Let’s make one thing clear: the internet is rife with tonnes of contrasting dietary advice.
For instance, some authors claim that adopting a vegan lifestyle has helped them lose weight; others claim that they’re able to lose weight without cutting down on meat products.
Believe it or not, both these claims can be true. People can shed pounds and feel more healthy by adopting either behavior.
With all this anecdotal evidence claiming opposite things, it can be a challenge to figure out the true optimal way to eat healthily. This is especially true if you’re conscious about what you eat and have not seen your desired results after weeks of attempting to eat better.
If you’re struggling with your diet, this article will help give you a more comprehensive understanding of the most popular and effective diet plans so you can decide which one is best suited for you.
Let’s begin!
What’s The Best Diet To Be Healthy?
You don’t always have to follow a specific diet plan to be healthy. The main thing you should take into account is eating quality foods in the appropriate portions.
Just like how there are dozens of different cuisines around the world, there are also hundreds, if not thousands, of food sources that can provide you with enough nutrition.
The key is finding the right balance for your specific needs.
If you’re looking to lose weight, for instance, you may want to decrease the number of calories you’re currently eating and consider intermittent fasting.
Contrarily, if you’re looking to bulk up, eating a larger portion of food can help you achieve the body type you desire.That said, with more research being done on nutrition, some diets have gained more attention over the years. And rightfully so!
The 6 Best Diets
These diets provide quality vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that help boost the body’s energy levels and keep it fit and healthy. But besides their health benefits, these diets are also categorised into different types based on one’s specific nutritional needs. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular diets that you can apply to introduce health into your lifestyle.
Best Diet For Losing Weight
Many doctors agree that one of the best diets for losing weight is the Mediterranean diet. This European-inspired dieting plan revolves around consuming only healthy fats and plant-based produce. This includes foods like fruits, vegetables, seeds, poultry, and fish.
This diet, which emphasises the consumption of unprocessed food, is ideal for everyone, but most especially overweight and diabetic individuals. This is because of its weight-reducing properties and high nutritional value.
Unlike a plant-based diet, this diet incorporates a moderate amount of animal-based foods. This helps provide a high macronutrient count to support optimal health.
If this diet is followed while restricting caloric intake, it can lead to sustainable and healthy weight loss among adults. This makes it a great diet for those looking to shed a few pounds in a healthy manner.
Best Diet For Bulking Up
Do you intend to grow muscles? You may benefit from eating a high-protein diet.
Protein is an essential macronutrient that’s rich in amino acids. These amino acids are the building blocks of fibres in our body, helping maintain the structural integrity of our bones, skin, and muscles.
Besides its key role, protein is also crucial for several bodily functions. It serves as one of the body’s key energy sources, it helps boost the immune response, and it even plays a role in facilitating cellular repair.
The good news is that protein can be found in many food sources. Lean cuts of beef, pork, poultry, and fish are all rich in protein. That said, not all proteins are the same, so be sure to vary your diet to ensure that your body’s maintenance has more favourable outcomes.
Best Low Protein Diet
While many bodies can absorb and utilise protein effectively, some people with kidney and metabolic disorders have a difficult time doing so. For instance, patients with phenylketonuria or PKU find it a challenge to consume protein and certain sweets.
For people diagnosed with PKU, eating protein in excess can cause a slew of negative bodily reactions due to the build-up of phenylalanine. Their bodies are unable to process this enzyme, causing various symptomatic manifestations, from eczema to repeated jerking motion.
In such cases, their doctors may prescribe them to follow a diet with low in protein foods. This diet typically consists of fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates like whole wheat products or oats, and legumes.
Best “Low-Carb” Diet
Is your long-term goal to lose excess pounds? If so, a ketogenic diet might be worthy of your consideration.
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that makes the body enter ketosis, a state in which the body burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. This is because the body’s natural insulin and ghrelin stores reduce, altering the way the body stores and uses energy.
In addition to reducing calories, this diet also involves the limitation of processed foods. Furthermore, sugary drinks, white bread, refined sugars, and other high-carbohydrates are heavily discouraged as they aren’t keto.
Besides being known for its weight-loss benefits, a keto diet also helps reduce inflammation and promotes brain health.
Best Plant-Based Diet
If you care for animal welfare or have religious or health restrictions, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles are viable dietary alternatives to your usual diet.
Vegetarianism is an eating style that excludes the consumption of animal-based products. This includes anything from fish to cows. Veganism goes a step further and includes the elimination of all animal-derived products, including milk, eggs, and honey.
Both diets are great for promoting weight loss and reducing diabetes risk. This is because they both emphasise the consumption of fibre-rich and organic foods that make you full easily.
Best Diet For Hypertensive Individuals
If you don’t want to exclude meat out of your diet entirely but still want to retain the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle, you can opt for a DASH diet.
DASH, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is a clinical diet plan designed to help reduce the risk of hypertension for at-risk patients. It encourages the frequent consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins to lower blood pressure. Nuts are also recommended twice a week.
It also forbids the consumption of red meats, added sugar, and fatty food.
As the name implies, the primary purpose of this diet is to reduce high blood pressure. But besides that, it’s also an all-around good diet for weight loss and improved cholesterol levels since you’re removing extra fat and sugars from your diet.
