Best and worst diets for 2014
Every year the diet industry attempts to lure dieters with quick fixes, flashy marketing and a steady stream of misinformation that can make eating healthy seem incredibly confusing.
It can be difficult to sift through the truth and fiction of the most popular diets. Many extreme diets promise fast weight loss, improved energy and ability to cure chronic diseases.
From the popular Paleo Diet to the Acid Alkaline Diet, misinformation abounds. With all of the diet hype this past year, evidence-based rankings of the most popular diets is a breath of fresh air. The results are in for the best and worst diets, as analyzed by a panel of nationally recognized experts.
Diets were analyzed using a variety of ratings for short-term weight loss, long-term weight loss, diabetes, heart health, ease of compliance, nutrition completeness and health risk. Then the diets were rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best.
The good news is that the top ranked diets are sensible meal plans that do not ban any food group or macronutrients.
Instead, these top diets emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean protein and healthy fats, while limiting foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt.
The top two overall best diets included the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, which scored 4.1 and the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet, which scored 4. Both of these diets were created by government health agencies and offer free diet plan guides on their websites.
In very last place, the Paleo Diet scored an abysmal 2 out of 5, earning low marks in every category –from weight loss to safety. Other cons include the restrictive diet rules, which ban all dairy, legumes, refined sugars and grains.
The hefty price tag for this meat-based diet is another major con, especially for budget conscious college students. The Paleo Diet claims to promote weight loss and prevent the “diseases of civilization,” like diabetes and heart disease, by returning to the hunter-gatherer diet of our Paleolithic ancestors.
While this may sound logical in theory, ditching grains and dairy can put you at risk for missing a variety of important nutrients, such as folate, calcium and vitamin D.
Additionally, the heavy emphasis on animal products could lead to a high intake of saturated fat, which increases the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Extreme diets promise big results with little effort or time, but the bottom line is that if a diet or product seems too good to be true, it probably is.
There isn’t a single food or dietary product that will lead to rapid weight loss, even though diet companies will try to convince you otherwise. Any diet that recommends eliminating an entire food group or macronutrient, such as carbohydrates or grains, should be a red flag that this is not a balanced eating plan.
Ultimately, the best diet plan is one that you can follow. It should include foods that you enjoy, instead of telling you what not to eat.
Often, it seems we think of diet as an acronym for Do I Eat That? Instead, focus on ways to create a healthy lifestyle by nourishing your body by eating a balance of all types of foods, and nourishing your body with regular meals and snacks.
Resources on campus are available to students interested in making healthy lifestyle changes. Nutrition counseling is available to all students by appointment, and the Student Recreation Center is an excellent resource for wellness classes, outdoor programming and even personal training.
Marissa Rudley,
can be reached at [email protected]