Planetary Health Diet Shows Promise, Comparable to Mediterranean Diet in Reducing Mortality
A growing body of research suggests a strong link between adopting diets focused on both human and planetary health and experiencing lower mortality rates. Teh “Planetary Health Diet” (PHD), developed in 2019 by an international panel of 37 experts convened by the Eat/Lancet commission, is gaining attention for its potential benefits, and recent studies are illuminating its impact.
The PHD emerged as a response to unsustainable consumption patterns that accelerated after World War II, marked by increased intensive breeding, industrial livestock farming, and the rise of ultra-processed foods. This shift dramatically increased meat and dairy consumption, particularly in Western nations, impacting both public health and the surroundings. The diet aims for a balance of human wellbeing and environmental sustainability, recommending a daily intake of 2,500 kilocalories with a limited intake of meat – only 30 kilocalories shoudl come from red meat and other meats excluding poultry, roughly equivalent to a small veal portion per week. Protein sources are primarily plant-based, including legumes, nuts, chicken, and fish.
while observational studies don’t prove direct causation, experts like José María Ordovás, director of Nutrition and Genomic at tufts University, acknowledge the PHD’s potential while noting limitations in generalizing findings across diverse populations.
Recent research conducted by Mercedes Sotos-Prieto, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid, further supports the PHD’s viability. A 14-year study, published in February and analyzing a cohort of Spanish patients, found that strong adherence to either the PHD or the Mediterranean diet was similarly associated with lower mortality from all causes and a reduced environmental impact. Sotos-prieto explains that the two diets share key characteristics, emphasizing a foundation of plant-based and whole foods. She suggests that in Mediterranean countries, where similar eating patterns are already culturally ingrained, transitioning to the PHD could be a natural and complementary process, allowing individuals to choose based on personal preference.
Interestingly, data from both American and English databases reveal a consistent profile of PHD adherents: they tend to be taller, predominantly female, have a lower body mass index, and possess higher levels of education and income. perhaps surprisingly, PHD followers also tend to consume more food overall. Unlike some other healthy diets, like the Mediterranean diet where greater adherence frequently enough correlates with lower calorie intake, the PHD appears to support healthy eating without inducing hunger, though researchers emphasize the need for further examination to confirm this observation.
