Best Diets for 2017 for Eating Healthy
What does “eating healthy” mean? What are healthy diets to follow? Not for weight loss or weight gain, but just
a healthy eating pattern? I recently
heard a person say they were on an “anti-inflammatory” diet. They had given up fruit and dairy – 2 important
food groups for good health so already not a good choice. Another person said they were eating healthy
and following the Whole30 diet. US News &
World Report gives the Whole30 diet a poor rating and a low ranking. Why?
The diet is quite restrictive and excludes grain (an important food
group), dairy (another important food
group), legumes, even peanut butter. Any diet that excludes a food
group, excludes nutrients that the food group provides, is not a healthy
diet.
Each year, the US
News & World Report evaluates the “Best Diets”. For
2017, they evaluated 38 popular diets and determined which ones are best for
your health and fitness. What do they
look for? They use health experts to
rank diets on a number of parameters including how nutritious the diet is, how
safe it is and whether the diet protects against diseases like diabetes and
heart disease.
1.
DASH Diet – this diet stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, thus the acronym, DASH. Although it was designed to help
lower blood pressure, the diet is good for your health.
a.
Nutrients – the diet emphasizes nutrients that
help lower one’s blood pressure like potassium and calcium. It encourages more fruits, vegetables, whole
grains and lean protein and dairy – but low fat dairy products.
b.
Foods to limit are red meats, and foods high in
salt.
Although the diet was designed for lowering
high blood pressure, it is a good overall pattern of eating healthy.
2. Mediterranean Diet
– this diet has been written about extensively.
Many nutritionists and health experts recommend this pattern of healthy
eating.
a.
Why good for your health? The Mediterranean diet is a good diet for
disease prevention – prevention of cancer and diabetes. It is diet for healthy hearts and a healthy
brain. Basically, a healthier you.
b.
Foods to enjoy:
fruits, vegetables, olive oil, nuts, and fish.
i.
Choose low-fat dairy – 2%, 1% or non-fat
milk. Choose low-fat yogurt. Buy cheese that is made with low fat or skim
milk like mozzarella
cheese.
ii.
Whole grains – as noted in last week’s blog, so
many Americans have few or no whole grains in their day. Find a way to add whole grains to your daily
food intake and to your kid’s diet.
iii.
Fruit and Vegetables – 5 A Day is a start. More than 5 A Day is even healthier.
iv.
Nuts – add a handful of nuts a day
v.
Olive oil – buy some extra virgin olive oil and
use it in cooking.
c.
Foods to cut back on: red meat, foods with added
sugar and foods high in saturated fat.
3. MIND Diet – this sounds
like it would be a “quack” diet, but it is actually a combination of the DASH
and Mediterranean diets. It emphasizes
the foods in these 2 diets that contribute to healthy brains.
a.
What are brain healthy foods emphasized in the
MIND diet?
i.
Vegetables – leafy greens, beans
ii.
Fruits – berries,
iii.
Oil – olive oil
iv.
Protein – emphasis on fish and poultry
b.
Foods to cut back on: red meat, fried and fast food, butter, stick
margarine (choose tub margarine) and foods with added sugar like sweets and
pastries.
So rather than going on some crazy diet plan in an effort to
eat healthier in 2017, choose one of the above diets to begin modeling your own
eating after. Healthy eating doesn’t
mean giving up all the foods you like to eat, but adding some foods that
promote good health like more fruits and vegetables and more whole grains.
Sources: US News & World Report, DASH Diet, Mediterranean Diet,
mozzarella
cheese, MIND Diet Image source: U.S.
News & World Report
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment