A Diet That’s Good for the Planet Is Also Good for You.
You want to eat a diet that’s good for you. You want to eat a diet that’s environmental and good for the planet. The good news is, it’s the same diet.
The typical diet in high-income countries is bad for you and bad for the planet. It is too rich in meat, processed meat, refined grains, sugars and bad fats and too low in fiber. It promotes obesity, heart disease and diabetes, while using 40% of the land, 70% of all fresh water used and causing 30% of all greenhouse-gas emissions. It is also the largest cause of species being threatened with extinction.
The EAT-Lancet diet emphasizes plant-based foods, including whole grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruits, unsaturated oils and only small amounts of animal products. The original report on the diet, published in Lancet, suggested that such a diet can reduce 19%-23.6% of deaths annually world wide. It suggested that such a diet could reduce greenhouse emissions by as much as 80%.
An important new study has now looked at the effect of the EAT-Lancet diet on nutrient intake by looking at 17 nutrients. It included 25,970 people.
It found that the EAT-Lancet diet was “associated with overall higher nutrient intake”. At the highest level of adherence to the diet, no micronutrient was associated with an intake below the recommended level and most exceeded it.
There was a lower risk of deficiency in folic acid. According to some measures, there was also a lower risk of selenium and zinc deficiency. For vitamin D, there was no difference in women and a lower risk of deficiency in men. According to some, but not all, scales, there was a very small increased risk of anemia in women (4.6% versus 3.3%).
Previous research by the lead author found that those who most closely follow the EAT-Lancet diet have a 33% reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to people who least followed it. Deaths from cancer and risk of premature death from any cause were around 25% lower.
She says, “It is possible to combine an environmentally sustainable diet with good health. The studies show that such dietary patterns can reduce the risk of disease and premature death without compromising nutrient intake…. There are positive synergies between health and sustainability.”
The Lancet Planetary Health. February 2026;doi:10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101416.
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