What does ‘plant-based’ actually mean?

Plant-based eating patterns have become increasingly popular in the UK over the past decade or so. The Vegan Society reported that the number of people following a vegan diet quadrupled from 2014 to 2019. Additionally, a more recent survey by the Vegan Society in May 2021, revealed that 1 in 4 British people had reduced the amount of animal products they were consuming since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic (1).

There are many reasons for the increased interest in plant-based eating patterns, including health, environmental and animal welfare reasons. For example, there has been well-publicised reports on the increased risk of colorectal cancer from red and processed meats (2)

But what does ‘plant-based’ actually mean? Plant-based is a term often used interchangeably with ‘vegan’ but they are actually not the same. There is no one universally agreed definition for ‘plant-based’, however the British Nutrition Foundation (3) defines plant based eating as:

“…dietary patterns that have a greater emphasis on foods derived from plants (such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds and oils). Although you may think of plant-based diets as being vegetarian or vegan, they do not have to be plant-only”

I thought it would be helpful to outline the differences between vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian and flexitarian eating patterns below.

Vegans: don’t include any animal products such as meat, poultry and seafood as well as avoiding honey, dairy and eggs
Lacto-ovo vegetarians: include dairy foods and eggs but avoid meat, poultry and seafood
Ovo-vegetarians: include eggs but avoid all other animal foods, including dairy
Lacto-vegetarians: include dairy foods but avoid eggs, meat, poultry and seafood
Pescatarians: include fish and/or shellfish, dairy and eggs but avoid meat and poultry
Flexitarians: may eat some meat, seafood, poultry, eggs and dairy occasionally

So is plant-based eating a healthy way of eating?

I think it is important to remember that simply excluding animal-based products does not necessarily mean that your diet will automatically be healthy. Conversely, by including animal-based products this does also not necessarily mean that your diet will be healthy and nutritionally balanced.

Eating patterns that emphasise more whole plant foods (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, legumes and some vegetable oils) tend to be healthier but this could include a vegan, vegetarian or Mediterranean-style eating pattern that includes small amounts of animal products.

A vegan/vegetarian diet does not necessarily mean it is healthy if foods such as salty snacks, sugar sweetened drinks, sweets, fried foods and snacks are included in large amounts.

A healthy plant-based eating pattern that is well-planned and nutritionally balanced may include a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, legumes and some vegetable oils, and may include supplements such as vitamin B12, iodine and algae-based DHA/EPA, depending on whether fish and dairy products are included or not.

What about plant-based eating for children?

Plant-based eating for children is definitely possible and can offer many health benefits. Some nutritional considerations need to be taken into account and planned for as babies and children are growing rapidly and therefore have different nutritional needs to adults.

Please see further blog posts and ebook (link to calcium ebook) for more details on plant-based eating for children and how to provide adequate calcium (link to calcium ebook), iron, protein, fats, iodine, vitamin B12 and DHA.