You're inclined toward eating vegetarian - you want to eat less meat and more vegetables, fruits, plant-foods and whole grains. Or maybe you're just more health-conscious than you used to be, but you're not ready to give up that occasional chicken breast or meatball. You want the health benefits of eating vegetarian, without having to give up meat altogether. That makes you part of a growing health movement which has been coined "Flexitarian."

According to registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, the creator of The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life (McGraw-Hill, October 2008), you can have the benefits of a vegetarian diet without having to follow all of the strict rules. Being a flexitarian is a more flexible, more realistic way to be a vegetarian.

The reality is that even vegetarians can't eat tempeh, tofu, soy and veggies 100% of the time. Studies have shown that nearly two out of three vegetarians don't, or can't, do it full-time.

But the health benefits of eating flexibly vegetarian are many. You'll reduce the likelihood of diseases and cancers.Your blood pressure, glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels will plunge. Vegetarians live roughly 3.6 years longer than meat eaters - and you can reap those benefits simply by eating more plant-based meals, and less meat overall.

These changes will also reflect on your waistline. Vegetarians on average weigh 15% less than non-vegetarians. Think of it this way - six to twelve months of simply eating more plant-based, flexitarian meals could have you shed up to 30 pounds! Blatner's clients have seen these same results without having to follow all the vegetarian rules, but rather following a flexible vegetarian nutrition plan.

And the best part about Flexitarianism is there's no sacrificing taste! The book includes 100 delicious and easy recipes like pesto-style Portobello penne and pizza popcorn. Even grilled cheese sandwiches and barbecue Baja burgers are part of the Flex Diet. As an experienced cooking instructor, Blatner knows what tastes delicious!

All the foodies are in the know about Flexitarianism. Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food - even celebrated cookbook author and New York Times food writer Mark Bittman espouses the "less meat, more plants" philosophy. Flexible eating is ecologically sound (studies show eating less meat can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions), will put more plant-foods and variety into your meals, and help you lose weight, too.

Based on science and grounded in choice, eating Flexitarian will bring you closer to the earth, closer to a healthy weight, closer to fresh, seasonal foods that have variety and flavor, and closer to a long, healthy life.

About the Author:

Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN, is a registered and licensed dietitian and a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. She is the online nutritionist for Lifetime Television's MyLifetime; writes a food and nutrition blog for USA Today; teaches cooking classes; and appears regularly in print and television outlets such as CNN and RED magazine.

Read more at www.dawnjacksonblatner.

"The Flexitarian Diet - The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life"
Author: Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN
Hardcover, £13.99, 304 pages
0071549579 / 9780071549578
-- Details in Amazon
-- Details in Amazon

Source
Maya Barahona
Mcgraw-Hill
www.mcgraw-hill