You don’t have to go full-vegan to enjoy the benefits of a plant-based diet

Are you bracing for higher food prices this year?

Many Canadians are, given that groceries, particularly meat, went up so dramatically in 2021 — year over year, we’re looking at an average of nearly 10 per cent more for the category as a whole. The worst culprit? (Aside from corporate profits, that is.) Bacon. According to Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index, it was 20 per cent more expensive in October 2021 than it was the year before.

So is it time to stop bringing it home, then? Well, even aside from financial considerations, a growing number of people are curious about cutting back on meat and replacing it with plants, for personal health, animal welfare or environmental sustainability reasons — even all three.

Of course, not all of us want to go full vegan. Or even make a commitment to vegetarianism, for that matter. Some of us would like to reserve the right to enjoy a special occasion cheeseburger here and there. The good news is there are options for that, too, thanks to “flexitarian” and “reducetarian” nutrition philosophies. What’s the difference? We asked a registered dietitian.

“It’s one of those things where you can pick whatever term works for you, whether it’s ‘flexitarian’ or ‘reducetarian’ or plant-based,’” said Max Seider, a registered dietitian who works at Sunnybrook Hospital. “And if you don’t feel like picking a term, you don’t have to do that either. The point is there are so many benefits that come from following a more plant-based diet.”

There’s a lot less research into the health benefits of a reducetarian diet than others, since it’s relatively new. As Seider points out, the word “flexitarianism” was only added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014, whereas people have been using the word “vegetarian” for at least 170 years.

There’s a significant amount of research on the relationship between reduced meat consumption and better health outcomes, though, thanks largely to population studies of people who eat less meat than people who eat a typical western diet.

“Ultimately, flexitarianism, to me, is a lot like the Mediterranean diet,” said Andy de Santis, a registered dietitian with a private practice in midtown Toronto. “That’s because the Mediterranean diet tells us to eat a little less chicken, a little less dairy and a lot less beef and, instead, tells us to eat more veggies, more seafood and more legumes.

“So you can think of them as different names for the same overarching concept.”

And there’s a reason the Mediterranean diet is recommended or profiled by a number of medical associations, including the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Diabetes Canada and the Alzheimer Society. It’s associated with lower risks of cancer, heart disease, neurogenerative disease and lower body mass, as well as overall mortality rates.

However, we can only extrapolate from these studies if people are actually adhering to something close to the Mediterranean diet. How flexible is too flexible?

Dawn Jackson Blatner, registered dietitian and author of “The Flexitarian Diet” (a book that came out in 2008, before the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary) suggests starting out with six to eight meatless meals per week (out of 21) and working your way up to 15 or more plant-based meals. Interestingly enough, that’s pretty close to New York Times food writer Mark Bittman’s “Vegan Before Six” guidelines, since it winds up with at least 14 plant meals. And if either of these are too ambitious, Seider said you should be thinking baby steps.

“The key is making small sustainable changes and setting reasonable goals and thinking about barriers to change,” said Seider. “So start with a meatless Monday and swap your chicken breast for some cubed marinated tofu, or add some beans to a salad. Then seriously think about what types of meats you really enjoy and only keep the ones you really like.”

Almost any small substitution helps, although Seider points out there are plenty of vegan foods that aren’t necessarily that good for you.

“If you’re eating a commercial vegetarian burger three times a day, well, I wouldn’t recommend that,” she said. “Chips, Oreo cookies and meat analogues are vegan and could be important foods to include in our diets on occasion, since they bring us joy, but basically we should be eating more vegetables and minimally processed plant-based foods.”

That may not sound like the sexiest diet advice ever, but it’s a lot easier to get excited about veggies now than any time I can recall. A friend and I were recently talking about how surprised we’ve been to discover that we genuinely love eggplant (as opposed to merely tolerating it) and she observed that it’s never been easier — or more delicious — to eat plants.

I think she’s right. It’s a zeitgeist thing. And I’m not talking about plant meat, either. Tempting veg recipes are easy to find and, thanks to social media, so is inspiration. I’m old enough to remember when Insta was all Tomahawk steaks and deep-fried turkey. Now a plate of perfectly roasted heirloom carrots or a stack of zucchini fritters might well get more love.

Seider said she tells her patients that, when they’re building their plate, they need to start with the vegetables as the main component. This is something I’ve been trying to do for several years, but I’ve redoubled my efforts this year. I’ve never eaten more delicious meals or had such a wide variety of foods on the roster. And even though I’m eating more fish than before, it’s still saving me money, since over two-thirds of my meals in an average week are plant-based.

In a world where restrictive dieting is increasingly frowned upon because of its tendency to backfire, this all seems like a pretty reasonable path forward.

Especially the bit about the occasional cheeseburger. Not to mention saving money all the while.