15 September 2025

If you had a choice of a juicy steak or the death-cap-mushroom Beef Wellington that Australian Erin Patterson used to kill four people at a family dinner…well, I think the choice is pretty clear! But in both Australia and the US, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death.

Why am I talking about this? Because lately I’ve noticed so many instances where a problem could have been avoided through better choices.

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Patterson’s in-laws might be alive today if they avoided beef - although if they had tipped her off on their vegetarian preferences, it’s likely she would have made an equally deadly Mushroom Wellington. Obviously, this is a very extreme and instantaneous example. Still, the research shows that our resistance to a plant predominant diet may be costing us, in both health and longevity.

Consider:

• For each 2.5 servings of vegetables added to your day, the associated risk of heart disease is reduced by 8%, 16% for stroke and 10% for all cause mortality.
• Substituting just 5% of calories from animal protein with plant-based alternatives can reduce diabetes risk by 23%.
• Eating 3 servings of whole grains daily is associated with a 17% reduction in colorectal cancer risk and a 15% reduction in total cancer mortality.

This is just a small sampling of the many converging research statistics that exemplify the power of plants in our diet. Other factors make a difference too. Physical activity (doesn’t have to be pumping iron at the gym), not smoking, the way you manage stress and how well you sleep all play a role. Beverages matter, too, so let’s play a game.

Would you rather…

• Drink Poland Spring or Pepsi?
• Consume contaminated drinking water or Coca Cola?
• Drink [plastic] bottled water or tap water [in a reusable glass/stainless steel bottle]?

See? It depends on the circumstances (how safe is your water?), priorities (taste preference vs. health concerns?), and scientific knowledge (how much do you know about microplastics?). Experts suggest that if you want to feed a picky child, offer two different healthy options. Many people around the world may have a choice between a bad option and something worse. That seems unfair, especially if there is something we can do about it.

Would you rather…

• Eat a turkey burger or a beef burger?
• Hamburger or black bean veggie burger?
• Impossible burger or regular Whopper?

You can probably guess my answers: turkey (because of its lower climate impact), veggie burger (better for my gut and the planet, and also the humane choice) and Impossible (not my fave, but needs must). Your answers may be different, and that’s ok! I would still encourage you to add more vegetables to whatever patty you choose. I often encourage clients to go halfsies - meat + beans. Tyson even rolled out a product like that in 2019 (whatever happened to that?).

Or you could choose to balance out a small meat portion with whole grains, vegetables, fruits and/or legumes in other parts of your plate. You might choose to avoid animal foods until dinner (a la Mark Bittman) or just keep it plant based for dinner (my recommendation for better sleep!).

Perfection - whatever that is - is not required. Even if you smoke, consuming fruits and vegetables decreases your risk of poor health outcomes - it’s all about gene expression. Diabetics consuming fruit at least 3x weekly reduce their risk of vascular complications and all-cause mortality.

You may have heard that fish is “healthy” and we should be eating more of it. Someone who is allergic to seafood may have no real choice. And the research doesn’t support a health benefit that would encourage vegans to add fish to their diet - not because fish itself is unhealthy, but for the risk of [unnatural] toxins. But for a meat-eater, replacing even some of the beef with seafood will likely improve health.

It’s easy to “prove” a certain food or diet is healthy, just by comparing it to something worse. But we make hundreds of personal food choices every day. Would you rather live a long and healthy life or consume that triple dipped chicken you think you chose of your own free will?

Our choices are our priorities. What are yours?

What difficult choices have you faced?