It’s the middle of February, meaning that it may be time to reevaluate your New Year’s resolutions based on what’s working and what’s not. If your dieting resolution hasn’t had much progress, here are a few of the latest diet trends to try. Some stick and others don’t. So, here’s a few.
Keto Diet
According to healthline.com, the Keto Diet (also known as the Ketogenic Diet) is a low-carb, high fat diet. This diet reduces all the carbs in your body and replaces the carbs with fat, which sends your body into ketosis, a metabolic state, which is how the diet got its name. The diet also get its name from the fact that it turns fat into ketones which produces energy for your brain. Thus, the ketosis state helps your body become efficient at burning fat and turning it into energy. There are four different types of keto diets: standard, cyclical, targeted and high-protein. The Cyclical variation includes periods of higher-carb days, such as 5 keto followed by 2 high-carb days. The targeted lets you add carbs, but only while working out and high-protein is like the standard keto diet, but instead it is 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbs instead of 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbs.
The keto diet causes massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. It also has other health benefits. The diet actually started as a way to treat certain neurological diseases, like epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease. In addition, it has recently been found to help treat other ailments, like heart disease, Alzheimer’s, acne, etc. However, there are a few side effects with this diet. The “keto flu” which can result in less energy, increased hunger, sleep issues, nausea and headache. The diet can also cause a decrease in salt and a change in water balance, so you may have to take supplements.
Whole 30
Whole30 is a thirty day clean-eating plan that cuts out foods that could have a negative impact on your health. According to whole30.com, this includes foods such as dairy, sugar, grains, legumes and alcohol. For thirty days, people are not allowed to consume sugar, natural or artificial sweeteners, no alcohol or smoking, no grains, no beans or legumes, no soy or dairy and no processed foods or additives, like MSG. However, there are exceptions which are ghee, fruit juice with no additives, green beans, snap and snow peas, vinegar, coconut aminos and salt.
What makes this diet, especially unique is that participants are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements during the diet. The diet has health benefits like weight loss, digestive system improvement, clear skin and improved sleep. Participants are recommended to not count calories and to instead focus on the point of the diet which is to make good food choices.
Paleo
The Paleo diet is designed to resemble what the people of the Paleolithic age used to eat. This a high protein and fiber, low carb and high fat diet. The health benefits include a higher potassium, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants intake and weight loss.
The meal plan includes meats, fish and seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, potatoes, seeds, health fats and oils. These options should be grass-fed, pasture-raised and organic or wild-caught if seafood. On this diet, the foods to avoid are sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, grains, legumes, dairy, processed oils. The list also includes trans fats, artificial sweeteners and processed foods.
Alternative Milks
Alternative milks have been popping up for the last decade. Almond milk is has taken over the world for the past few years. It is naturally low in calories and full of vitamins and antioxidants. It is good for digestion and other health benefits. Cashew milk is also a good milk alternative which is a good source of fiber, antioxidants and magnesium. However, there is a new milk trend: oat milk. Oat milk is being called the new almond milk. It is high in fiber and helps prevent anemia.
Diet trends are always changing. There is always a new diet trying to help people loss weight, but not every diet works for everyone. So shop around, and find out what sticks and what doesn’t. As with major health decision, it is always best to consult with a health professional before starting a new diet or if you have any questions about what kind of diet will work for you. The healthier you is just around the corner, you just have to make the choice to get there.
