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Marie Claire Health News: Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life by Dawn Jackson Blatner

Do you eat a mainly vegetarian diet, but indulge in the odd burger now and again? If so, maybe you're part of the growing brood of flexitarians.

The phrase, coined by dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, describes health-conscious individuals who eat a diet mainly consisting of whole grains, pulses, fruit and vegetables, but still supplement their diet with chicken and the odd bit of red meat now and again.

The good news is such a diet helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but is easier to follow than a strict vegetarian diet.

'I've been a vegetarian for over 10 years but ate meat on rare occasions. Every time I ate meat I felt like I was being a bad and lazy vegetarian,' explains Dawn.

'So I developed this style of eating for people who know that vegetarianism is one of the healthiest and smartest ways to eat but just don't want to sit at a BBQ in the corner with an empty bun.'

To help people who want to follow a similar diet, Dawn has recently published The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life, which goes on sale this month.

'If you have ever enjoyed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a slice of cheese pizza, a vegetable egg roll, a bowl of pasta with marinara, or a bean burrito you are on your way to flexitarianism,' says the author.

'Flexitarians weigh 15% less, have a lower rate of heart disease, diabetes and cancer and live 3.6 years longer than their carnivorous counterparts. Readers can also expect the diet can help tame their cravings for processed and junk food.'

Tuesday 14 October 2008

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This is ridiculous. "Flexitarians" still put themselves at risk at high cholestoral counts and still kill defenceless innocent animals.
Comment by Nicky on October 14 13:21

This smacks of hypocrisy. A lot of vegetarians are so because they don't believe in killing animals for food. Either you eat meat, or you don't.
Comment by Michelle on October 14 13:30

This just sounds daft, "flexitarian"...just another buzz word for people who cut down on their meat intake...(which I already do) but would never call myself a 'flexitarian'...at the end of the day, you're still a carnivore...just with more veg on your plates!
Don't want to sit with an empty bun at a bbq? well try a bean/soya mince burger...they taste fine on a bbq..(i've had those too).
This book may have good pointers for those with a poor diet..but is kinda insulting to vegetarians!
Comment by pam on October 14 14:45

So it simply means eating a varied diet...wow. Groundbreaking!
Comment by Ethel on October 14 14:58

I don't see what the big deal is. If someone wants to eat healthy but isn't up in arms about "poor animals," let them eat what they want. It isn't hypocritical if you aren't a believer in the tenets of vegetarianism. But to call it a separate eating category is just lazy. It's just eating!
Comment by Nadia on October 14 16:10

I agree that this is nonsense.

I eat a 99% veggie diet and always have the veggie option when eating out. I have no qualms about eating meat products occasionally but feel strongly about how animals are kept and slaughtered therefore I avoid meat products unless they are organic and I know how and where the animal was raised and killed.

Does that make me a vegetarian? No it doesn't. I still eat meat occasionallly so how can I make that claim? "Vegetarians" who eat meat and/or fish are hypocrites. It's like smokers who claim they don't smoke because they only smoke socially!
Comment by Caroline on October 14 17:20

'I was a vegetarian but ate meat on rare occasions'. Your not a veggie love then are you? This is ridiculous. It's just another gimmick people will buy into, vegetarianism isn't just a diet it is a moral ethic and its bloody ridiculous people calling themselves veggies when they still will eat something that once had a beating heart and a working brain. What happened to just having a normal diet? cor blimey.
Comment by Daisy on October 14 18:08

Totally agree with the daftness of this - I was veggie for three years in my late teens but gradually started eating meat & fish again. I now only eat meat a couple of times a week but no way would I put myself in a special little category - to me, this just smacks of someone wanting to sell books!
Comment by Bex on October 14 22:37

Cutting down on meat is a move in the right direction but going veggie is so easy why don't just drop the meat altogether and benefit from lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, weighing less (on average between six pounds and two stone less) and having a 25% lower risk of dying from heart disease. In addition to that vegetarians suffer less from obesity, diabetes, various cancers, diverticular disease, bowel disorders, gallstones, kidney stones, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The list goes on & every month new research...
Comment by Dr J Butler on October 15 09:15

I have never herd so much complete and utter nonsense
I have been a vegetarian for over 30 years and in that time I had to put up with so called vegetarians that eat fish and chicken may I remind you that vegetarians do not eat Meat fish or fowl or the by-products of slaughter (as defined by the vegetarian society) I support the idea of people eating less meat and ideally not eating any, but am appalled with idea of calling it a Flexitarian Diet - if you do eat meat however rarely you are not a vegertarian it's that simple.

Comment by Andy on October 15 12:12

The health benefits mentioned in this article are definitely the most beneficial aspect of this diet - just cutting back on saturated fats by 15% - which is equivalent to going meatless one day a week - reduces your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke. I work for public health campaign called Meatless Monday and we advocate a flexitarian diet for just this reason. See meatlessmonday.com for more info!
Comment by Mya on October 17 22:29

Sometimes its easier to say you are a vegetarian than to explain that you only eat fish. I don't like meat so I don't eat it, but i always hear "go on eat it, it won't hurt you" or a lecture on how my animal rights stand is ridiculous. I stopped eating meat because I dislike the taste and I feel healthier, I'm not about to lecture others. Who cares what people call themselves, as long as they don't expect everyone to be just like them. Get off your high horse and stop being so judgemental.
Comment by Lisa on October 20 02:45

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