Is an Omnivorous Diet Healthy?
Interest in plant-based diets has swelled in the past few months due to intermittent meat shortages, along with the hope that a healthier diet might help us should we contract COVID-19. However, this plant-based eating was already trending pre-coronavirus pandemic, fueled by highly publicized research articles, Netflix “documentaries” that may have left you feeling like you were one steak or chicken breast away from destroying your health, and concerns about the environmental impact of our food choices.
So I’m not surprised that I’ve been getting more questions like, “Do you have to ditch meat to be healthy?” and “Is it OK to be an omnivore?” Many scientific journal articles published in the past few years would make you think the answers are “yes” and “no.” One of the most notable examples of this is the 2019 EAT-Lancet report, which called for global cuts to meat intake so deep that they were criticized for being unrealistic, elitist and nutritionally inappropriate for some people.
What gets lost in the discussion of plant-based diets is that you can enjoy a plant-based, omnivorous diet.
Excerpted from The Seattle Times
