This blog was written by Chelsea, our on-staff Holistic Nutritionist! Book sessions with Chelsea over on our registration site at https://reconline.yorkulions.ca/
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Diet Series: The Planetary Health Diet
Shortly after we rang in 2019, the EAT-Lancet commission dropped a massive, eye-opening report on diet, health, and the sustainability of our planet. This report is the first scientific review of what constitutes a healthy planet, a healthy diet, a sustainable food system, and how we can achieve this by 2050 (EAT-Lancet Commission, 2019).
EAT, a non-profit start-up, and The Lancet, an international medical journey, joined forces and created the EAT-Lancet Commission. They then assembled 37 leading scientists from a variety of disciplines, from 16 different countries to weigh in and set targets for this report.
In this report, the EAT-Lancet commission suggests that there is significant scientific research to support the notion that environmental sustainability relies heavily on diet and human health (EAT-Lancet Commission, 2019). They have also proposed that the overwhelmingly poor diets across the globe and food production itself now threaten human and planetary life, more so than tobacco and alcohol use, drugs, and unsafe sex (EAT-Lancet Commission, 2019). However, they have also stated that there is a way forward; a way to combat this and bring sustainable health to both the population and planet – The Planetary Diet.
This diet is ethically and sustainable and medically based, built on plant-focused nutrition, minimal (if not, reduced) meat (especially red meat), dairy and egg intake, and increased amounts of plant-based proteins like legumes, lentils, and nuts & seeds. However, the EAT-Lancet Commission is not the only one focusing on this initiative. Multiple studies have shown, for several years, that plant-based diets are the best route forward for our health, the planet's health, and for a sustainable food system.
Main points of the diet:
· Plant-based
· Flexitarian (vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore, however, minimal/reduced meat and fish, dairy, and egg intake)
· Encourages a wide variety of fruit and veg intake – making local your main source
· Low sugar, processed foods, and saturated fat intake focusing more on unsaturated fat
· Limits refined grains and starchy veg (including potatoes)
· Optimal caloric intake for an adult is 2500 kcal/day. However, it leaves room for gender, age, activity levels, etc.
Daily intake g/day (possible ranges/day in g):
· Wholegrains
o Wheat, rice, corn, quinoa, etc. 232g/day
· Tubers & starchy veg 50g/day (0-100)
· Vegetables 300g/day (200-600)
· Fruits 200g/day (100-300)
· Dairy 250g/day (0-500)
· Protein
o Beef, lamb & pork 14g/day (0-28)
o Chicken, turkey, quail, etc. 29g/day (0-58)
o Eggs 13g/day (0-25)
o Fish 28g/day (0-100)
o Legumes & lentils 75g/day (0-100)
o Nuts & seeds 50g/day (0-75)
· Fats (added)
o Unsaturated oils 40g/day (20-80)
o Saturated oils 11.8g/day (0-11.8)
· Sugars (added) 31g/day (0-31)
What does this look like for an average day? Perhaps you enjoy a steak and a couple of servings of poultry or fish a week, with the remainder of your weekly protein coming from lentils, legumes, and nuts & seeds. This could also mean that you include some milk, butter, and cheese throughout your week (or even your day) but limit your egg intake to two per week.
The Planetary Diet also advocates that your typical plate be split into multiple sections, with half of it being allocated to fruit & veg, a third for wholegrains of your choosing, starchy veg, dairy, and animal protein, and the last third made up of plant-based proteins, unsaturated oils, and added sugars.
Thoughts from a Nutritionist
Þ Although a plant-based diet is not a new idea or trend, the Planetary Diet is putting forward “new” ideas in the sense of a diet that not only benefits human health, but the health and sustainability of our planet. That’s pretty amazing.
Þ Plant-based diets have an overwhelming amount of research advocating for their health benefits – not only for gut health (hello fiber-loving gut bugs!), but because they are naturally low in sugar, refined carbohydrates, which means reduced incidents of metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Þ However, the Planetary Health Diet is not without its flaws. A reduction in fish, which is high in omegas, means less likely for people to get the proper ratios of EPA: DHA in their daily intake, unless through proper supplementation.
Þ The Planetary Health Diet does not propose that every country/population adopt the exact same daily intake, however, they do expect that countries and populations will follow the ranges for daily intake based on their local food sources and choices.
Þ Lastly, I feel that the PHD is a great starting point if you’re looking for ways you can increase sustainability and decrease your animal-sourced protein intake. Plant-based diets are excellent, simply because they are largely flexitarian, meaning that, although the recommendation for the PHD is 2 servings (or less) of animal protein per day, if you use this as a guideline and listen to your body and what makes you feel good (physically and ethically), then maybe 1-3 servings per day is a good place to start and you can use your own body as a benchmark for what works for you moving forward! My recommendation, generally, is to always focus on whole foods over-supplementation wherever possible, eating local and organic wherever possible, and incorporating at least 6 servings of diverse fruit and veg into your daily diet.
Interested in seeing what your diet’s impact is having on the environment?
Take a look at this Foodprint Calculator
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Sources:
Batlle-Bayer, L., Bala, A., Roca, M., Lemaire, E., Aldaco, R., & Fullana-i-Palmer, P. (2020). Nutritional and environmental co-benefits of shifting to “ Planetary Health ” Spanish tapas. Journal of Cleaner Production, 271. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652620326081
Cacau, L. T., Carli, E. De, Carvalho, A. M. De, Lotufo, P. A., Moreno, L. A., Bensenor, I. M., & Marchioni, D. M. (2021). Development and Validation of an Index Based on EAT-Lancet Recommendations : The Planetary Health Diet Index. Nutrients, 13(5), 15. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1698
EAT-Lancet Commission. (2019). Healthy Diets From Sustainabe Food Systems Food Planet Health.
Fresán, U., & Sabaté, J. (2019). Vegetarian Diets : Planetary Health and Its Alignment with Human Health. Advances in Nutrition, 10(4), 380–388. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/10/Supplement_4/S380/5624053?login=true
Hemler, E. C., & Hu, F. B. (2019). Plant-Based Diets for Personal , Population , and Planetary Health. Advances in Nutrition, 10(4), 275–283. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/10/Supplement_4/S275/5624061?login=true
Marinova, D., & Bogueva, D. (2019). Planetary health and reduction in meat consumption. Sustainable Earth, 2(3), 1–12. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42055-019-0010-0
Swain, M., Blomqvist, L., McNamara, J., & Ripple, W. J. (2018). Reducing the environmental impact of global diets. Science of the Total Environment, 610–611, 1207–1209. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004896971732123X