuals consume plant-based food. Since most of the country’s meat and poultry needs lots of land and water resources and has a sizable carbon footprint, by replacing meats with a plant-based alternative just once a week, can have a significant impact. This would also mean less animal waste, and less antibiotics are used in food supply, since many animals raised on industrial-scale farms are often fed antibiotics.
However, studies indicate that plant-rich eating patterns are associated with positive long-life span and improves mental functioning.
https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8060938/live-longer-fight-climate-change-eat-more-plants/
