What Is The Healthiest Diet
A diet is defined as restricting oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight. With every fitness influencer and magazine under the sun claiming to hold the key to the healthiest diet, it is understandable why many people feel overwhelmed and confused when it comes to choosing a healthy diet that works for them. It is important to note that while many diets will help you lose weight, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are healthy. In the short-term, you may find that they benefit you, but from a long-term perspective, you are just setting yourself up for disappointment as their ridiculous and unsustainable nature inevitably means you pile the weight back on. So what is the healthiest diet? Is it the infamous paleo? The world-renown Keto? Or is intermittent fasting the way forward? In our opinion the mediterranean diet - easy on the saturated fat are is best diet. Read on to find out why.
What Is The Healthiest Diet? Paleo
The Paleo diet, also known as the Paleolithic diet has long been a favourite among people trying to lose weight, but does it deserve its cult status? Despite its loyal following, there has been a lot of scepticism around the paleo diet, with some claiming it to be healthy and reasonable, and others believing it may be harmful. What is the healthiest diet characteristics of paleo?
In short, the paleo diet is designed to resemble what human hunter-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago. Although it’s impossible to know exactly what human ancestors ate in different parts of the world, researchers believe their diets consisted of whole foods. By following this whole food-based diet and leading physically active lives, hunter-gatherers arguably had much lower rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
In fact, several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health. Let’s take a closer look.
Paleo Diet: The Basics
What To Eat: Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, healthy fats and oils.
What To Avoid: Processed foods, sugar, soft drinks, grains, most dairy products, legumes, artificial sweeteners, vegetable oils, margarine and trans fats.
Is The Paleo Diet Healthy?
The paleo diet is high in fibre, potassium and antioxidants while being low in simple carbohydrates, sodium and sugar. It discourages you from eating foods that are processed or have artificial ingredients and colourings. It encourages foods that make the body work hard to obtain calories while providing nutrients that optimise the efficient use of those calories. It may kick-start weight loss and, at least in the short-term, improve blood sugar and lipid profiles.
What Is Bad About The Paleo Diet?
The paleo diet isn’t effective for sustained weight loss, as it is very difficult to stay committed to any diet that is too restrictive of one or more food categories. In terms of overall health, it could over time increase lipids like total and LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or “bad”) cholesterol that raise the risk of heart disease. Not getting enough calcium increases the risk of osteoporosis, rickets and bone fractures. Chronically low carbohydrate intake may lead to an overuse of fat for energy or ketosis. Medical supervision is recommended for those on the paleo diet, especially for anyone with heart, kidney, liver or pancreatic disease or who is interested in maintaining the very low-carbohydrate version of the diet.
Paleo Diet: Conclusion
Done correctly, the paleo diet can be healthy and effective in the short-term but it isn’t advisable to continue it into the long term, not unless you make a few modifications. If you wish to use this diet as a starting point of a healthy diet, add beans, lentils, nuts, whole grains, and low-fat or nonfat dairy or other calcium sources such as dark leafy greens, tofu, and soy or almond milk. It is also recommended to emphasises quality over quantity, in regards to protein sources. Use the paleo diet as a template to base your diet on, not necessarily as a strict set of rules that you must follow.
What Is The Healthiest Diet? Modified Keto
What is the healthiest diet? Is it Modified Keto? Unlikely. Anyone who has ever done any research into dieting has undoubtedly heard of Keto. However, many claim the diet to be too restrictive and hence unsustainable in the long-run. Introducing modified keto. To understand modified keto or more colloquially keto 2.0, let’s quickly refresh your understanding of the original ketogenic diet plan. Keto is a super-low-carb diet that places emphasis on increasing your fat intake to the point where your body uses fat for energy. Everyone’s body and approach to the diet are slightly different, but that usually means you strive to get 60 to 75% of your calories from fat, 15 to 30% of your calories from protein, and 5 to 10% of your calories from carbohydrates.
As a result, using a 2,000-calorie diet as an example, keto fanatics usually try to have no more than 50 grams of carbs a day, with some aiming for an even lower amount. The goal of all of this is to go into a state known as ketosis. This is where your body doesn’t have enough carbs to use as energy, so it starts burning through fat instead. At this point, that breakdown of fat also produces compounds called ketones (which is basically where the diet got its name from). This high fat intake is also highly satiating, so people who follow keto to lose weight are able to do so without feeling hungry.
Modified Keto: The Basics
There are no “rules” with this modified version of keto. Generally speaking, people try to get 50% of their calories from fat, 30% of their calories from protein, and 20% of their calories from carbs. As a result, you could have 100 grams of carbs daily on a 2,000 calorie keto 2.0 diet, or double the amount. If you increase your carb intake to 20% of your calories, it would no longer be considered a ketogenic diet, because it’s impossible to reach ketosis anymore.
As with regular keto, you can technically eat anything you like within the parameters of the diet, but foods like sugar, fruits, beans, legumes, and grains are usually very limited.
Is Modified Keto Healthy?
This modified version of keto seems to be big on achieving a well-rounded diet, with more fruits, vegetables, and leaner proteins thrown into the mix. Sure, you can have these in limited quantities on regular keto, but keto 2.0 gives you more wiggle room for them, along with healthier, complex carbs like beans and oats. You’ll also get more fibre in your diet on keto 2.0, compared to regular keto, and that can help keep you satiated, lower your disease risk, and improve overall digestion. So yes, modified keto is healthy!
What Is Bad About The Modified Keto Diet?
A large problem that many nutritionists have with keto is that it tends to pack in a lot of saturated fats or, at least, many people fall into the trap of eating lots of foods loaded with saturated fats, like bacon and butter. While these foods can “technically” help you lose weight on keto when you stay within your macros, they’re not exactly great for your heart health or overall well-being.
Modifed Keto: Conclusion
Essentially, modified keto is a really low carbohydrate diet. It is much more similar to the traditional Mediterranean diet which we will look at next than a keto diet and that’s a good thing. By incorporating more lean proteins, especially fish and shellfish, as well as more fruits and vegetables, you’re increasing nutrient diversity which is the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The approach is key if you don’t want to fall victim to those unhealthy saturated fats and carbs. It is all too easy to just add pasta to get more carbs in with modified keto, but instead, you should be getting your carbohydrates from fibre-rich sources such as beans, legumes, fruits, and whole grains.
What Is The Healthiest Diet? Mediterranean
As the name would suggest, the Mediterranean diet is based on the diets of people from Crete, Greece, and Southern Italy. Researchers have noted that these people were exceptionally healthy compared to Americans and had a low risk of many lifestyle diseases. Numerous studies have now shown that the Mediterranean diet can cause weight loss and help prevent heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes and premature death. There is no one right way to follow the Mediterranean diet, as there are many countries around the Mediterranean sea and people in different areas may have eaten different foods.
Mediterranean Diet: The Basics
The Mediterranean diet has become popular because individuals show a low rate of heart disease, chronic disease, and obesity. Along with food, this diet emphasises the need to spend time eating with family and physical activity. It is hugely popular among those wanting to lose weight.
What To Eat: Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, potatoes, whole grains, breads, herbs, spices, fish, seafood and extra virgin olive oil.
What To Eat in Moderation: Poultry, eggs, cheese and yoghurt.
What To Eat Only Rarely: Red meat.
What To Avoid: Sugar-sweetened beverages, added sugars, processed meat, refined grains, refined oils and other highly processed foods.
For example, a standard mediterranean diet meal plan would be:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with Walnuts
Snack: Fruit
Lunch: Green Salad with olives, chickpeas, cucumbers
Snack: Nuts
Dinner: Cod with Vegetables and Couscous
Is The Mediterranean Diet Healthy?
Yes, if followed correctly, the Mediterranean diet is among the healthiest in the world. In 2020, for the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named the Mediterranean Diet the Best Overall Diet. The diet also comes in at the top spot on four other lists including Best Diets for Healthy Eating, Easiest Diets to Follow, Best Diets for Diabetes, and Best Plant-Based Diets.
Research into the traditional Mediterranean diet has shown it may reduce your risk of developing conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which are all risk factors for heart disease. Researchers have also found that people who closely follow a Mediterranean diet may live a longer life and be less likely to put on weight.
What Is Bad About The Mediterranean Diet?
Understandably, there are a few health concerns with this eating style for some people, including the fact you may gain weight from eating fats in olive oil and nuts. You may also have lower levels of iron. If you choose to follow the Mediterranean diet, be sure to eat some foods rich in iron or in vitamin C, which helps your body absorb iron.
Mediterranean Diet: Conclusion
Generally speaking, the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest diets going. It has a huge amount of health benefits including preventing heart disease and strokes, keeping you agile, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s, and protecting against type 2 diabetes, to name a few. It has also much more sustainable in the long-run meaning you have a higher chance of losing weight and stopping this weight from piling back on!
What Is The Healthiest Diet? 5:2
The 5:2 diet, also known as The Fast Diet, is currently the most popular intermittent fasting diet. Popularised by British journalist Michael Mosley, it gets its name because 5 days of the week are normal eating days, while the other 2 restrict calories to 500-600 per day. Because there are no requirements about which foods to eat but rather when you should eat them, this diet is more of a lifestyle. Many people find this way of eating to be easier to stick to than a traditional calorie-restricted diet. But just how healthy is it?
5:2 Diet: The Basics
For five days per week, you eat normally and don’t have to think about restricting calories. On the other two days, you reduce your calorie intake to a quarter of your daily needs. This is about 500 calories per day for women, and 600 for men. You can choose whichever two days of the week you prefer, as long as there is at least one non-fasting day in between them. One common way of planning the week is to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, with two or three small meals, then eat normally for the rest of the week.
It’s important to note that eating “normally” does not mean you can eat anything. If you binge on junk food, then you probably won’t lose any weight, and you may even gain weight.
You should eat the same amount of food as if you hadn’t been fasting at all.
Is the 5:2 Diet Healthy?
There are very few studies on the 5:2 diet specifically, but research has been done on intermittent fasting in general. There are an impressive array of health benefits including:
It is easier to follow than continuous calorie restriction, at least for some people
Different types of intermittent fasting may significantly reduce insulin levels
Research has shown that the 5:2 diet caused weight loss similar to regular calorie restriction. Additionally, the diet was very effective at reducing insulin levels and improving insulin sensitivity
They may help to reduce insulin resistance, asthma, seasonal allergies, heart arrhythmias, menopausal hot flashes and more
What Is Bad About The 5:2 Diet?
There’s no evidence that the 5:2 or similar intermittent fasting diets are more effective than simply reducing how many calories you have each day. Following the 'everything in moderation’ rule usually ensures you maintain a sensible energy intake, which would also result in the calorie deficit you require to shed weight.
It is also very easy to miss out on important vitamins and minerals when doing this diet so you will need to make sure that you’re getting lots of nutrients and goodness from your meals to help you stay healthy.
If you’re pregnant or have a medical condition such as diabetes, fasting can do more harm than good, so it’s better to stick to a normal diet. It is also not recommended if you have suffered from an eating disorder in the past.
5:2 Diet: Conclusion
The 5:2 diet is an easy, effective way to lose weight and improve metabolic health. Many people find it much easier to stick to than a conventional calorie-restricted diet which means it is better for long-term weight loss. If you’re looking to lose weight or improve your health, the 5:2 diet is definitely something to consider.
So what is the healthiest diet? To reiterate the mediterranean diet in our opinion, is the healthiest diet.
