Environmentally friendly diet reduces risk of premature death by a third, research suggests

Eating for the planet could reduce the risk of premature death, if new research is to be believed.

Experts found that people who adhered to a supposedly environmentally friendly diet were almost a third less likely to die prematurely.

She also had a lower risk of every major cause of death, including cancer, heart disease and even lung disease.

US researchers said this was likely due to eating highly processed foods and a high intake of fruits and vegetables that boost the immune system.

The ‘planetary health diet’, published five years ago in The Lancet, is a plant-based, low-meat diet designed to reduce disease risk and the impact of agriculture on climate change and the natural world.

Study author Professor Walter Willett, an expert in epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University, said: ‘Changing the way we eat can help slow climate change, and fortunately what’s healthiest for the planet is also best for us.

‘For every leading cause of death we examined, there was a lower risk in people who adhered better to the planetary health diet.’

He added: ‘Changing the way we eat can help slow the process of climate change. And what is healthiest for the planet is also healthiest for people.”

The diet is ‘flexitarian’ rather than exclusively vegetarian and recommends that fruit and vegetables make up half of a person’s daily food intake.

Protein comes mainly from nuts, beans and lentils, with people advised to eat less than 50 grams of eggs, fish, meat and sugar per day.

For comparison, an average quarter-pound beef burger weighs 78 grams.

Harvard University scientists followed more than 200,000 healthy American adults over the course of three decades.

They were scored on how well their diet matched that of the planet, based on how much they ate from 15 food groups.

These include vegetables, whole grains, dairy such as milk, cheese and yogurt, and chicken and other poultry.

During a 34-year follow-up period, researchers recorded 54,536 deaths among the study group, including more than 14,600 due to cancer and just over 13,700 due to cardiovascular disease.

They found that the 10 percent of participants who followed the diet the most had an almost one-third lower risk of premature death than those in the bottom 10 percent.

They also had a 14 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, a 10 percent lower risk of dying from cancer and a 47 percent lower risk of dying from respiratory disease.

Writing in the American Journal of Clinical NutritionResearchers said the diet was not only good for people but also for the planet, with adherence to it reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent compared to an average diet.

The food eaten by strict adherents also required 21 percent lower fertilizer use.

It comes as data on Britons’ weekly food purchasing habits, collected annually by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also showed in October that Britons are eating less meat, potatoes and bread than ever before. Meanwhile, rice and pasta have experienced a boom. Alcohol consumption has also increased over time, but this data only goes back to 1992

DEFRA data shows that red meat consumption has fallen by a whopping 81 percent since the 1970s, while sales of poultry and fish have doubled. This graph shows how much meat Britons have bought on average each week. Latest data for 2022 shows a huge decline compared to historical levels (data does not include fish)

Research has long shown that food production is responsible for about a quarter of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

Raising livestock for human consumption, for example, requires a huge amount of agricultural land and contributes to deforestation, biodiversity loss and water pollution, experts say.

Emissions from cattle, sheep and goats generate methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the planet over 20 years, according to the UN Environment Program.

Interest in a primarily plant-based diet has increased dramatically in recent years, with vegans finding themselves at the extreme end of vegetarianism for ethical, environmental or health reasons.

However, the NHS advises that red meat – such as beef, lamb and pork – is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals.

It suggests it can be part of a balanced diet, although health care warns that eating more than 90 grams a day may increase the risk of colon cancer.

WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?

Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole grains, according to the NHS

• Eat at least 5 portions of varied fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables count

• Basic meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole wheat

• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 whole-grain cereal cookies, 2 thick slices of whole-grain bread, and a large baked potato with the skin still on

• Provide some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks), opting for lower fat and lower sugar options

• Eat some beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish per week, one portion of which is fatty)

• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume them in small quantities

• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water per day

• Adults should have less than 6 grams of salt and 20 grams of saturated fat for women or 30 grams for men per day

Source: NHS Eatwell guide