flexitarians | Health Topics | NutritionFacts.org

27 videos

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Paul

A “flexitarian” is a “flexible vegetarian,” meaning someone who eats meat sparingly. Various studies tells us that this strategy for health is better than the standard American diet, but may not be as optimal as an even more whole-food, plant-based diet. This is partially due to higher cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat intake compared to vegans. Switching from eating beef to consuming chicken or fish does not lower cholesterol. The largest study ever indicated that meat intake may increase total mortality, the risk of developing diabetes and prediabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, heart disease, cataracts, fibromyalgia, lymphoma, metabolic syndrome, and many other common diseases. Although flexitarians do live longer than those eating the standard American diet, vegetarians live longer than flexitarians, as long as they get enough B12. Plant-based diets contain more than enough protein and often provide more nutrients than omnivorous diets.

Those eating whole-food, plant-based diets have significantly lower levels of IGF-1, steroid sex hormones, and industrial pollutants than those just eating vegetarian. Cutting down on meat may also be better for the environment.

The information on this page has been compiled from the research presented in the videos listed. Sources for each video can be found by going to the video’s page and clicking on the Sources Cited tab.

All Videos for Flexitarians

How Not To Die from – High Blood Pressure

How Not to Die from High Blood Pressure

How might we prevent and reverse hypertension, the number-one risk factor for death in the world?

The Palatability of Cancer Prevention

The Palatability of Cancer Prevention

Dietary guidelines often patronizingly recommend what is considered acceptable or achievable, rather than what the best available balance of evidence suggests is best.

Diet and Climate Change: Cooking Up a Storm

While epidemics of chronic disease are currently by far our leading causes of death, global warming is considered a looming public health threat. How can we eat to combat dietary diseases and greenhouse gas emissions at the same time?

Switching from Beef to Chicken & Fish May Not Lower Cholesterol

Switching from Beef to Chicken & Fish May Not Lower Cholesterol

The negative impact of red meat on our cholesterol profile may be similar to that of white meat.

Do Flexitarians Live Longer?

Do Flexitarians Live Longer?

Does just reducing one’s intake of meat, dairy, and eggs significantly reduce mortality?

Plant-Based Diets and Diabetes

Plant-Based Diets and Diabetes

We’ve known for a half century that plant-based diets are associated with lower diabetes risk, but how low does one have to optimally go on animal product and junk food consumption?

Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

Nutritional quality indices show plant-based diets are the healthiest, but do vegetarians and vegans reach the recommended daily intake of protein?

Tell Your Doctor If You Eat Grapefruit

Tell Your Doctor if You Eat Grapefruit

The role white and pink (red) grapefruit may play in weight loss and cholesterol control, as well as the suppression of drug-clearance enzymes within the body.

Heart Disease Starts in Childhood

By age 10, nearly all kids have fatty streaks in their arteries. This is the first sign of atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death in the United States. So the question for most of us is not whether we should eat healthy to prevent heart disease, but whether we want to reverse the heart disease we may already have.

person eating salad

Methionine Restriction as a Life-Extension Strategy

Plant-based diets may prove to be a useful nutrition strategy in both cancer growth control as well as lifespan extension, because these diets are naturally lower in methionine.

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