Many popular weight-loss diets promise quick results but can be hard to maintain long-term. Understanding their pros and cons can help you choose a plan that supports lasting health.
Common Characteristics of Fad and Popular Diets
- Promising fast weight loss
- Focusing on one type of food or eliminating one or more food groups
- Providing few or no physical activity guidelines
- Promoting short-term changes rather than lifelong healthy habits
- Being hard to stick to over a long period of time
- Having questionable nutritional value
Let’s explore the highlights and pitfalls of today’s most talked-about diets—and discover which approach could set you up for lasting health on your nutrition journey.
Keto Diet:
A ketogenic (“keto”) diet is high in fat and low in carbohydrates (sugars). This causes the body to break down fat into molecules called ketones, which circulate in the blood and become the main source of energy for many cells in the body.
Pros: Effective for short-term weight loss, and some studies suggest it may have benefits for treating diabetes and seizures.
Cons: There is not enough research to prove it is safe over long periods. The extreme limitation of carbohydrate consumption can cause digestive problems, headaches, and other side effects. This diet’s restriction of many healthy foods, such as fruits and grains, limits nutrient intake.
Intermittent Fasting:
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that includes hours or days of little or no food consumption, but without limiting essential nutrients. Versions include alternate-day fasting, fasting two days each week, and/or strict limits on when to eat (only within a 6- to 8-hour window each day).
Pros: Some individuals find it easier to not eat during parts of the day rather than following portion control and calorie restrictions. Fasting may lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.
Cons: May limit intake of vitamins and minerals, could cause blood sugar drops, dizziness, mood swings, or lead to binge eating during meal times.
Paleo Diet:
Named for the Paleolithic era, when humans obtained food by hunting and gathering instead of farming and processing, this diet emphasizes lean meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
Pros: Weight loss and appetite reduction, positive impact on heart health, reduced inflammation. Because it is considered a ‘clean diet’, processed foods and unhealthy chemicals and ingredients are eliminated.
Cons: Can be expensive and harder to follow than some other diets. It restricts certain food groups such as dairy products, fiber-rich whole grains, and legumes (beans and peas), so this diet may have long-term negative effects on nutritional balance, such as calcium and fiber intake.
Whole30:
The Whole30 diet is a strict 30-day elimination plan that removes sugar, grains, dairy, alcohol, and legumes to help identify food sensitivities and promote better health.
Pros: May lead to weight loss and increased energy, improved gut health, reduced inflammation, and improvements in cholesterol and blood pressure.
Cons: Restrictive and difficult to maintain over long periods.
Vegan:
A vegan diet avoids all animal-based food products (beef, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products) while focusing on plant-based foods.
Pros: Can promote weight loss, reduce blood pressure, lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, help prevent cancer, improve digestion, and benefit the environment.
Cons: It can be difficult to obtain certain micronutrients and macronutrients such as protein, calcium, iron, vitamin B12, and vitamin D.
Mediterranean Diet:
This diet focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and heart-healthy fats, while limiting dairy products, red meat, highly processed foods, and added sugars and salt.
Pros: It is the most extensively studied diet to date, and research shows that it can have a preventive and therapeutic impact on many chronic health conditions. The focus is on an overall healthy lifestyle, not only weight loss.
Cons: Can be expensive to maintain. If calories from olive oil and nuts are not carefully monitored, these and other high-fat foods in this diet may contribute to weight gain.
Diets that promise quick weight loss might help in the short term, but lasting results come from adopting healthy eating habits and lifestyle changes you can maintain. Before making major changes to your diet or eating habits, it’s always smart to consult a nutrition expert.
Comment section