How to improve your diet and still eat what you love
Despite writing a book on the health pros of fruit and vegetables, Rhiannon Lambert says you can enjoy a steak or cheese guilt-free.
Rhiannon Lambert’s biggest gripe is the widely held misconception that a plant-based diet requires us to ban meat, dairy and chocolate. Too often, says the registered nutritionist, who runs a private clinic on Harley Street, it is wrongly seen as a form of self-denial, albeit a worthy one, and a route to better health that comes with dietary sacrifices.
“A plant-based diet is absolutely not a vegan diet,” she says. “It is about eating more of the good things that are known to benefit your health and less of those that are known to be harmful.”
To set the record straight, and to encourage people to adopt a plant-powered diet, Lambert has written a new book, The Science of Plant-Based Nutrition, which delves into the research evidence.
“The goal isn’t for people to cut everything they enjoy eating from their diet,” she says. “If they can make a swap one day a week and reduce the amount of meat in a bolognese sauce by half by throwing in some lentils and pulses, for example, it is a positive step.”
Here she answers the big questions you might have about your diet.
1. Need I worry about my five a day?
Rather than aiming to hit the target for fruit and vegetable consumption set by the Department of Health, Lambert says we should eat more of what she calls the super-six plant food groups: fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes (beans and pulses), nuts and seeds, herbs and spices.
She suggests starting with one meat-free meal a week, slowly adding meat-free days.
“Try the 1, 2, 3 approach of adding one wholegrain such as wholemeal pasta or brown rice, two nuts or seeds and three vegetables including things like onions, mushrooms and peppers to your main meal. Blend hidden greens such as kale and spinach into pasta sauces.”
A landmark study by the American Gut Project team in 2018 showed that people who consumed 30 different plant foods a week have a healthier gut microbiome, with more of the beneficial bacteria that are helpful to our health.
“These have been shown to reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease,” Lambert says.
One way to make sure you are getting enough is to tot up your plant points. For each single item consumed from any five of the super-six plant food groups, such as a banana or carrot, or a portion of wholegrains or nuts, award yourself one point, with an additional quarter point added for any herb or spice added to food. “Although 30 plant points is a steep goal, any increase on your intake is good.”
2. Is it OK to still eat steak?
“I think eating a steak once a week is absolutely fine and enough to be nutritionally adequate if the rest of your diet is predominantly plant-based,” Lambert says.
Official guidance recommends an upper limit of 70g (cooked weight) of red meat a day, which is the equivalent of about five tablespoons of beef mince or one third of an 8oz steak. “Where we are going wrong is that some people are eating meat three times a day. Ideally, we should all be trying to reduce our red meat intake, but there’s no need to avoid it altogether.”
She draws the line at a bacon sandwich or a sausage roll, as they are processed meats that are associated with a higher risk of bowel cancer.
3. If I eat lots of vegetables, can I indulge my weakness for dairy?
Dairy has a viable place in a meat-free diet, Lambert says. “Not everyone wants to eat dairy or likes it,” she says. “But if you do include it in your plant-based diet it can bring many nutritional advantages. Some studies show higher intakes of dairy to be associated with lower rates of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and improved weight management.”
Fermented dairy products such as kefir, live yoghurt and some types of cheese have probiotic properties that support a healthy gut microbiome. If you want to cut down on dairy, you should do so gradually, reducing your intake every other day, eventually to three days a week or less.
“Replace cow’s milk and other foods with plant-based alternatives that are fortified with calcium, vitamins B2, B12 and D, and iodine,” she says. “Be aware that organic dairy alternatives are often not fortified, so check the labels.”
4. What about pescatarians?
Fish contains a host of healthy nutrients including vitamin B12, iodine, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and calcium and can be included in your plant-based diet, if you stick to the recommended quantities. “The advice is to eat two 140g portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish such as herrings, which are packed with more omega-3 fatty acids than sardines or salmon, and mackerel, with vitamins D, B12 and iodine,” she says.
“Eating two servings of fatty fish a week has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by 36 per cent, partly because the omega-3 fats lower levels of harmful triglycerides in the blood.”
5. Will this diet make me feel bloated?
Bloating and gastric discomfort are common complaints among people who “suddenly, overnight try to make these huge changes to their diet”, Lambert says.
“Usually, it is down to the fact that increasing fibre intake quickly by eating more pulses and vegetables results in excess gas production in the large intestine and then bloating,” she explains.
“The key is to make changes more gradually and to drink more water as you increase your plant foods.”
If you don’t take in enough fluid on a plant-based diet it can cause dehydration and constipation.
“Ultimately a high-fibre diet helps to reduce bloating as it improves digestion and helps food to pass more quickly through the gut. But if bloating persists it could be down to other issues including, hormones, IBS or stress, and you should seek advice.”
The worst thing you can do if you are bloated is to fast.
“If you avoid food and suddenly eat again your symptoms will be so much worse.”
6. Does red wine count as plant food?
“There are no health benefits from consuming any sort of alcohol,” she says. Yes, red wine is made from grapes and contains plant flavanols, she concedes, but you would be far better off getting flavanols from foods such as grapes, apples, blueberries, strawberries and dark chocolate.
7. Will I need to take supplements?
A supplement of vitamin B12 is recommended if your diet is mostly plant-based. “Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products and while there are a lot of myths about plant-based sources of the nutrient, such as spirulina, they don’t actually exist,” Lambert says. “Nutritional yeast is considered a plant-based source of vitamin B12, but only if it is fortified, so always check food labels.”
If you’re eating a plant-based diet that doesn’t contain oily fish, you will also probably need to take a supplement of omega-3, which makes up 40 per cent of our brain’s grey matter, sperm, and cardiovascular, pulmonary, immune and endocrine systems. Since our bodies are not able to make omega-3 fatty acids, we need to get it from food.
“Marine algae is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and fish are high in [the fatty acids] EPAs and DHAs because they eat a lot of algae,” Lambert says. “So, a plant source is algae oil, which is made from the algae fish eat.”
8. Can I get enough iron from plants?
Of the two types of dietary iron – haem and non-haem – it is the haem iron in meat and fish that is better absorbed by the body. “Studies do show that among vegetarians and meat-eaters who consume the same amounts of iron in their diets, it is the vegetarians who have lower levels of iron in the blood. This is partly because most plant foods contain oxalates and phytates, substances which reduce iron absorption.”
That’s not to say you can’t get enough iron on a plant-based diet. Non-haem plant iron sources include beans, lentils, green vegetables, hazelnuts, dried fruit, olives, wholegrains, leafy green veg, pumpkin seeds, tofu and dried apricots.
“You can increase the iron absorbed from plant foods by up to four times if you consume them with foods containing vitamin C,” Lambert says. “For example, a spinach salad base with berries, beans in a chilli with tomatoes, or a vegetable stir-fry with peppers are great iron providers.”
10. Can I still buy burgers – if they’re veggie ones?
Not all plant-based foods are a healthy switch, Lambert warns. “Some foods, such as meat-substitute nuggets, sausages and burgers, are ultra-processed and no better for us than meat-containing ultra-processed foods. A plant-based ready meal can contain more fat, salt and sugar, added to disguise the bland favour of meat substitutes, than processed foods containing meat and dairy and is not a healthier option.”
Some 28 per cent of the vegan plant-based ready meals analysed by the charity Action on Salt contained worrying amounts of sodium.
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