Comparative Analysis of Flexitarian, Vegetarian and Vegan Diets A Review

Main Article Content

Judit Molnár
Vasas Dávid
Mukhtar Ahmed

Abstract

Background: Healthy eating is one of the main factors of maintaining health. Certain diets such as flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan can be associated with a healthy lifestyle. These diets have recently become more common. Aim: This review aims to summarize the characteristics of a flexitarian, vegetarian, and vegan diet by comparing these specific nutritional trends through the processed literature. Methods: Electronic searches were performed on the Google Scholar database, Medline, PubMed, and Science Direct. The manuscript summarizes publications on flexitarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets. Furthermore, it examines the relationships between different nutritional trends as well. Result: The summarized vegan (100% plant-based diet), vegetarian (plant-rich diet), and flexitarian (plantbased with high-quality meat consumption diet) have become the focus of results through this literature. Conclusion: Flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan diets contribute to a healthy lifestyle and sustainable agriculture by following nutritional recommendations. The common basis of diets is to appreciate natural values and maintain health.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Molnár, J., Vasas, D., & Ahmed, M. (2023). Comparative Analysis of Flexitarian, Vegetarian and Vegan Diets: A Review. Journal of Food Investigation, 69(1), 4382–4389. https://doi.org/10.52091/EVIK-2023/1-4-ENG
Section
Articles

References

Skerrett P. J., Willett W. C. (2010) Essentials of Healthy Eating: A Guide. Journal of Midwifery & Wom¬en’s Health. 55(6): 492-501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmwh.2010.06.019

Wahl D. R., Villinger K., König L. M., Ziesemer K., Schupp H. T., Renner B. (2017) Healthy food choic¬es are happy food choices: Evidence from a real life sample using smartphone based assessment. Scientific Reports. 7: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17262-9

Bergens O., Veen J., Montiel-Rojas D., Edholm P., Kadi F., Nilsson A. (2020): Impact of healthy diet and physical activity on metabolic health in men and women. Medicine. 99(16): 1-6. DOI: 10.1097/ MD.0000000000019584.

E-literature: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

Derbyshire E. J. (2017) Flexitarian Diets and Health: A review of the Evidence-Based Literature. Fron¬tiers in Nutrition. 3: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2016.00055

Hargreaves S. M., Raposo A., Saraiva A., Puppin Zandonadi R. (2021) Vegetarian Diet: An Overview through the Perspective of Quality of Life Domains. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18(8): 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084067

Radnitz C., Ni J., Dennis D., Cerrito B. (2020) Health Benefits of a Vegan Diet: Current Insights. Nutri¬tion and dietary Supplements. 12: 57-85. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDS.S191793

Zhang X., Yao G., Vishwakarma S., Dalin C., Kornarek A. M., Kanter D. R., Davis K. F., Pfeifer K., Zhao J., Zou T., D’Odorico P., Folberth C., Rodriguez F. G., Fanzo J., Rosa L., Dennison W., Musumba M., Heyman A., Davidson E. A. (2021) Quantitative assessment of agricultural sustainability reveals diver

gent priorities among nations. One Earth. 4: 1262-1277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.015

Springmann M., Clark M. A., Rayner M., Scarborough P., Webb P. (2021) The global and regional costs of healthy and sustainable dietary patterns: a modelling study. Lancet Planetary Health.: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2542-5196(21)00251-5

E-literature: https://www.foodunfolded.com/article/the-flexitarian-diet?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8p2MBhCiA-RIsADDUFVFiGXlQK0Iar0CpJmgs-FQKYSJ_UiPnU1FT_lgVqPP7x10XCOFeo1saAoSpEALw_wcB

E-literature: https://www.thebodyarchitectsinc.com/blog/what-is-the-flexitarian-diet

Malek L., Umberger W. J. (2021) How flexible are flexitarians? Examining diversity in dietary pat-terns, motivations and future intentions. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption. 3: 1-10. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.clrc.2021.100038

Dagevos H. (2021) Finding flexitarians: Current studies on meat eaters and meat reducers. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 114: 530-539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.06.021

Himics M., Giannakis E., Kushta J., Hristov J., Sahoo A., Perez-Dominguez I. (2022) Co-benefits of a flexitarian diet for air quality and human health in Europe. Ecological Economics. 191: 1-19. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107232

Sijtsema S. J., Dagevos H., Nassar G., van Haaster de Winter M., Snoek H. M. (2021) Capabilities and Opportunities of Flexitarians to Become Food Innovators for a Healthy Planet: Two Explorative Studies. Sustainability. 13(20): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011135

Kidd B., Mackay S., Vandevijvere S., Swinburn B. (2021) Cost and Greenhouse gas emissions of current, healthy, flexitarian and vegan diets in Aotearoa (New Zealand). BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. 4(1): 275-284. DOI: 10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000262

Wozniak H., Larpin C., Mestral de C., Guessous I., Reny J.-L., Stringhini S. (2020) Vegetarian, pes-catarian and flexitarian diets: sociodemographic determinants and association with cardiovascular risk factors in a Swiss urban population. British Journal of Nutrition. 124: 844-852. DOI: https://doi. org/10.1017/S0007114520001762

Verain M. C. D., Dagevos H., Jaspers P. (2022) Flexitarianism in the Netherlands in the 2010 de¬cade: Shifts, consumer segments and motives. Food Quality and Preference. 96: 1-10. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104445

E-literature: http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-bet-ween-vegetarian-and-vegan/

Powlak R. (2017) Vegetarian Diets in the Prevention and Management of Diabetes and Its Complica-tions. Diabetes Spectrum. 30(2): 82-88. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds16-0057

McEvoy C., Temple N., Woodside J. V. (2012) Vegetarian diets, low-meat diets and health: a review. Public Health Nutrition. 15(12): 2287-2294. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980012000936

Baroni L., Goggi S., Battino M. (2019) Planning Well-balanced Vegetarian Diets in Infants, Children, and Adolescents: The VegPlate Junior. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 119(7): 1067-1074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2018.06.008

Tran E., Dale H. F., Jensen C., Lied G. A. (2020) Effects of Plant-Based Diets on Weight Status: A Systematic Review. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy. 13: 3433-3448. https://doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S272802

Medawar E., Huhn S., Villringer A., Witte A. V. (2019) The effects of plant-based diets on the body and the brain: a systematic review. Translational Psychiatry. 9: 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398- 019-0552-0

Tromba V., Silvestri F. (2021) Vegetarianism and type I diabetes in children. Metabolism Open. 11: 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metop.2021.100099

Yokoyama Y., Nishimura K., Barnard N. D., Takegami M., Watanabe M., Sekikawa A., Okamura T., Miyamoto Y. (2014) Vegetarian Diets and Blood Pressure A Meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine. 174(4): 577-587. DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.14547

Oliveira B., Aranha L. N., dos Santos Gomes Olivares P., Guilherme Rocha Negrao T., Rosa G., Mo¬raes de Oliveira G. M. (2021) Vegetarian Diets and Cardiovascular Risk in Women. Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 34(4): 461-470. DOI: 10.36660/ijcs.20210010

Patelakis E., Barbosa C. L., Haftenberger M., Brettschneider A.-K., Lehmann F., Heide K., Frank M., Perlitz H., Richter A., Mensink G. B. M. (2019) Prevalence of vegetarian diet among children and adoles-cents in Germany. Result from EsKiMo II. Ernahrungs Umschau. 66(5): 85-91. DOI: 10.4455/eu.2019.018

Shridhar K., Dhillon P. K., Bowen L., Kinra S., Venkatsubbareddy Bharathi A., Prabhakaran D., Srinath Reddy K., Ebrahim S. (2014) Nutritional profile of Indian vegetarian diets – the Indian Migration Study (IMS). Nutrition Journal. 13: 1-9. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-13-55

Rogerson D. (2017) Vegan diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers. Journal of the Interna¬tional Society of Sports Nutrition. 14:1-15. DOI: 10.1186/s12970-017-0192-9

E-literature: http://www.bestveganguide.com/vegan-food-pyramid.html

Gallagher C. T., Hanley P., Lane K. E. (2021) Pattern analysis of vegan eating reveals healthy and un¬healthy patterns within the vegan diet. Public Health Nutrition.: 1-11. DOI: 10.1017/S136898002100197X

Kerschke-Risch P. (2015) Vegan diet: motives, approach and duration. Ernaehrungs Umschau. 62(6): 98-103. DOI: 10.4455/eu.2015.016

Modlinska K., Adamczyk D., Maison D., Pisula W. (2020) Gender Differences in Attitudes to Vegans/ Vegetarians and Their Food Preferences, and Their Implications for Promoting Sustainable Dietary Patterns – A Systematic Review. Sustainability. 12: 1-17. DOI: 10.3390/su12166292

Paslakis G., Richardson C., Nöhre M., Brähler E., Holzapfel C., Hilbert A., de Zwaan M. (2020) Prev¬alence and Psychopathology of vegetarians and vegans – Results from a representative survey in Germany. Scientific Reports. 10: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63910-y

Aavik K., Velgan M. (2021) Vegan Men’s Food and Health Practices: A Recipe for a More Health – Conscious Masculinity? American Journal of Men’s Health.: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883211044323

Protudjer J. L. P., Mikkelsen A. (2020) Veganism and paediatric food allergy: two increasingly prev¬alent dietary issues that are challenging when co-occurring. BMC Pediatrics. 20: 1-11. https://doi. org/10.1186/s12887-020-02236-0

Oliver C. (2021) Mock meat, masculinity, and redemption narratives: vegan men’s negotiations and performances of gender and eating. Social Movement Studies.: 1-19.: https://doi.org/10.1080/14742 837.2021.1989293

Bivi D., Di Chio T., Geri F., Morganti R., Goggi S., Baroni L., Mumolo M. G., de Bortoli N., Peroni D. G., Marchi S., Bellini M. (2021) Raising Children on a Vegan Diet: Parent’s Opinion on Problems in Everyday Life. Nutrients. 13: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061796