Move Over Keto & Vegan It’s Time to Embrace the Varietarian Lifestyle
We’ve heard it all: vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, and now even meatatarian! Then there’s the other side of the dieting coin: “Are you paleo? Keto? Intermittent fasting?” We know all these words now. As a health coach, when people share how they eat using any of these labels (or some combo of them), I always ask follow-up questions.
Because here’s the thing: Those words tell me more about what you’re not eating than what you are eating. And when it comes to our health, our results, and our long-term outcomes, everything is a function of what we eat. That’s the nuance most diet labels miss.
Also? It’s way more fun to focus on what we do eat than what we can’t, but that’s a rant for another day. Now, back to these labels. There’s one I’m actually a big fan of, and that’s varietarian.
Maybe this is new to you, but let me introduce you to your new favorite word. Being a varietarian means exactly what it sounds like, you eat a variety of foods. That’s it! The goal is to get a wide range of nutrients by mixing it up. We’re talking about protein from both animals and plants: maybe organic tofu or tempeh, nutritional yeast, fish, chicken, turkey, pork, and yes, even red meat (gasp!).
Your quality fats might include avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, sardines, or anchovies. Carbs? A rainbow of vegetables and fruits, plus whole grains like barley and farro, maybe some sweet potato or lentils.
The key here is changing it up, not eating the same foods on repeat every day or every week.
Eat the rainbow, literally. When I work with younger clients, we play a game: how many colors can you get on your plate? We always hear “eat your greens,” and yes, please do! But also eat your reds, oranges, purples, yellows, and blues. Being a varietarian means aiming to get a full-color spectrum onto your plate, which translates to a wide range of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Each color supports your body in different ways:
- Red foods like tomatoes and strawberries may support heart health
- Orange and yellow foods like carrots and bell peppers bring vitamin C and beta-carotene
- Greens offer fiber, folate, and iron
- Blues and purples like blueberries and eggplant are packed with antioxidants
This is what “varietarian” really means, diversity on your plate and in your diet.
The beautiful thing about being a varietarian is that there’s no one-size-fits-all plate. It’s about choosing foods that you like, foods that agree with your body, and ones that make you feel energized and satisfied.
This requires a little detective work. Start tracking how certain foods make you feel. Do you get bloated after a particular meal? Which foods give you energy that lasts five hours? When do you feel sluggish versus clear-headed? These observations are the foundation of your personalized varietarian lifestyle, and yes, it might look different from your spouse’s or your best friend’s. That’s the point.
If variety sounds like too much right now, start where you are. Try:
- Buying a new fruit or veggie each week at the store
- Shopping at a farmer’s market or a different grocery store to discover unfamiliar produce
- Swapping a familiar food for a new variety, like purple carrots or heirloom tomatoes
As you build confidence, start to expand your variety from meal to meal, week to week, and season to season. See if you can get all the colors of the rainbow on your plate at least once this week.
Eating the same limited set of foods can lead to nutrient gaps, dull meals, and disinterest in healthy eating altogether. Variety keeps meals interesting, satisfying, and colorful, both visually and nutritionally. It’s also a key part of supporting a diverse gut microbiome, which we now know is crucial to digestion, immunity, and even mood.
So maybe this article added a new word to your vocabulary. What if you started calling yourself a varietarian? You don’t have to explain that you’re “kind of plant-based but also eat fish and dairy,” you’re a varietarian! You eat with variety and intention, and you listen to your body.
Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that variety is the spice of life, and of health.