All Of The Best Diets Of 2022 Explained

Have you ever wondered whether you're making the best dietary choices, or wanted to lose some pounds but ended up feeling overwhelmed by all the diet-related advice provided by friends and family (or even what you found online)? Well, you're not alone. According to a 2022 study published in Frontiers in Nutrition, diet-related online searches have significantly increased over the last two decades, and most often than not, people end up choosing fad diets over healthier eating patterns because they just seem to have it all figured out.

Nevertheless, fad diets are known for promoting short-term changes instead of long-term sustainable goals, and can thus do more harm than good. So how can you distinguish a fad diet from a nutritious eating pattern? Fad diets have one or more characteristics in common, including promising rapid weight loss, focusing on one type of food, eliminating any food groups, an inability to be maintained in the long run, questionable nutritional adequacy and scientific support, and failing to provide health warnings for people with chronic conditions.

In contrast, a healthy diet is characterized by being safe and easy to follow, including foods from all food groups to fuel and nourish your body, promoting long-term weight loss, and supporting overall health, from your brain to your heart and blood sugar control. These are the characteristics that, according to Forbes Health, can separate a fad diet from an A-grade type of diet worth trying. Here's all you need to know about the ten best diets of 2022.

Per a study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the Mediterranean diet is inspired by the typical eating habits of the countries that border the Mediterranean sea, such as Italy, Greece, and Spain. It is characterized by a high intake of olive oil and plant-based foods (such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts), a low intake of eggs, sweets, red and processed meats, and dairy (except for yogurt and some cheeses), a moderate fish intake, and a low alcohol consumption, with red wine occasionally served with meals.

While the Mediterranean diet can provide up to 40% of its caloric content from fats, they come from healthy monounsaturated fat sources (like olive oil) instead of unhealthy saturated and trans fat sources like sweets and fried foods. In fact, due to these particular food choices, the Mediterranean diet is considered the gold standard in preventive medicine, a review in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care says.

Following this diet can help boost heart health, increase life expectancy, improve quality of life, reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, prevent a decline in brain health, and lower the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Want to give it a try? Start by making some easy food swaps, such as choosing brown rice or pasta instead of their refined versions, baked or grilled fish instead of fried chicken, and olive oil instead of butter or margarine (via Johns Hopkins Medicine).

Noom is a commercial yet science-based diet that aims to help you lose weight by improving your relationship with food through mindfulness, habit tracking, and nutrition education (via Noom). Noom works via mobile app, and since it provides tools beyond weight and food logging (like step counting, water tracking, and daily behavioral lessons that promise long-term results), it calls itself a lifestyle rather than a diet.

Once you set up your goals, you get a personalized calorie and nutrient budget. However, it still allows full flexibility, as no foods are off-limits (per Noom). Noom helps you lose weight by creating a calorie deficit (you give your body less fuel than it needs, so it uses its fat storage instead) and classifying foods as green, yellow, or red depending on whether they are nutrient-rich or calorie-rich, promoting the intake of healthier foods (via Healthline). Green foods include fruits and vegetables, non-fat dairy and dairy alternatives, whole grains, and starchy vegetables. Yellow foods include lean meats, fish, legumes, seeds, grains, diet soda, and beer, while red foods include red and processed meats, sweets, nuts, snacks, and alcoholic beverages.

However, because of how its color system works, some nutritious yet calorie-rich foods (nuts, legumes, fatty fish, etc.) are grouped with less nutritious foods (e.g., beer, processed meats), which could easily lead to confusion. Furthermore, as Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD, told U.S. Health News, "the traffic-light system assigns a moral value to foods that may cause an unhealthy relationship with foods and trigger disordered eating."

The main attribute of a vegetarian diet is the avoidance of meat products. However, there are six different types of vegetarian diets, some of which are more flexible than others regarding the intake of animal-based foods (via Healthline). Besides prioritizing plant-based foods, lacto-vegetarians include dairy, ovo-vegetarians eat eggs, lacto-ovo-vegetarians include both eggs and dairy, pescatarians include fish, and flexitarians occasionally eat animal meats. In contrast, vegans exclude all the previously mentioned foods, and even animal-derived products like honey.

Vegetarian diets are associated with numerous health benefits. For instance, a 2022 study in Frontiers in Nutrition shares that vegetarians have a lower rate of type 2 diabetes compared to non-vegetarians, which is attributed to the higher intakes of low-glycemic foods (the ones that don't spike your blood sugar levels despite providing carbohydrates) such as legumes, fruits, and veggies. In addition, vegetarians are considered more health-conscious and have lower body weight than meat eaters.

Nevertheless, a review published in the journal Proceedings of the Nutrition Society points out that due to their dietary choices, vegetarians have an increased risk of nutrient deficiencies, namely vitamin B12, heme iron, calcium, and the essential fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). This happens because plants don't produce these nutrients, or their absorption is limited compared to animal sources. In fact, vegetarians have higher chances of developing anemia than non-vegetarians, a condition that can occur due to iron or vitamin B12 deficiency (per U.S. Health News). Vegetarians also have an increased risk of bone fractures due to calcium deficiencies.

The Ornish diet is a low-fat, plant-based diet created by Dr. Dean Ornish in the '70s (via U.S Health News). Together with exercise, stress management, and love and support, the Ornish diet completes the four pillars of the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine Program, which claims to reverse heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and early-stage prostate cancer, aside from helping you lose weight, according to the diet's website. According to the diet's guidelines, higher intakes of fresh produce, whole grains, legumes, soy products, non-fat dairy, egg whites, and a limited amount of good fats are encouraged. In contrast, refined carbs, sweets, alcohol, and meat products are restricted. Therefore, the Ornish diet is essentially a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet — a vegetarian eating pattern that allows for eggs and dairy.

Aside from the health benefits mentioned above, following the Ornish diet could also help reduce inflammation and improve brain and joint health (per U.S Health News). Nevertheless, the site points out that this is not a risk-free diet, seeing that you may need to take vitamin and mineral supplements to make up for potential calcium and vitamin B12 deficiencies. Similarly, the diet's website recommends taking fish oil and vitamin D supplements, as the low-fat component of the diet might not be enough to cover your needs.

According to a study published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, dementia is the sixth leading cause of death in America. Thus, the MIND diet was developed to improve brain health by slowing down the progression of memory-impairing diseases. 

MIND stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, meaning that the diet takes two of the healthiest eating patterns, combines them, and adds brain-healthy foods to protect your brain. Both the Mediterranean and DASH diets are rich in wholesome, plant-based foods and low in saturated fats and processed foods. The difference between said diets and the MIND diet is that the latter highlights the intake of two specific foods: leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach, arugula, and Bok choi, and berries (per Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health).

Researchers believe that the diet's high fiber and antioxidant content can help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, which, in excess, can harm your brain and overall health. In addition, while the diet focuses on brain health, it can also reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Furthermore, the diet hasn't been associated with any health risks, it is easy to follow, and can also be followed if you're on a budget (per U.S. Health News).

If you're thinking about switching up your eating habits but don't know which diet would be your best fit, you should first ask yourself what your life and health goals are. 

According to a study published in the journal Health, Psychology, and Behavioral Medicine, defining both sets of goals can boost your success on both fronts because life goals can heavily influence your health and dietary choices, and vice versa. For example, those with a life goal of exercising more were more likely to eat better, or a life goal of saving money could lead to a lower intake of fast and processed foods. Furthermore, Forbes Health explains that other factors, such as whether a diet is realistic and practical for you — a.k.a, does it align with your routine, budget, and personal taste? — and whether it is safe or backed up by science should also be considered when choosing the right diet. 

In any case, remember that your diet doesn't have to be perfect! So, don't stress too much about it, and keep in mind that even the smallest change can get you one step closer to better health.