Best Diets for Health 2021

Want to eat healthier in 2021?  What does “eating healthy” mean?  In the last two blogs we discussed simple changes you can make to start eating healthier.  If you want to follow a “diet” or eating plan for eating healthier, what are your options?  In the class I teach, students are always recommending we eat healthier diets.  But when I ask them what this means they often struggle to come up with specifics.  Instead of making a resolution to go on a “diet” this year, why not go on a “diet” to eat healthier?  Are there healthy diets to follow?  A diet not for weight loss or weight gain, but just a healthy eating pattern? Not a “diet” you go on for a week or two but a healthy eating pattern diet that you can go on all year long. 

I was watching TV recently and saw the commercial for taking pills to get your fruit and veggies each day.  Rather than take pills, eat your fruit and veggies as a way to eat healthier in 2021.  How do you decide what is a healthy diet? 

Each year, the US News & World Report evaluates the “Best Diets”.   For 2021, a panel of health experts evaluated 39 popular diets and determined which ones were safe, easy to follow, provided good nutrition, and are best for your health and fitness.  What do they look for?  The health experts 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.  Just like 2020, the top spots for 2021 went to Number One:  the Mediterranean Diet, Number Two:  the DASH diet that tied with the Flexitarian Diet.     

Diets that ranked as the “Best Diets” for 2021

1. Mediterranean Diet – This diet gets a 4.2 ranking out of 5 points for being a Best Diet Overall.  In the nutrition class I teach, we often talk about the Mediterranean Diet and why it is so good for one’s health.  This diet is based on the foods people eat in Greece and other countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Not only is their diet rich in fruits and veggies, they lead an active lifestyle.  Many nutritionists and health experts recommend this pattern of healthy eating.  Rather than giving up a food group, this diet recommends foods from each food group – but healthy foods from each group.

a.      Why is this diet good for your health?  The Mediterranean diet is good for your overall health and can be used for weight loss, for good heart health by lowering cholesterol, for brain health, to prevent cancer and to prevent and help control type 2 diabetes.  Basically, a good diet pattern for a healthier you in 2021.  To get started, try the 30-Day Mediterranean Diet Challenge at Eating Well.    Rather than go on a poorly ranked diet like the Whole30 for 30 days, choose to try the Mediterranean Diet for 30 days. 

b.     Foods to enjoy:  fruits, vegetables, olive oil, nuts, and fish.  

• 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.  Real dairy is so important to your health.  Focus on eating real dairy foods at every meal. You don’t want to cut back on dairy foods on the Mediterranean Diet as you need the calcium and vitamin D real dairy foods provide.
• Whole grains – as noted in a previous blog (Add some whole grains to your day), 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.  Starting the day with oatmeal or Cheerios is a good way to add whole grains to your day. 
• Fruit and Vegetables – 5 A Day is a start.  More than 5 A Day is even healthier. As noted in last week’s blog, bring a vegetable with you for lunch every day.  Simple changes can be oh so good for your health.
• Nuts – add a handful of nuts a day
•  Olive oil – buy some Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and use it in cooking.  Olive oil is a heart healthy oil.

c.       Foods to cut back on: red meat, foods with added sugar and foods high in saturated fat.  But you don’t want to cut back too much on red meat as red meat is a great source of iron.

Mediterranean Diet rated #1 for good health.

2. 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.  U.S. News & World Report notes the diet is praised for its nutritional completeness, safety, ability to control diabetes, and prevent high blood pressure (hypertension).  The focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and real low-fat dairy, loads the diet up with potassium, calcium, protein and fiber.  These nutrients help lower blood pressure.

• 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.  Be sure to choose real dairy, not fake dairy.
• Foods to limit are those higher in saturated fats like fatty meats, full-fat dairy foods, coconut oil, and foods high in salt.  Choose lean cuts of meat to lower saturated fat.  Also, cutting back on added sugar by cutting back on sodas, sports drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets high in added sugar.
• Cut back on salt in foods by using herbs and spices to flavor your food. 
• Fruit and Veggies – be sure to have at least one serving of fruit or a vegetable at every meal. And don’t count the fast-food French Fries as your veggie serving.
• Exercise – Aim for at least 30 minutes a day.  This could be a 15- minute walk after lunch and a 15- minute walk after dinner. 
• To get more guidance on the DASH diet from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, get a 20 page guide, DASH Eating Plan or a 6 page guide at Lowering Blood Pressure with DASH. 

Although the DASH diet was designed for lowering high blood pressure, it is a good overall pattern of healthy eating.

A good diet for good health and for people with high blood pressure.

     3. Flexitarian Diet– Actually tied for 2^nd place in the Flexitarian Diet.  This sounds like it would be a “quack” diet, but it is actually a diet that emphasizes many healthy foods, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and plant-based protein.  It is a diet that combines vegetarian eating and flexibility.  This diet has been around since 2009 and was popularized by Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D. in her book, “The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease and Add Years to Your Life”.  Well this is mostly a vegetarian diet, the flexibility comes in because you can still enjoy a burger, a steak and other meat – but on occasion.  If you are interested in getting started on this diet, try the Beginner’s Guide. 

a.       You ADD these foods to your diet:

•     Plant-based protein and eggs = tofu, beans, lentils, peas, nuts, eggs and seeds.
•     Fruit – all kinds
•    Vegetables
•     Whole grains – including brown rice, Quinoa, oats, buckwheat, barley
•     Herbs and spices – spices are super healthy so a good addition to any diet,
•     Oil – olive oil
•     Protein – emphasis on fish and poultry
•     Dairy – real dairy milk

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 soft drinks.

So rather than going on some crazy diet plan in an effort to eat healthier in 2021, 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 foods that promote good health like more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, and more low-fat real dairy to your day.  Rather than focusing on foods to cut from your diet to eat healthier, focus on what healthy foods you can add to your day.  I once had a student that followed my recommendation to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day.  After a few weeks, he said he lost 15 pounds.  When I asked what he did, he said he was so full from eating the 5 fruits and veggies a day that he didn’t have room for all the unhealthy snacks he used to eat. 

Sources:  US News & World Report, Best Diets , Mediterranean Diet, heart health, Eating Well, mozzarella cheese, dairy foods, Add some whole grains to your day , DASH , DASH Eating Plan, Lowering Blood Pressure with DASH, Beginner’s Guide    Image sources:  Best Diets  , Mediterranean Diet, DASH Diet