If healthy Finnish adults between 20 and 69 swap out 40% of their meat and dairy protein for plant proteins like beans and lentils for 12 weeks, they’ll eat more fiber, less unhealthy fat, and their bad cholesterol will drop—without changing their good cholesterol or triglycerides.

If you eat half your protein from plants and half from animals, you’ll get more fiber and healthier fats than if you get most of your protein from meat—plus, your bad cholesterol levels will be about the same as if you ate mostly plant protein.

If you swap out meat and dairy for foods like nuts, seeds, beans, and veggies, you’ll eat less cholesterol and more of the good fats—by about 150 milligrams less cholesterol and 1.2% more healthy fats in your daily calories.

If you swap meat and dairy proteins for beans, nuts, and grains in your diet, your good cholesterol (HDL) and fat levels (triglycerides) won’t change much—so the health perks of eating more plants probably come from lowering your bad cholesterol instead.

If healthy adults in Finland switch to eating mostly plant-based proteins like beans, nuts, and whole grains instead of meat and dairy for 12 weeks, they can stick to it, feel fine, and won’t gain or lose weight.

A predominantly plant-based dietary pattern incorporating lean animal proteins provides adequate protein, essential fatty acids, micronutrients, and dietary fiber, while conferring metabolic benefits comparable to low-carbohydrate diets without elevating LDL cholesterol or increasing cardiovascular risk.