There are so many diet fads and trends these days. And it’s hard to keep up! How do you know what what’s best for you, or even how to do them?! Here are simple definitions of the most popular ones today. I am no expert! This is info I’ve personally collected and summarized in my own research. It’s important to do your own research when committing to one of these. Every body is different. Listen to your body and go with what your body responds well to! If you’re already overwhelmed by diet fads, then just eat REAL, UNPROCESSED food and you’ll be on the right track. It can be simple. But if you want to know the diet lingo, then I hope you enjoy and learn from this!
Healing Foods Diet (anti-inflammatory, alkaline)
Definition: Ultimately, this diet consists of eating only foods that do not cause inflammation. Inflammation inside the body is the root of majority of health issues. This diet is great if you have health problems like digestive disorders, depression, fatigue, hormone imbalance, diabetes, heart disease, autism, etc. It can actually reverse health issues! This one appeals to me the most because it’s not about weight loss but about health. This diet also alkalizes the body, eliminates toxins and optimizes nutrients. More info here
What to eat: good quality fats, organic/grass-fed meat, wild-caught fish, nuts & seeds, fruits, raw diary or sheep/goat, vegetables, sugar free sweeteners (stevia, monk fruit) cookbook of recipes
Foods to avoid: sugar, bad oils (canola, vegetable) conventional meat & diary, grains, pork, peanut butter
Keto
Definition: The idea behind keto is putting your body into a state of constant ketosis = burning fat for energy versus carbs. Ketosis mimics the benefits of fasting. Keto has a high emphasis on healthy fats and very, very little carbs (almost none). Keto is the quickest way to lose weight since it focuses on burning fat. Keto can also be a lifestyle. To not lose weight, you simply up your healthy fat intake. I highly recommend getting apps that measure how much fat, protein, and carbs you should be eating because it’s all about your fat, protein, carb ratio. Keto is also great for reversing many health issues! You shouldn’t cheat on keto because it will disrupt the ketosis and take a bit to get your body back into ketosis. Please research more yourself!
What to eat: healthy fats (olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, nuts, seeds, etc) non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, leafy greens, asparagus etc) sugar alternatives such as xylitol, monkfruit, stevia, protein (grass-fed meat, organic, pasture-raised poultry and eggs, bone broth, wild-caught fish, raw diary) Ideally you want only good quality meat and raw diary. My mother-in-law’s favorite keto cookbook
Foods to avoid: sugar (even honey & maple syrup), all grains including oats, rice, quinoa and pasta, most carbs, high sugar fruits, root vegetables
Paleo
Definition: The cave man diet. The concept is to think of what hunter and gatherers would have had access to eat. Paleo diet consists of eating high in healthy fats, moderate in animal protein, and low to moderate in carbs. It’s very important though to eat good quality meat! More info here
What to eat: This diet consisting of good quality meats, vegetables, fruits, seafood, nuts & seeds, healthy fats
Foods to avoid: diary, sugar, grains, processed food, alcohol, starches and legumes
Whole 30
Definition: The goal is to eat real, whole UNPROCESSED food; to eat foods that are in the form they were originally in. Whole30 is a month program that is great when trying to wean yourself off processed foods. More info here
What to eat: moderate portions of meat, seafood and eggs, lots of veggies, plenty of natural fats, some fruit. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients or better yet no ingredients because it’s a real food.
Foods to avoid: sugar (even honey or maple syrup or stevia) alcohol, grains (even sprouted, oats, buckwheat, rice, etc) legumes (beans, peas etc) diary
Gluten Free
Definition: Avoiding gluten because of a sensitivity or celiac disease (only 1% have this). Gluten is the name of the protein found in wheat which includes: wheat berries, durum, spelt, einkorn, etc) barely and rye. Most people have a sensitivity to gluten because they genetically modified wheat to produce higher yields but in doing so increased the gluten content in the wheat. We are not eating the same bread we were 50 years ago. That is why more recently people are having such a difficult time digesting gluten, because of our modifications not because what itself. On top of that, we have different processing techniques. All grains used to be soaked and sprouted which got rid of the anti-nutrients and aids digestion (why I’m a big fan of sprouted foods). More info here
Note: Eating gluten-free isn’t always the best health option. It’s recommended for those with celiacs. Gluten-free foods can be very processed, full of sugar or other fillers. If you do not have celiac but feel sensitive to gluten, try sprouted, ancient grains such as spelt.
Dairy Free
Definition: Cutting out all dairy foods in one’s diet. Many people are sensitive to diary as a result of our processing methods. They started pasteurizing dairy in the 1920’s because of poor sanitation in factories to avoid bad bacteria. The pasteurization process kills potential bad bacteria but also all the nutrients and most importantly the enzyme your body needs to even digest it!!! Some people body’s can recreate the enzyme some people cannot or the ability fades later in life. This is why I’m advocate for raw (unpasteurized) diary because this enzyme (and all the other nutrients diary are suppose to have) are still intact. This is just my opinion based on my on research but please research this on your own. I will do a more detailed blog post on this soon as well! Most dairy out there is pasteurized and causes inflammation so it is beneficial to cut it out or use diary free options. Dairy-free milk alternatives can be processed, hiding sugars and fillers. More info here
What to eat: raw (unpasteurized) cow diary, sheep/goat diary
What to foods to avoid: conventional diary (grass-fed is better but still not digestable)
Vegan
Definition: Anything related to animals are off limits! This is either because of a love for animals or for health reasons. Unfortunately, these days our animal products are overly processed, have poor living conditions, filled with antibiotics and fed foods that aren’t meant to eat. (hence why I try to buy humane, good quality animals products: pasture-raised organic eggs, organic chicken and free-range, grass-fed meat) Americans eat 50% more meat than they should, it is beneficial to cut out some meat from your diet and replace with vegetables! *Raw vegan means they eat everything uncooked because cooking techniques can destroy many nutrients. More info here
Foods to avoid: meat, eggs, diary
Vegetarian
Definition: eating no meat (and sometimes fish) but can eat other animal products such as diary or eggs. This is usually they simply don’t enjoy meat or their love for animals and animal treatment. More info here
Gaps Diet
Definition: GAPS diet is similar to the healing diet in that it’s a therapeutic diet to heal leaky gut syndrome, IBD, autoimmune disease, autism, anxiety, depression etc. The diet consists of 6 stages beginning with most restrictive and progressing into adding certain foods back in. More info here
What to eat: nutrient dense food that’s easy to digest, wild-caught fish, nuts (ideally sprouted) good quality fats, raw cow diary, sheep or goat diary, fruits in moderation, good quality meat, honey and dates in moderations
Foods to avoid: grains, starchy vegetales, refined carbs, sugar
Do you eat by any of these diets? Which one and why do you like it? Would love to hear from you!
