Even as a kid, Lambton's Tanya Williamson preferred a pescatarian diet.
She's carried this inclination into adulthood, making her an ideal person to be part of a study examining the health effects of plant-based diets.
The Hunter Medical Research Institute and University of Newcastle study is mainly seeking people who follow a pescatarian diet. Such people follow a vegetarian diet, but include seafood.
Lead investigator Grace Austin, a dietitian with the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, is recruiting more than 50 adults from the Hunter.
"We are also looking for people following a vegetarian diet (including dairy and eggs) and semi-vegetarian or minimal meat diets (very minimal intake of animal flesh/animal products)," Ms Austin said.
As for Ms Williamson, she has "always loved eating veggies".
"It's nothing for me to have a whole broccoli head with sea salt and pepper. I've always loved greens," she said.
"I was the kid in a tree with a carrot stick in my hand, running around the backyard playing netball and basketball."
Meat didn't appeal to her.
"I was a bit of a lazy chewer with meat, so Mum would just always put a plate of veggies in front of me," she said.
"Dad would try and force meat down me. But I like the texture of fish and seafood more than meat."
While some people crave junk food, she craves healthy food.
"The more you eat it, the more you crave it," she said.
She follows a vegetarian diet with some fish. Her approach to nutrition helped her "work out how I could heal my IBS".
She also has iron infusions and B12 injections to get the required nutrients.
Her partner Adam Cowan, who is also participating in the study, said the diet they follow matches the "Mediterranean diet - the longevity diet".
"I didn't know that existed, but that's the stuff we eat all the time," he said.
He hasn't eaten meat for about five years.
"It seems to perform better for me," said Mr Cowan, who has Crohn's disease.
He said the study was trying to work out if plant-based diets are beneficial or not.
"That's a good thing. Acknowledgement of different diets is a big thing in our society now."
Ms Austin said the researchers are investigating the "potential health benefits of following plant-based diets".
She said these diets were "an increasing trend across the globe out of concern for health, animal welfare and environmental sustainability".
Researchers will explore dietary patterns through questionnaires and interviews. They will measure blood pressure, body composition and bone density.
Participants will be given a diet analysis and receive results of their tests.
The study will help inform the Australian Dietary Guidelines, which the National Health and Medical Research Council are reviewing. The guidelines were established in 2013, with new ones due for release in 2024.
The researchers are seeking adults aged 35 to 70 to participate in the study.
They're looking for people without diagnosed heart disease, who follow a plant-based diet such as pescatarian, vegetarian or minimal meat.
To be involved, email grace.austin@uon.edu.au or call 0422 650 262.
You are what you eat
The number of people following vegetarian-based diets in Australia has risen dramatically over the past decade, amid concern for health, ethics and the environment.
"Current western dietary patterns are often energy dense, nutrient poor and low in fruit and vegetable consumption," said Grace Austin, a University of Newcastle dietitian.
This is contributing to the "rising rates of chronic illnesses like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease".
Some studies across the globe have demonstrated benefits in following plant-based diets, such as reducing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
"These dietary patterns also help manage other risk factors such as high cholesterol and sugar levels, elevated blood pressure and obesity," she said.
"However, this impact is not well known in the Australian population, nor are there dietary guidelines around how to follow a healthful plant-based diet."
As reported above, she is leading one of the first studies in Australia to evaluate several types of plant-based dietary patterns and link them to health and disease.
