From Paleo to gluten-free, which diet reigns supreme? That’s a question researchers are trying to answer in a new study published in the journal Annual Reviews.
The bad news? No diet reigns supreme–though some diets do have their advantages over others.
“There have been no rigorous, long-term studies comparing contenders for best diet laurels using methodology that precludes bias and confounding, and for many reasons such studies are unlikely,” says Dr. David Katz, a physician and researcher from Yale University. “In the absence of such direct comparisons, claims for the established superiority of any one specific diet over others are exaggerated.”
As a plus side, his findings confirmed what we know already: Natural, minimally-processed foods are good for you. In the study, he found that those who ate a minimally processed diet with an emphasis on plant-based foods had fewer health problems compared to those who didn’t, such as incidences of heart disease and diabetes.
However, he notes that adopting a complete plant-based diet, such as a vegan diet, wasn’t the best choice–these diets often ran low on essential nutrients necessary for optimal human health.
“Eating only plant foods does not guarantee a healthful, balanced diet,” says Katz. “Sugar, among the more concerning dietary components consumed in excess, is of plant origin. Vegan diets, if ill conceived, can combine the adverse exposures of plant-based junk foods with nutrient deficiencies.”
Other diets, such as the Paleo Diet, received good marks, although Katz warns that these diets aren’t as great as they appear to be.
“If Paleolithic eating is loosely interpreted to mean a diet based mostly on meat, no meaningful interpretation of health effects is possible,” says Katz. ” Even more meticulous interpretations of the Paleolithic diet tend to omit details, including but not limited to the very high-caloric throughput of Paleolithic humans, the dramatically different ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acids that now prevails, the dramatically different ratio of potassium to sodium that now prevails, the dramatically lower intake of fiber that now prevails, etc.”
Overall, Katz emphasis that moderation is best–and it’s best to keep your foods minimally processed as well. Your best bet: Eating a mostly plant-derived diet could help your health in the long run, but this doesn’t mean you can’t occasionally eat meat and fat as well.
“Both the scientific literature and consideration of indelible links between native diet and adaptation for all species including our own lead to the conclusion that a diet of foods mostly direct from nature and predominantly plants is supportive of health across the life span,” says Katz. “We need less debate about what diet is good for health, and much more attention directed at how best to move our cultures/societies in the direction of the well-established theme of optimal eating, for we remain mired a long way from it. “
Readers: What do you eat in your diet? Does it match Katz’s recommendation?
Sources:
Study: Review of Diets Show None is Best – AnnualReviews.org
Healthy Diets Study – Refinery29.com
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