Flexitarian - the healthiest diet

For a healthy, long life, you need happiness, a good sleeping pattern and a balanced diet consisting of unprocessed proteins, carbs and fat. Nutrients should come from fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts topped up with all the natural goodness from meats and seafood. Many diets such as vegan, vegetarian, keto and paleo concentrate on specific parts of a balanced diet, but only one encompasses it all perfectly and that's the semi-vegetarian – or flexitarian as it's more commonly known.

A flexitarian diet is centered on super-nutritious plant foods, topped up with essential healthy fats and natural proteins that you can only find in red and white meat. The vegetables/meat ratio on a flexitarian diet is subjective, but it can range from 5 to 15 meatless meals a week.

The great thing about the flexitarian diet is that it allows you to eat how you want. A vegan breakfast and lunch can be followed by a fish and chip supper, adding omega 3 fatty acids and quality protein to the plan-based goodness. This not only makes a semi-vegetarian diet easier to stick to, but the health benefits are measurable too.

As you are essentially topping up a vegetarian diet with high-quality meats, you'll benefit from a full spectrum of nutrients, from vitamin A and K; provitamins, dietary minerals and carbs on the plant side, topped up with B vitamins, iron and omega-3 fatty acids from meat. No need for any supplements and you'll get to eat the foods you love.

Healthy, nutritious and above all enjoyable, the flexitarian diet is hard to beat.