What's the Best Diet For You? Healthy Eating Tips

It's a huge topic. Eating seems simple, but it's pretty complex. So, it should focus on what I'd say if you and I sat in the clinic. I might start by wondering what we're shooting for weight loss less over eating healthy, eating a longer, better life than sticking with the big picture; I'd point out that eating is just one behavior and a healthy cascade. Regular exercise leads to better stress management and sleep, better food decisions, more energy, less chronic disease, and so on. If it's weight loss you're after, that's easy; conceptually, don't eat as much and move more. 

The problem is more challenging. Keeping up this energy balance in the real world. We are surrounded by a limitless supply of inexpensive, tasty, supersized calorie food in industrialized countries. The other side of the energy balance equation, i.e., activity, has also changed as our generation has a severe case of sending disease. Nightly TV commutes spectacular articles of games moving sidewalks, and most of us now are sitting knowledge workers; our culture pushes us towards the easy button instead of making our days harder. On the other side of the equation, it's important to remember that eating Grant food brings families together, builds communities, and gives us houses. Let's start with the question I often get about eating: what's the best diet for losing weight? I'm not surprised people are confused. While you're watching this article, there's probably a pop-up window from the diet industry telling you about a diet, a detox, or a superfood.

 Not to mention the Hollywood star that just started that diet, no research has shown convincingly that one commercial diet trumps all the rest; the only thing that predicted success in head-to-head trials was how well you stuck to whichever diet you picked. So, to reframe this, our society lurches from diet to diet, looking for some magic formula that is as different from the formula as much as the pattern. Instead of obsessing about the exact composition of a diet, science tells us to choose the one we like the best and can stick to a Cochrane meta-analysis in 2015. Looking at what bumped the success of the commercial Weight Loss Diet showed it wasn't less carbs or fat. It was more structured and had more in-person social support. 

Diets or just food rules that influence our pattern of eating, or what the economists call a commitment device, with self-aware people do improve their chances of controlling future irrational or impulsive behaviors. So, instead of autopilot, you follow food rules that nudge you towards certain eating decisions, mostly less overeating. Each commercial diet has its magic formula, what we call macronutrients. So low carb, high protein, low fat, sugar, and so on. And they typically have a story to go with it.

So you can eat like a caveman or use a scoring system, or it's prepackaged, or famous doctors take or whatever. And my two messages with macronutrients are ones I think we spend too much time and energy focusing on them, and it's more about quality than quantity. Low Carb Well, carbs can be healthy in their complex forms, such as fruits, veggies, lagoons, whole grains, and unhealthy, not-so-healthy. And they're simple forms like free sugars and refined starches. Let's face it: carbs taste awesome, and our society tends to overeat them. So, people who restrict their intake tend to lose weight. 

However, when we study relative weight loss outcomes, a 2014 systematic review by Dr. Celeste Snout and colleagues looked at weight and cardiovascular markers of at-risk people on low-carb diets that were followed for up to two years. They found no difference compared to balanced weight loss diets. So, how about lowering sugar? If I had to pick one word to describe sugar in industrialized societies, it would be sneaky. 

So much sugar has worked its way into our diets. Many drinks have eight or more teaspoons of sugar. The average American intake is approximately 20 teaspoons daily, more in teenagers and less in Canada. It's the obvious sweets, but it's also foods we consider healthy, such as cereals, granola bars, and fruit juices. When high sugar contributes to excess calories, we get into trouble. 

One interesting caveat is that when I diagnose patients with pre-diabetes, the first thing they do is drop sugar from their diet. However, when we look at the diabetes prevention trials, it was less about sugar restriction and more about the Healthy cascade of being active half an hour a day, five to 7% weight loss, eating less saturated fats, and eating more fiber that reduces the risk of progression to diabetes by 58%.

 How about low fat? Our story has changed on fat from all bad to more of a continuum. You have your trans fats, fried fast food, and many packaged baked goods that are not so good. And we're reducing these. We have saturated fats, mostly dairy, red meat, and plant oils like coconut or palm. These seem not so good. in excess but okay in moderation. Then, we have your monounsaturated fats or MUFA. The Mediterranean diet, which I'll discuss in a second, is high in MUFA. So, avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and dark chocolate show health benefits.

 Finally, we have Koufos. So, these are the longer-chain fats found in oily fishes. Early trials showed some reduction in cardiac events. In more recent trials, not-so-enthusiastic meta-analysis still shows some small benefit, no harm, So the suggestion is at least two servings a week. People do better when they replace saturated fats with MUFA and Kufa fats. What about high-protein diets? Again, it's more quality than quantity protein can come in different packages with different health effects. So, compare a high-salt ham steak versus a salmon steak, lentils, or a handful of walnuts. Most data points out that if you eat healthy protein, white meat, nuts, beans, and fish, you do better, especially if it has spread throughout the day, perhaps most importantly at breakfast. 

Some diets also show good results in people with the disease, so the DAS diet drops high blood pressure by five to 11 millimeters of mercury, the low glycemic index diet drops anyone the measurement for blood sugar over time, and people with diabetes by point five percentage points. Many of our patients have high cholesterol, and Dr. David Jenkins and his colleagues at the University of Toronto have shown they can reduce cholesterol by 35% with the portfolio diet. 

The data for vegetarianism has largely come from cohort studies, and some, e.g., randomized trials, show how people do better. It's hard not to conclude that a diet rich in plant-based, unprocessed foods is smart. And, of course, many people make the excellent point that the burden on our planet is less with a vegetarian ve, gan or local diet. One way to consider this is to reflect on Brazil's new dietary guidelines. I heard they shifted from focusing on the perfect macronutrient mix towards more appreciation of food.

 Stepping back a bit to see we're buying more ultra-processed foods and packaged foods that can be eaten anywhere and that maybe there's an opportunity for healthier eating and better relationships by encouraging the creation of meals with your family and friends. Okay, if there's no magic formula, is there a diet that does work? I think the answer is yes; the diet is more about culture and small behaviors, a diet not focused on weight loss but unhealthy outcomes like less cancer, heart disease, dementia, and a longer life. 

The diet with the most robust evidence is the Mediterranean diet. Instead of food rules or absolutes, this is more about moderation, less meat, more veggies, and fruit for dessert; think shopping at the market, or at least at the outer aisles of a grocery store, not the processed foods for sale in the inner aisles. It's called a Mediterranean diet. But really, it's more of a lifestyle, a region that traditionally includes lots of physical activity, regular meals, and good social support. So, let's continue the shift from diets to healthy behaviors that affect our eating by looking at the National Weight Control Registry.

 The NWC administers annual questionnaires to more than 10,000 people, more women than men, who have lost quite a bit of weight and kept it off for over a year. Not surprisingly, 98% said they modified their food intake somehow, and 94% increased their activity levels. But there wasn't one formula; most restricted some foods to some calories, while others ate all foods and just limited their quantities. 70% ate breakfast every day. Most watched less than 10 hours of TV and ate out thrice a week. 

These people generally exceeded the prescribed half-hour day of activity, Regina, an hour a day, mostly walking. Nearly all registry members indicated that weight loss improved their energy level, physical mobility, general moods, self-confidence, and physical health. Feedback loops in important losing weight is one thing. Still, the trickier part, at least for about 80% of us, is to keep it off, weigh yourself, and use this as a small nudge in your daily food decisions. For example, 75% of NW CR subjects weighed themselves weekly and 36% daily. And they looked at this more closely at the stop-regain trial. 

DailyDaily self-weighing was associated with a decreased risk of regaining 2.3 kilograms or five pounds on average. Another feedback now is just a food diary, even just for a week, and it is easier now with apps. Patients find this so simple. They don't do it. But seeing what you've eaten can double your weight loss.

So awareness is undersold; it may be what you eat or weigh. But it's also about knowing that life is messy and that we need some flexibility or feel better when we eat to enjoy it. That's why I like starting with small changes or, as I call them, tweaks, switching something to do a lot. So, for example, when eating breakfast or snacking and drinking, you could switch your average cereal for oatmeal or shredded wheat, a handful of almonds instead of a bag of chips. Let's switch three of your color drinks a day to water. I know this doesn't sound too sexy, but the doctor might switcheroo diet might weigh a pound a week or, better yet, might make you feel better. Another angle is adding instead of subtracting. 

So Dr. Sherry Pagoda and colleagues randomized metabolically at-risk individuals to either a multifaceted American Heart Association diet versus a simpler advice of increasing fiber to 30 grams throughout the day. So, getting on the bandwagon, a trip to Beantown Berry picked both groups last week. DHEA groups lately have improved cardiovascular markers. I liked this idea of pushing healthier food rather than just restricting or fencing off other food. 

Other data shows satiety, our feeling of being full, is not just about calories. Calories that come from proteins and fibers make us feel more full. Another angle is social support, which helps our eating behaviors. In another study where people were either going it alone versus having three or more friends or family members supporting them in maintaining weight loss at 10 months jumped from 24 to 66%. On the subject of support, having a dietitian, even if just online, helps like a genius bar for your eating. The activity is interesting. The context of eating research shows us that active people, even when they are obese, live longer than those with skinny, sedentary knees. 

So when my patients tell me they're active but have been unsuccessful at weight loss, I shrug my shoulders and say actually, you have been successful. You're active. It's easy to draw calories through diet, but it's important to know that the research shows that people who exercise have more success maintaining their weight. My final two points about healthy eating focus on this long-term play and attitude. As restrictive diets have proven hard to sustain, many are now turning from the individual to what surrounds the individual. Changing our eating environment makes it easier to make the right choice day after day. This redesigned choice architecture involves two types of quote nudge awareness. 

First is knowing that our world is full of triggers towards unhealthier, overeating, convenient, shiny foods at the counter supersizing marketing. As Dr. Brian Wansink points out, we don't overeat because we're hungry. Secondly is an awareness of what nudges you personally; we are creatures of habit. We do the same thing every week, and each of us has cues for certain foods, pastries at the coffee counter time 11 three or 10 a predictable stressor. As one thing says, the opportunity here is to re-engineer small behaviors that move you from mindless overeating to mindless better eating, maybe three designing your kitchen. When you leave cookies on the counter, they're much more likely to eat. 

But the same is true for fruits and veggies. Smaller plates, glasses, less supersized containers, and not even the bag are simple nudges to reduce mindless eating, redesign, and gain some self-knowledge. Are you a nighttime Nibbler or an emotional eater? I'm a grazer. I'll eat whatever is there. So, my changes at the grocery store. I know it's pathetic; I should cut fruit to myself. But mindless healthy eating happens to me when I buy pre-cut fruit. And like I might tell a smoker not to have cigarettes in the house. I also don't buy super sour juice because I can't stop eating those things. My final behavior is more of an attitude at 20. So if you're making healthier choices 80% of the time and your 20% is low Cal I, you should be thrilled. A piece of dark chocolate is a good meal from some pie.

 We're into this for the long term. So, I'm looking for something other than perfection. I'm looking for consistency. So, in the end, I hope I've got you to think differently about how you eat. Instead of investing in a single diet, a portfolio of behaviors, small tweaks over big changes, single ingredient foods over multi-ingredient and processed foods.

 Dinner at home self-awareness. Depending less on constant willpower and more on tweaking your week to make mindless healthy eating more likely. My final point is more about Health of Every Size. You know, I get the people who want weight loss, and obesity is a risk factor for disease. If my patients can work with their factory settings to be more mindful of their eating, move more self-love, and start thinking more about what's healthy to eat rather than what not to eat, I'd be happy. Now's the time to start your very own better life experiment.