Which Diet is Best?

Is there really a best diet for health and longevity? Why are we always looking for the best diet plans? Is it the Mediterranean diet, fueled by fresh veggies, lean meats and olive oil? Or is the Paleo diet, based on ancestral animal fats and veggies? Or is it a vegan animal free diet, which includes only an abundance of plant foods? This is a loaded question, and one that inspires passion and anger in some people, and one that doesn’t seem to have a definitively correct answer.

My colleague Zachary Shahan shared this Atlantic article with me about a scientist who is trying to answer definitively, finally, which is the best diet? How relevant is the latest nutrition information? How can we truly know what is best for our bodies to eat? Dr. David Katz, from Yale University’s Prevention Research Center, has a lot to say on the subject. And unlike some researchers on the subject of nutrition and diet, he’s not really looking for HIS answer, just the answer that is the most correct.

After looking at years of studies, he’s found that really it’s not really that important which diet we follow. However, it is very important to focus on getting a good amount of whole foods, direct from Nature, into your diet everday. The processed foods and the way that animals are raised for food currently are both exceptionally detrimental to our collective health. Unfortunately, these are the foods that most people enjoy daily. Couple that with a deliberate, and, in Katz’s opinion, misleading focus on single ingredients that will solve your dietary needs, and you have a health crisis.

“If you eat food direct from nature,” Katz added, “you don’t even need to think about [getting the right nutrition for your body]. You don’t have to worry about trans fat or saturated fat or salt […] If you focus on real food, nutrients tend to take care of themselves.”

I encourage you to read more in the original article here on The Atlantic.