If you’re a meat-lover who is trying to eat more greens, there may be a new plan for you. Flexitarian diet, created by dietician Dawn Jackson Blatner, is a combination of two words; flexible and vegetarian. Simply put, in flexitarianism, you can reap the full benefits of fruits and vegetables with a flexible share of meat as well.
You may be wondering, how is this different from the omnivore diet? Well, in her book “The Flexitarian Diet,” Blatner has distinguished three different stages. Each of them prescribes some guidelines on how much meat you can eat. This moderation in meat intake is what differentiates it from a regular omnivore diet.
Now, this diet has a couple of basic principles involved. Let’s take a look at them:
1) Derive protein from plant-based food instead of meat
2) Incorporate meat at regular intervals
3) Eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes
4) Reduce artificial sweeteners
The Flexitarian Diet may help in reducing your risk of heart disease and type-2 diabetes as it is in line with vegetarianism. A study by National Center for Biotechnology Information said that a vegetarian diet effectively lowers cholesterol in the blood, which is extremely important when suffering from diabetes and heart diseases. But, as a flexitarian diet does not exactly comply with the terms of other plant-based plans, it is difficult to assess its health benefits precisely.