The Best Eating Patterns For The Planet & Your Health, According To New Research

In an effort to simplify things, a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1 measured the carbon footprint and health quality of the six most popular eating patterns in the U.S. to find the ideal diet for both metrics.

Here's what they found after crunching the numbers:

"Climate change is arguably one of the most pressing problems of our time, and a lot of people are interested in moving to a plant-based diet," Diego Rose, Ph.D., MPH, the senior author of the study, said in a statement. "Based on our results, that would reduce your footprint and be generally healthy. Our research also shows there's a way to improve your health and footprint without giving up meat entirely."

If you're following a keto-style eating pattern and loving it, or you feel your best when you're strictly paleo, there's no need to completely revamp your diet. However, this study is a good reminder that our food choices have a bearing on our overall emissions. And making a few swaps can go a long way in reducing our environmental impact and improving our health. Here are a few to consider:

In previous research conducted by Rose4, when participants who had the least sustainable diets made just one sustainable food swap a day, it reduced their diet's overall daily carbon and water footprint by up to 48.4%. Swapping out one serving of red meat can have the most impact, and plant-based proteins, mushrooms, and chicken are all lower-impact alternatives. Eating smaller portions of meat per meal is also a step in the right direction. "The American idea is that you have the main protein item as the center of your plate, but in a lot of cultures, the meats or the fish is used in a sauce," Rose previously told mindbodygreen for an article about sustainable diets.

In addition to low-impact crops like legumes and mushrooms, seaweed is another food source with seriously sustainable potential. As the marine plant grows, it captures carbon, provides storm protection, and supports other aquatic life. You can incorporate the healthy sea veggie into your cooking or consume it in a concentrated powder like mindbodygreen's organic veggies+, a USDA-certified organic blend of organic leafy greens, root vegetables, berries, and more in every tasty scoop. Veggie powders can be incorporated into soups, added to smoothies, and sprinkled onto salads for a quick hit of sustainable nutrition.

Sustainability isn't just about what you're eating; what you're not eating matters too. Minimize your food scraps using these handy cooking tricks, and responsibly dispose of any remaining food with this beginner's guide to composting.

New research found that the paleo and keto diets scored the worst for both their carbon footprints and health quality. Eating healthily and sustainably is far from black and white, but take this as your daily reminder to consider the planet every time you load up your plate.