It’s becoming more popular than ever to go vegetarian or vegan, increasing power plant foods while eliminating meat or animal items. But if the idea of completely nixing meat seems more idealistic than realistic for you, it may be time to learn a new term: “flexitarian.”.
Flexitarian indicates you can still eat your favorite animal proteins like eggs and lean meats, even hamburgers and steaks from time to time, however you’re ultimately focusing more on increasing intake of fruits, veggies, vegetables, nuts, seeds, entire grains, and all the other great stuff in a healthy eating plan. If you consume with purpose, it’s more of an “method” or a “way of life” than a diet plan, says New York-based registered dietitian Keri Gans, RD..
The appeal of a flexitarian way of life is that you get to choose how committed you are, and you can adhere to whatever feels maintainable. “The basis of a flexitarian approach is that it encourages you to be versatile in your options, while still keeping plant-based foods as most of your diet plan,” Gans states. “If you’re a huge red meat eater, you may incorporate more vegetables and fruits to your diet– however you can go to the BBQ and have the burger if you seem like it.”.
Why would someone want to consider leaning into a predominantly plant-based diet? Compared to meat-eaters, “vegetarians tend to consume less hydrogenated fat and cholesterol and more vitamins C and E, dietary fiber, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals), such as carotenoids and flavonoids,” states Harvard Health..
According to a 2017 review published in Frontiers in Nutrition on t
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