From Vegan to Keto, Which of 6 Popular Diets Has the Highest Carbon Footprint? Researchers compared nutritional quality and environmental impact of 6 common eating styles. Here's what they found. Melissa Breyer is Treehugger’s former senior editorial director. Her writing and photography have been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, Audubon Magazine, and elsewhere. Research keeps telling us that what we eat has a big impact on the planet. In fact, a 2021 United Nations-backed study found that 34% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the food system. Given the urgency with which we need to address this warming world of ours, food choices can play a starring role for anyone who wants to participate less in contributing to climate change. Food choices are also tricky. With many factors to consider-from ethics and access to nutrition and the latest fads-many of us cycle from one diet style to the next. But if your priorities are carbon footprint and/or wiki.insidertoday.org nutritional value, then recent research from Tulane University may be of interest.
The study compared six popular diets on both nutritional quality and environmental impact. The researchers compiled diet quality scores using data from more than 16,000 adult diets in the United States collected by the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and looked at vegan, increase fat burn vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo, and keto-style diets, with everything else being categorized as omnivore. Many of us know that red meat has a high carbon footprint-remember how Democrats want to take away everyone's hamburgers because of climate change? So it may not be too surprising that the meat-forward keto and paleo diets ranked as the least sustainable of the six diets examined. And also probably not surprising that those diets scored the lowest for nutritional value as well. Diego Rose, the study’s senior author and professor and nutrition program director at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, says that while scientists have looked at the nutritional impact of keto and paleo diets, this is the first time researchers have quantified the carbon footprints of each diet and compared them to other popular diets.
"We suspected the negative climate impacts because they’re meat-centric, but no one had really compared all these diets-as they are chosen by individuals, instead of prescribed by experts-to each other using a common framework," Rose said. The vegan diet had the lowest carbon footprint, generating 0.7 kg of carbon dioxide per 1,000 calories consumed, less than a quarter of the impact of the keto diet. Vegetarian diets had the next lowest carbon footprint, Supraketo Keto by Supraketo and pescatarian diets followed. As for health, the pescatarian diet yielded the highest score for nutritional quality, with vegetarian and vegan diets following behind. The Omnivore Sweet Spot? Included in the six diets was the catchall omnivore diet, which was represented by 86% of survey participants. Omnivore diets were smack dab in the middle for both quality and sustainability. However, hidden within the omnivore category were the plant-forward Mediterranean and DASH diet (which steers eaters away from fatty meats)-for people who ate in these styles, both carbon footprints and nutritional quality scores improved. Treehugger has long advocated for reducing meat consumption when and where you can-it doesn't have to be vegan or bust. And the Tulane research backs this up. They found that on any given day, if a third of those on omnivore diets ate a vegetarian diet, on average, it would be equivalent to eliminating 340 million passenger vehicle miles. Make no bones about it: Meat (especially red meat) just has a high carbon footprint. Beef is responsible for Supraketo Keto 8 to 10 times more emissions than chicken production and over 20 times more emissions than nut and legume production. "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," Rose said. "Based on our results, that would reduce your footprint and be generally healthy.
Is Tropical Smoothie Cafe Healthy? Tropical Smoothie Cafe has 700 locations nationwide and features healthy menu items for a variety of diets and lifestyles. Its staple menu items include more than two dozen smoothies. But Tropical Smoothie Cafe actually has more savory food options than smoothies. It also offers flatbreads, wraps, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, and more, generally priced under $10 each. When eating out at any quick-service restaurant, visitors may need to be cautious of the calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar in some menu items. With some careful reading of the menu and optional modifications, almost anyone can enjoy a nutritious meal at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. "Tropical Smoothie Cafe offers a wide range of healthy food, including vegetarian and gluten-free options. If you order a smoothie, consider it a meal replacement since it can be high in calories and sugar (some over 600 calories). You can also customize your smoothie to be made without sweetener and with healthy ingredients to make it more filling and prevent a post-meal crash.
Is Tropical Smoothie Cafe Healthy? There are several menu items that offer a great vitamin and Supraketo.org mineral profile in relatively few calories with low saturated fat. The Detox Island Green smoothie has fresh fruits and vegetables, which provide micronutrients and fiber. But not everything is as good. For example, the Supergreen Caesar Salad contains 43g of fat and more than 1,000mg of sodium. Read on to learn the best options on the Tropical Smoothie Cafe menu. Though the cafe offers an extensive smoothie menu, Tropical Smoothie Cafe isn’t your average smoothie bar. It also offers other menu items that are often high in protein and other nutrients. However, some choices can be high in carbohydrates and sugar. For a quick-service restaurant, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a lengthy menu with more than 60 total meals and sides to choose from. Visitors are bound to find a menu item that suits their dietary preferences and taste buds. The most nutrient-packed and healthy option at Tropical Smoothie Cafe is the popular Detox Island Green smoothie, thanks to its fresh vegetable and fruit ingredients.