This is one of the most common questions I get.
Those of you who read these health reminders regularly, know that my recommendation is to follow a whole food, plant predominant eating pattern. This means eating mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes (including beans and lentils), and healthy whole grains… with room for flexibility to accommodate the unpredictability of life.
But you might be wondering, what about other diets I have heard of? Mediterranean? Intermittent Fasting? Keto? Carnivore? Vegan?
While these may be popular and feel commonplace, that does not make them the healthiest or best choice by default. Although I cannot cover the pros and cons of each in a single post (stay tuned for future write ups on each one), I can share the general principles that I believe matter most when choosing what makes up your dietary pattern.
- Prioritize your intake of whole food fibre
- Get your protein from plants or lean animal sources
- Eat more plant foods
- Drink more water
- Eat less ultraprocessed foods, added sugars, saturated fats and sodium
- Drink less sugar sweetened beverages, alcohol, and other drinks
Following the above general principles has lots of great evidence and I would argue is one of the better “diets” out there. But what is actually the best diet?
I believe the best “diet” is the one you can stick to the longest…
You eat a good balance of foods, you enjoy foods in moderation, you don’t feel restricted, you can still socialize and participate at events, and you are not beating yourself up for what you think you should or should not be eating.
The more sustainable your eating pattern is, the easier it will be to stick to and tweak in healthy ways. This will help you stay consistent and reap the long term benefits of healthy eating.