6 new terms for healthy eating

A mature woman tosses a salad as her husband, who is standing next to her, uses a grinder to add seasoning.

Sustainable eating, plant-forward, clean label expectations: these terms are among many that reflect a trend toward eating more plant foods, such as fruits and vegetables. While they’re all related, each dietary term means something slightly different. Here are six that have cropped up recently.

1. Plant-forward

“Plant-forward” is a different way of saying “plant-based.” Both terms refer to eating patterns that emphasize foods from plants. These diets don’t eliminate foods that come from animals (such as dairy products, fish, poultry, or meat), but they focus much more on fruits, vegetables, legumes (such as pea pods, peas, beans, and lentils), whole grains, nuts, seeds, and healthy vegetable oils (such as olive, canola, or peanut oil).

What’s the difference? “It’s about momentum. 'Plant-forward’ hints that you’re gradually incorporating more plant food into your diet. It indicates that you’re moving in that direction, but you still might consume some animal foods,” explains Nancy Oliveira, a registered dietitian and manager of the Nutrition and Wellness Service at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

2. Plant-based protein

Like animal-based foods, many plants are rich in protein, especially legumes, nuts, seeds, and many whole grains. But when you see the term “plant-based protein,” you might wonder if it only describes a whole food (such as cooked black beans) or if processed foods count, too (like a black bean burger). “There is no standardized definition for plant-based protein,” Oliveira says. “My interpretation is that it’s any food that contains a high amount of plant protein. That could be whole foods like legumes, nuts, seeds, and high-protein grains like farro; it could also be soy foods, nut butters, veggie burgers, and even meat alternatives made of plants, such as the Impossible or Beyond brands.”

Easy ways to eat more plants

Fitting more plants into your diet can be easy. You might simply adjust a recipe by adding some spinach, carrots, cashews, or pumpkin seeds to an entree or salad.

Or you might swap out a snack. “Replace one daily processed snack like cookies with fresh fruit and a small handful of nuts or raw veggies — like bell pepper strips or grape tomatoes dipped in hummus or tangy plain yogurt,” suggests Nancy Oliveira, a registered dietitian at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Boost your efforts further by replacing one or two meat meals a week with a plant dish. “Beans, lentils, and tempeh have a hearty texture,” Oliveira says. “Or make a meatless chili with beans, or a bean and vegetable stew. Add firm diced tofu to either dish to make it even heartier.”

If you’re craving something meaty, think umami. “That’s the deeply rich sensation you get from meat,” Oliveira says. “One dish that might give you that umami feeling is a stew of lentils, sauteed mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and chopped sweet potatoes. Add spices that appeal to you.”

3. Clean eating

This one is more of a buzzword. “It seems to mean different things to different people,” Oliveira says. “Some groups — restaurateurs, food manufacturers, and social media influencers — use 'clean eating’ to describe a diet with whole, unprocessed foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, fresh fish, or meats. Others use 'clean eating’ to indicate a plant-forward diet with small amounts of packaged foods that are minimally processed—those with few ingredients that are easily recognizable.”

4. Clean label expectations

The term “clean label expectations” developed in response to the term “clean eating.” “Consumers are asking for processed foods with fewer ingredients over all, and only ingredients that they recognize — things commonly found in your refrigerator or kitchen, such as whole foods, herbs, and spices. Something with a clean label won’t have ingredients with long chemical-sounding names, added sugars, or anything artificial or genetically modified,” Oliveira says. “But these foods can still be high in sugar and salt, so they are not necessarily healthier.”

5. Sustainable eating

“'Sustainable eating’ gets at the big picture of our food choices and how they can help sustain the environment, the planet, and our health,” Oliveira says. “It refers to a plant-forward diet with a lower carbon footprint than diets rich in red meat, which require more resources and generate more greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. 'Sustainable eating’ can also refer to our access to affordable, nutritious foods and using the whole plant in cooking — such as roots and stems—to minimize food waste,” Oliveira says.

6. A climate-conscious diet

“This is similar to sustainable eating, but the focus is mostly on eating choices that preserve or protect the environment,” Oliveira says. “A climate-conscious diet addresses how food production practices can contribute to climate change — not just the problems associated with red meat production, but also those tied to unsustainable water and land use practices, and the loss of plant and animal diversity from the overproduction of single crops, such as corn. If you’re eating a climate-conscious diet, then you’re eating seasonal, locally sourced plants and minimizing the consumption of red meat.”

How plant foods help health

If these new terms are inspiring you to add more plants to your meals, then here’s another term: Bravo!

Studies have shown repeatedly that diets rich in plants are good for health, especially when you eat plant foods in place of unhealthy foods. Plant-rich diets are tied to lower risks for high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, a big belly, gut problems, cancer, and premature death. That’s a lot of bang for the buck!

The great news is that it’s okay to make the shift slowly. “Remember, eating a plant-forward diet means that you’re making a gradual change. Don’t feel pressured to reinvent your nutrition choices overnight,” says Oliveira. “Swapping any unhealthy food for a plant food will contribute to better health.”

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