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Are There Financial Benefits Of Switching To Plant-Based, Mediterranean Diets?

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By now, almost everyone has heard of the Mediterranean diet.  In case you haven’t, it’s a diet that emphasizes healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables. It seems to be catching on more and more with people looking to turn their lives around, and start eating healthier.

It’s a great diet for someone looking to eat healthier. But people are always resilient to trying new things, especially a healthy diet. Over the years it seems like healthy diets have gotten a bad rap for being too expensive.  The Mediterranean diet is different from other vegetarian diets though. It might actually be able to save you money.

The Study

According to one article on One Green Planet, a new study published in Mar. issue of the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition found that people who took part in the 34-week study saved nearly $40 per week just by following a variety of vegetarian Mediterranean recipes provided to them by their instructors.

Additionally, around 50% of the participants lost weight. A total of 83 participants participated in the study. The participants were chosen from emergency food pantries plus low-income housing sites.

Because meat, poultry, and seafood are often the most expensive items of food, consuming a plant-based diet helped the participants save money. As an added benefit, the plant-based diet also improved the health of many participants.

The focus of this study was clear on how much money people would save. The Mediterranean diet can of course help you lose weight, but what makes it important in this study was how it was a secondary concern. Participants weren’t trying to lose weight, but the fact that they did simply proves how a plant-based diet can benefit people.

What this Means for Us

With this last study, people really have no excuse to try and make the change to a healthier lifestyle. Usually, making the switch to a diet like this could require some extra money. Now that it’s been proven to actually be cost-effective, will people finally make the change and start considering eating healthier?

Of course, you should always check out a diet fully before deciding to make a commitment, but the main point here is how things like poultry and meat are going up in price. You don’t have to follow the Mediterranean diet exactly, but just be aware that if you were ever thinking about eating less meat, now would be the time.

Even if you’re not concerned about healthy eating, saving money is always a plus. And when you have a big family, switching over to a more vegetable-based diet could help you increase your savings. For a big enough family, the money saved when switching over to the Mediterranean diet could be extremely important.

Then there are those who struggle with making a switch to a vegetarian diet because the meat was such a major part of their normal routine. Products like Quorn make it easier for individuals to focus on a vegetarian-based diet. Will this study end up convincing more people to try the Mediterranean diet? Who knows, but one thing is clear: Now is the best time to start. If you’re looking to eat healthier, start the change now!