Macro partitioning
Adopting energy-balanced, predominantly plant-based dietary patterns (flexitarian, pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan) significantly reduces premature mortality by 19-22% and greenhouse gas emissions by 54-87% compared to current global diets.
To improve your health and reduce your environmental footprint, shift your diet towards being predominantly plant-based while maintaining energy balance. Focus on increasing intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts. If you eat meat, choose fish or poultry in moderation, and avoid processed meats. This approach is adaptable to your local food culture and has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of premature death from chronic diseases.
Dietary changes to balanced flexitarian, pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets led to reductions in premature mortality of 19% (95% CI 18–20) for the flexitarian scenario to 22% (18–24) for the vegan scenario... It also markedly reduced environmental impacts globally (reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 54–87%)
Why this rating
Global modelling analysis covering >150 countries with comparative risk assessment based on meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies.
Source
Health and nutritional aspects of sustainable diet strategies and their association with environmental impacts: a global modelling analysis with country-level detail
Marco Springmann et al. · The Lancet Planetary Health · 2018
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