The 'Plant-Forward' Diet: A Soft Option with Major Health Benefits

New trends in healthy eating are constantly coming and going. Eating a plant-based diet, for instance, has become popular over the past decade because it’s good for both individual health and the environment.¹

Plant-based is a fairly straightforward term for an eating pattern that focuses on eating mostly plant-based foods. Vegan and vegetarian diets are the most well-known.¹

Eating more plant foods means the diet is typically low in saturated fats, cholesterol, and sugar and higher in health-promoting foods that contain antioxidants, fiber, and phytochemicals.²

But a new term related to plant-based eating is gaining traction.

Plant-Forward vs. Plant-Based

According to a collaboration with The Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard School of Public Health, the plant-forward diet is defined as “a style of cooking and eating that emphasizes and celebrates, but is not limited to, foods from plant sources.”

While plant-forward eating still focuses on whole, unprocessed plant foods, it does allow for some eggs, dairy foods, and occasionally lean meat, poultry, and seafood.³ For some individuals, it’s this flexibility that makes plant-forward eating more attractive than a plant-based diet.

With the increase in the availability of plant-based proteins such as Impossible and Beyond meats, it’s easier to replace animal-protein foods with plants. However, if animal protein is a part of the meal, a plant-forward diet has that protein be more of a side dish versus the focus of the meal, which is similar to the Mediterranean diet.⁴

If you are new to plant-forward eating, start slowly by adding more vegetables and grains to your meals while cutting back on animal products like meat and dairy. Remember if you are going to eat meat, it shouldn’t be the main event — it should play more of a supportive role. And don’t be afraid to use herbs, spices, and healthy oils like olive oil to coax the flavors out of a wide variety of vegetables.

Whether you choose to eat a plant-based diet, or the more flexible plant-forward diet, your health and the environment will benefit.

References

1. Storz MA. What makes a plant-based diet? A review of current concepts and proposals for a standardized plant-based intervention checklist. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2022;76:789-800. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41430-021-01023-z
2. Landry MJ, Ward CP. Health benefits of a plant-based dietary pattern and implementation in healthcare and clinical practice. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2024. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15598276241237766
3. Sacks S. The health benefits of a whole foods, plant-forward diet. EWG. 2022;Dec 1. https://www.ewg.org/research/health-benefits-whole-foods-plant-forward-diet
4. Taherian R. Yales experts explain a plant-forward diet. Yale Sustainability. 2020;Apr 18. https://sustainability.yale.edu/explainers/yale-experts-explain-plant-forward-diet