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Protein on the Plate: Decoding the Latest Science for a Healthy Planet and a Healthy You

Stacey J Bell, Crystal MacGregor

Context: Western societies get most of their protein from animals. Red meat especially has been associated in the literature with increased cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cancer. It is also blamed in the literature for adverse environmental effects.

Objective: Switching people to 100% plant-based protein diets is implausible, and indeed such a solution has its own health implications.

Design: The paper explores the literature to support a role for including one plant-based protein meal daily in the diet. First, we provide evidence as to why consuming too much animal protein may be unhealthy to humans and the environment. Second is a review of the potential risks of consuming all dietary protein from plant-based sources. Third, we pose a hybrid approach to include both types of dietary protein sources (animal and plant), and suggest that a plant-based protein powder used in a smoothie helps achieve that goal. This doable approach is a way of mitigating both health and environmental impacts.

Results: Individuals determine which meal will include a plant-based protein source instead of an animal protein. Examples could include peas, beans, lentils, seeds, and nuts. Each serving should provide at least 17 grams of dietary protein, which is one-third of the daily protein need (50 g daily of dietary protein). The other two meals would each contain 17 g of dietary protein from animal sources such as meats, poultry, seafood, and dairy products. A more popular option is to make a smoothie using a plant-based protein powder. Consuming one plant-based protein meal daily as a smoothie or any other option could offset health risks (e.g., reduce risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer) and environmental risks (e.g., less use of land, water, and chemicals).

Conclusion: We describe a practical way to incorporate a plant-based protein smoothie daily into the diet. This approach can be readily adopted by the public to improve human health and reduce the environmental impact from consuming animal proteins. Healthcare professionals can encourage this behavior and accentuate the benefits to their patients.