If you tell someone you’re eating a plant-based diet, chances are you’ve heard the warning:

“You just have to be careful with that kind of diet.”

It’s advice so common it feels responsible — but it also reveals a double standard. Why do we assume that plant-based diets require special supervision, while omnivorous diets — the ones most associated with chronic disease — are treated as nutritionally effortless?

A new narrative review published in the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention (Vol. 7, No. 2, 2025) by David Goldman (University of Helsinki / Metabite, Inc.) and Dr. Matthew Nagra (University of British Columbia) takes aim at this imbalance.
Their paper, “Asymmetrical Dietary Guidance: Reassessing the ‘Careful Planning’ Caveat in Vegetarian and Vegan Diets,” explores whether this oft-repeated caution is truly evidence-based — or a cultural habit overdue for retirement.

What the Review Found

Goldman and Nagra analyzed two and a half decades of scientific literature — cohort studies, randomized trials, systematic reviews, and position papers — comparing omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan diets on four key fronts: health outcomes, nutrient adequacy, diet quality, and public-health messaging.

Their synthesis showed:

• Vegetarian and vegan diets are consistently associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and several cancers compared with omnivorous diets.
  
• Diet quality scores are generally higher among vegetarians and vegans due to greater intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and lower sodium consumption.
  
• Vegan diets may show a higher fracture risk if calcium and vitamin D are insufficient — but those risks can be mitigated through fortification and supplementation.
  
• Omnivorous diets, meanwhile, often lack fiber, vitamin E, magnesium, and potassium — shortfalls rarely highlighted in dietary warnings.
  
• The takeaway: all dietary patterns require thoughtful planning. Framing only plant-based diets as risky distorts public perception and lets nutrient-poor omnivorous diets off the hook.
  

How the Narrative Got Skewed

The idea that vegan or vegetarian diets are “tricky” took root decades ago — partly from early clinical caution, partly from cultural inertia.
Media headlines still echo it today: “Is a Vegan Diet Safe for Kids?” … “Can You Get Enough Protein Without Meat?”

Yet few mainstream articles warn omnivores that 95% of Americans fail to meet recommended fiber intake, or that the average diet’s sodium and saturated-fat levels drive heart disease — our leading killer.

Goldman and Nagra call this “asymmetrical dietary guidance.” By overstating the risks of plant-based eating while understating the shortcomings of typical Western diets, public-health messaging unintentionally stigmatizes the very patterns most likely to improve health outcomes.

Why It Matters

This imbalance doesn’t just shape opinions — it shapes behavior. When people believe plant-based eating is “risky” or requires perfection, they’re less likely to try it or stick with it.

But the science tells a different story: nutrition success is not about perfection, it’s about proportion.
Every step toward a more plant-centered plate — whether that’s oatmeal instead of bacon, beans instead of beef, or chili built on lentils — moves the needle toward better health.

Balanced messaging empowers people to make those incremental shifts without fear or confusion.

A Call for Nutritional Fairness

As Goldman summarizes in the review:

“All diets require thoughtful planning to achieve nutritional adequacy and prevent chronic disease.”

It’s time for nutrition advice to reflect that symmetry. Instead of singling out vegan and vegetarian diets for caution, let’s recognize that every dietary pattern — plant-based or otherwise — benefits from knowledge, intention, and variety.

Because what’s truly “risky” isn’t eating more plants.
It’s assuming that the default diet needs no care at all.

Citation:
Goldman D., Nagra M. (2025). Asymmetrical Dietary Guidance: Reassessing the “Careful Planning” Caveat in Vegetarian and Vegan Diets. International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, 7(2), 13 pp. https://doi.org/10.22230/ijdrp.2025v7n2a615