Choosing the right combination of diet and exercise can change your life and completely overhaul your fitness levels. This past year has seen a huge rise in a number of diet trends. The question is, do they work, and which one should you choose? Your choice will depend on a number of factors such as lifestyle or allergies, any existing conditions and simply preference. It can be very confusing but this list should help you decide which options merit more investigation for you.
Here is a breakdown of the biggest diet trends of 2023:
Keto
Keto diets are everywhere this year. The idea behind this diet is that you push yourself into ketosis by consuming more fats. Eating more fats triggers weight loss by encouraging the body to burn fat instead of carbs. Keto followers typically aim to consume protein and fats and avoid sugars and carbs. Protein is good for the body, and it can help to build muscle; you can find out more about the benefits by reading these facts about protein. Becomeio has a lot of resources on their blog, as well as a range of protein products to help you up your protein intake.
The Immune System Support Diet
The past 2 years has had a huge influence on the daily lives of a lot of people, and thanks to that influence, a new diet emerged. The immune system support diet is exactly as it sounds; it is a diet that is meant to boost the immune system. Fruits, vegetables, and superfoods are all recommended; the diet itself is not particularly restrictive – it simply places an emphasis on healthy choices.
Flexitarian
The flexitarian diet gives more leeway than the vegetarian or vegan diet, it is about consuming a majority of plant-based foods, but it doesn’t exclude eating animal products entirely. Instead, it encourages its followers to find their protein from other sources such as soy protein or pea protein. This diet was borne out of an interest in sustainability and caring for the planet.
Paleo
This diet is not new, but it did see an increase in popularity this past year. The paleo diet encourages a return to hunter-gatherer eating with things like berries, nuts, and wild-caught animals. As cavemen didn’t farm, the paleo diet bans things that require industrial farming, including grains, corn, wheat, and processed sugar.
Intermittent Fasting
This diet is not as restrictive in terms of what you can actually eat however it does restrict when you can eat. It is designed to break the snacking cycle of modern life. The most popular version of this diet is the 16/8; you eat in an eight-hour window and fast for the rest of the day. This often means skipping breakfast and cutting off food post-dinner. Some intermittent fasters take this idea further, and they go down to one meal a day.
DASH
This diet was developed for the health-conscious to prevent heart-related issues and high blood pressure. DASH stands for ‘dietary approach to stop hypertension’. To relieve high blood pressure, this diet controls your sodium intake; however, apart from this restriction, the rest of this diet simply emphasizes healthy choices.
The Mediterranean Diet
This diet is based on a number of scientific studies done on people who live in the Mediterranean, and they tend to have far lower instances of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. The traditional foods of this region are staples of this diet, and they include things like vegetables, fruits, legumes, seafood, nuts, seeds, and olive oil. The Mediterranean diet also avoids processed foods, refined grains and trans fats.
MIND
The MIND diet is essentially a combination of the DASH and Mediterranean diets. This diet is designed to improve brain health and stave off things like Alzheimer’s and dementia. However, the scientific community is divided on the efficacy of this diet. The diet itself is basically the Mediterranean diet with an emphasis on a low sodium intake and the addition of superfoods known to support brain health.
Volumetrics
The volumetrics diet is an extension of calorie counting. It is all about eating more food but less calories. Consuming higher volume foods is meant to make the body feel fuller while eating the fewest calories. Foods like broths, non-starchy vegetables and fruits are central, whereas things like chocolate, oils and crisps, which are small but incredibly calorific, should be avoided. Leafy greens like spinach and kale are staples of this diet.
There are a lot of diet plan options available, and the followers of each would all argue that theirs is the best. However, in the end, it comes down to personal preference; what works for some is not guaranteed to work for you. Therefore, the best thing that you can do for your health is to simply make better choices in regards to diet and exercise.