id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body"> Plant-based diets are becoming more popular -- here's how do start one.

Getty Images When it comes to healthy eating, vegan and vegetarian diets can look pretty restrictive. Nixing all or most animal-based products from your diet (while potentially more sustainable) can feel really depriving if you're used to having meat, cheese or 이벤트 eggs on a daily basis. 

If you're looking to reap some of the health benefits that can come from a more restrictive plan like veganism (like lower inflammation levels, for example) good news: you don't have to give up all of your favorite foods.

Plant-based eating, a way of eating that focuses on plants but allows room for some animal products, is here to save the day. This trendy eating plan is like a more flexible version of vegan and vegetarianism -- meaning you may be more likely to stick to it since you don't have to cut out entire food groups. 

If you're curious about the health benefits of plant-based eating and want to learn more, keep reading to find out if the eating philosophy can work for you.

Choosing a variety of vegetables when you shop keeps you from getting bored and will help increase your nutrition. 

Getty Images What is a plant-based diet?
Part of the appeal of the plant-based diet is that it's not really a diet. At least not in the traditional sense, because there are no set rules. The idea is that you focus your diet around plants, and there's nothing that's "off-limits."

"If you ask five people what plant-based eating is, you may get five different answers," says Amy Gorin, a New York City-based registered dietitian. "I consider plant-based eating to be a diet that includes a significant amount of plants such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes and whole grains throughout the day," Gorin said.

So while you may reduce your consumption of meat, seafood, eggs and dairy products, you don't necessarily need to cut them out. But if you want to adopt a plant-based diet, the goal is to make sure the majority of what you're eating is plant-derived. That can mean different things for different people -- for example, you might have a plate full of vegetables and grains and only a small portion of meat with most meals, or perhaps you only eat foods derived from animals two days out of the week and eat only plant-based foods on the other five days.

"A meal can contain meat, poultry, or seafood and also include a good amount of plants -- such as a salmon salad -- and still be plant-based," Gorin said. A plant-based diet is not about what you "can," or "can't" eat; rather it's about increasing your daily intake of plants and crowding out other food groups with plant-derived options.

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