The 8 Biggest Diet Trends of 2021

In another tumultuous year of trying to “out-health” each other, here is a throwback to some diet trends in the last 12 months. Understanding the pros & cons some diet trends have will help you see through the marketing BS and use tools that are helpful for your own lifestyle. Remember there is no one perfect diet. It’s about consistent healthy food habits that allow you to enjoy the way you eat.

Ketogenic diet

Will undoubtably result in short term weight loss. Strict KD is hard to stick to & difficult to meet a broad range of nutritional needs when cutting out whole sections of a recommended diet. Has some pros but also it’s list of cons

Intermittent Fasting

Anecdotally more popular & easier to follow than other forms of calorie restriction. Doesn’t monitor the ‘what’ but the ‘when’ we eat. Can have it’s place in an overall balanced diet but cautioned for eating disorders or disordered eating. Like with any food intake, when taken to the extremes, can often ironically lead to more negative than positive effects. This is not something you have to do because other people are, it’s just a different eating pattern.

Plant based diets

this way of eating suggests most of your food is consciously coming from plant sources (fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, seeds, nuts and legumes). This deserves to be on this list, is a great option & deserves the attention it’s getting. With roughly 7% of Australian’s getting the current fruit & vegetable intake, public health professionals will almost always advocate down this line. This way of eating will hopefully be around for some time.

Ancestral eating (aka paleo/liver God)

Aligned with our genetics so optimal for health right? In that respect we should also factor in that life expectancy was also around 35 years old, there was no concept of modern medicine or general health. They weren’t some health hack, they probably also had a lot of food scarcity, inconsistency and a lack of variety in intake. Like most eating trends though, there is definitely some useful components. Most people will benefit from lean meats, good fats, fruits, vegetables, seeds & nuts. Also the lack of processed food is always going to benefit food intake. It’s downfall lies in a balance of the rest of the diet. Legumes & grains are a great source of fibre which aren’t included. Saturated fats in meats, butters & coconut oils also shouldn’t be a widely promoted for their health benefits. The irony of being able to purchase a paleo nutrition bar is also lost on some.

Alkaline diets

As above, the focus on healthy eating patterns can be good. Drawing a line in the sand based on acidic foods though is a large shortcoming of this way of eating. We cannot change the pH of our internal systems. If we could do this, we would have died well before wellness diets came along. There is also no evidence to suggest the alkaline diet is any superior to the similar messages in dietary guidelines. Don’t stress about the alkalinity of your foods or water. Any health professional worth their weight in gold will back this up.

Juice Cleanses

There are some obvious pros for drinking fruit & vegetable juice. The key is how long & how extreme this gets when it is the ONLY intake. The ironic aspects of this form of intake including a detoxification our body is already capable of. Depending on how it is juiced, it may also strip one of the key nutrients (fibre), have almost no protein & cause some undesirable side effects. Fruit & 100% fruit juice can be part of a healthy diet. Like anything, when in excess it can start to provide more issues than benefits.

The Mediterranean Diet

The beauty of this diet is that it relies on the combination of foods eaten as well as their impact over time. It mimicking the trends of one of the world Blue Zones & is probably one of the better diet trends if you want to follow one. It has a lot going for it. Similar to other trending themes, this diet is low in processed foods which is always going to help. This way of eating has some alcohol incorporated, which isn’t essential and is in small amounts. The argument here is that the social aspect of gathering around a glass of wine is another benefit (but this can be achieved in other social settings.

Collagen supplements

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our body (roughly 30% of our total protein) but ingested collagen doesn’t make it to our blood stream in it’s full form. It’s made from thousands of Amino Acids. Our gut breaks down proteins allowing only 3 or less amino acids through the gut wall. It’s like eating a completed puzzle and our gut breaking it down into its individual pieces. Our body doesn’t put that puzzle back together again.

It’s fine as a protein source but there are also better sources of protein out there. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, also know that they are also often made from cartilage or bones or certain animals.

Overall I think we are getting somewhat closer to understanding that consistent food habits lead to a healthy lifestyle. Diet trends will continue to live on trying to make money so we’ll check in next year to see what’s changed….Watch this space.

Hands up if you’ve tried any of the above or thoughts on what I may have missed.