{"id":5982,"date":"2021-09-16T09:38:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T18:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.donovancarper.com\/?p=5982"},"modified":"2022-01-04T05:21:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-04T14:21:44","slug":"flexitarian-versus-vegan-diet-what-does-the-research-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.donovancarper.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/16\/flexitarian-versus-vegan-diet-what-does-the-research-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Flexitarian Versus Vegan Diet: What Does the Research Say?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Are meat, dairy, fish, and eggs in small amounts essential for optimal health outcomes, or is a vegan diet superior in terms of health outcomes? Photo credit: <\/em>Jessica Lewis<\/a> at Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer: plant-based diets such as vegan diets require vitamin B12 supplementation. Never change your diet without discussing such changes with your medical provider if you are being treated for a medical condition such as diabetes or you are taking medications such as anticoagulants. This post is for information purposes only. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What diet is best for your health?\u00a0 A flexitarian diet that includes meat, eggs, and dairy but in small amounts?\u00a0 Or a vegan diet that excludes all animal products?\u00a0 What does the research say at this time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flexitarian Diets as defined by the Cleveland Clinic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Flexitarian diets as defined by the Cleveland Clinic <\/a>are \u201crelaxed\u201d vegetarian diets.\u00a0 According to the Cleveland Clinic, adherents of the flexitarian diet pattern eat meat.\u00a0 However, they eat less of it, around 9-28 oz per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adherents are encouraged to eat lean cuts of meat, along with dairy, eggs, and whole-food plants (such as legumes, whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.\u00a0 Eating entirely plant-based 3 to 4 days per week is encouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Diet proponents <\/a>advocate health outcomes \u201csimilar to vegetarians\u201d while allowing for greater diet variety and simplicity.\u00a0 What are these health outcomes, and how do they compare with vegan health outcomes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do health outcomes compare for flexitarian diets versus vegans?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many research studies on veganism compare the vegan diet to standard western-style diets.\u00a0 The research is very clear that vegans enjoy superior health<\/a> outcomes versus those consuming omnivore diets (diets that eat animal foods without any restrictions).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analyses of flexitarian diets versus vegan diets are less abundant, though the research that has been completed comparing the plant-based dominance of various diets to date appears to suggest that indeed, vegan diets maintain superiority against even a \u201chealthy\u201d diet containing small to moderate amounts of animal protein.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research findings comparing various diets including flexitarian diet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Is this the image of the optimal diet? How does the flexitarian diet stack up to other diet options that eliminate meat? (Image credit: Anh Nguyen) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In a cross-section study of 10,797 participants<\/a> conducted over a period of 12 years in Switzerland, participants were separated and analyzed in the following groupings according to diet: <\/p>\n\n\n\n