A Diet Good for Your Health& Good for the Planet!

Can you eat a diet that’s good for your health and good for the planet?

A new study suggests that it’s possible. It found that people who ate mostly minimally processed plant foods such as nuts, beans, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and olive oil, along with modest amounts of meat, fish, eggs and dairy, had lower rates of premature death from heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases.

At the same time, their diets had a smaller environmental footprint because they consisted of foods that were grown using relatively less land and water and that were produced with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was inspired by a landmark 2019 report from the EAT-Lancet Commission, which designed a “Planetary Health Diet” capable of sustaining 10 billion people and the planet by 2050. The planetary health diet, in broad strokes, encourages people to eat more plants and whole foods alongside small portions of meat and dairy. It was designed to be flexible and adaptable to different cultural, culinary, and personal preferences.

The new report is among the first large studies to examine how eating within the contours of the planetary health diet affects a person’s likelihood of dying prematurely from major diseases. The study analysed data on more than 200,000 men and women in the United States who were followed closely for over three decades. The new study found the following:

Lower mortality risk: People whose eating habits most closely adhered to the planetary health diet were 30 percent less likely to die prematurely compared to people who ate the lowest amounts of foods that form the basis of the planetary health diet.

Less illness: Planetary health eaters had a 10 percent lower risk of dying from cancer, a 14 percent lower likelihood of dying from cardiovascular diseases, a 47 percent reduction in the risk of dying from lung disease, and a 28 percent lower likelihood of dying of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Lower infectious-disease risk: Women whose eating habits closely aligned with the planetary health diet had a 38 percent lower risk of dying of infectious diseases.

Better planet health: An environmental impact analysis found that this approach to eating was associated with 29 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions, a 51 percent reduction in cropland use, a 21 percent reduction in fertilizer use and 13 percent lower irrigation and water needs.

How to follow a planetary diet

In the study, people whose eating habits adhered closely to the planetary health diet ate large amounts of the following foods:

Whole fruits and non-starchy vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, cucumber and leafy greens. Peanuts and tree nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews and pistachios. Legumes such as beans, lentils and peas. Chicken and other forms of poultry. Foods that are rich in unsaturated fats, like avocados, olive oil and sunflower oil. Whole grains such as brown rice, wild rice, oatmeal, quinoa and barley, as well as foods that are made with whole grains (for example, whole wheat bread and rye bread). Ate lower amounts of red and processed meats, eggs, soft drinks, fruit juices and sugary processed foods including candy, cakes, breakfast cereals and desserts.

How healthy eating is also good for the planet

Food production accounts for about 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Much of that is driven by methane emissions from livestock, widespread deforestation, and emissions from food processing, farm machinery, the use of synthetic fertilizers and other aspects of agricultural production.

Most of the cropland in America is used to grow just two crops - corn and soy - that are fed to livestock. This practice of monoculture farming can degrade soil, reduce biodiversity and require more irrigation, pesticides and herbicides. Only about 5 percent of farmland in America is used to grow other vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes, Willett said.

“What this study shows is that we can both shift our diets to be far healthier than the average American diet and also at the same time substantial have less impact on slowing down climate change,” he added. “We don’t have to trade off planetary health for human health. We can have both - it’s a double win.”

The new study was observational, meaning it found correlations between what people ate and their risk of major diseases, not necessarily cause and effect. It’s possible that other lifestyle behaviours could explain the findings. But the researchers took into account factors such as whether the participants smoked, exercised, drank alcohol, or had family histories of heart disease, cancer and other diseases. The health benefits of eating a diet high in nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fruits and vegetables have also been documented in rigorous clinical trials.