Plant Based, Vegan, Vegetarian, Flexitarian, 80/20?

Plant-based diets have been gaining popularity in recent years due to their many benefits. Research has shown that they are linked to improved health outcomes and reduced risk of developing certain illnesses and chronic diseases. Additionally, plant-based diets can be better for the environment since they require fewer resources such as water and land than animal proteins do. Registered dietitians, nutritionists and healthcare practitioners recommend this way of eating as many have seen incredible results from their patients.

There are several different interpretations of the plant-based diet, such as vegetarian, vegan, raw vegan, and flexitarian.

Vegetarians consume dairy products like cheese and eggs but not meat, relying instead on plant-based sources of protein.

Vegans abstain from all animal products including dairy and honey while focusing exclusively on plants as part of a vegan lifestyle.

Raw vegans follow the same rules but only consume raw foods while remaining entirely animal product-free.

Flexitarians try to reduce their meat intake and focus primarily on plants with some animal products here and there.

80/20 is a certainly more of a lifestyle than a diet that is gaining alot of popularity lately.  Quite simply, 80% of the food consumed is totally plant based and 20% allows animal products.  Its an ideal diet for those wanting to remain social and not miss out on any of your favourite dishes while still being very healthy and eliminating a majority of animal products from the diet.  If we consider the typical diet consists of 3 meals per day, the 80/20 diet means that 4 meals per week can include meat or animal products.

Regardless of which approach is taken, it's clear that going plant-based has numerous physical, environmental, and ethical benefits that make it an excellent choice for those looking to improve their health.