Here's What You Should Know About The Pollotarian Diet

Paleo diet. Dukan diet. Atkins diet. Whether you're looking to eat healthy, lose weight, or a combination of the two, you might want to explore your options beyond what you normally eat. And it seems that every so often, a new diet comes on the scene that promises both. The latest: the pollotarian diet. 

It seems like each diet has a specific focus: Some are high in protein, while others are low in fat. At the heart of the pollotarian diet is one staple ingredient: chicken (via Healthline). That might be why the diet is called pollotarian, since pollo means chicken in Spanish. So if you're a pollotarian, you basically eat a lot of chicken and avoid eating red meat and pork. It can be an excellent option for someone who doesn't really like eating beef, or is considering becoming a vegetarian, and is making slow dietary changes in order to achieve their health goals. That might explain why the pollotarian diet is sometimes referred to as the pollo-vegetarian diet, since many people who follow it eat just chicken and plant-based foods like whole grains, fruits, nuts, veggies, and healthy fats (via Organic Facts).

Plus, being a pollotarian has a lot of positives. Red meat has more saturated fat than chicken or fish, according to the American Heart Association. And all that saturated and trans fat is dangerous for your health, since it can increase your cholesterol and cause heart disease. And because the pollotarian diet tends to be higher in plant foods, it means that it can be richer in fiber and antioxidants, while also increasing HDL (good) cholesterol (via Healthline). And that translates into a reduced risk of certain types of cancers, and can even decrease your risk of type 2 diabetes.

And the benefits don't stop there. There have been several studies connecting the consumption of red meat to mortality (via Harvard Health). It was found that if a person who potentially had a 50 percent chance of dying in the next 25 years replaced just one serving of red meat per day with chicken, they would decrease their risk to about 42 percent.

Before you start any diet that restricts certain food groups, you should speak with your doctor to ensure that it's safe. Then, you can get the benefits of the plucky pollotarian diet.