Is the portfolio diet the best diet ever?
Maybe — but that could be the wrong question.
News flash: What we eat can play a pivotal role in warding off — or treating — disease and enhancing quality of life.
You may already believe this, and certainly mounting evidence supports that idea.
But on the cluttered shelf of diets claiming top health benefits, which one ranks as the absolute best?
That's a trick question. In fact, there is no single best diet.
A good diet for me may be different from what's best for you.
And for either of us, there may be several good choices with no clear winner.
How can you choose the right diet for you?
When thinking about what diet might be best for you, ask yourself: What goals are most important?
- A goal might be weight loss, improved health, avoiding disease, or something else.
- How do you define "best"? For some people, best means the diet with the highest number of health benefits. For others, it may focus on one specific health benefit, such as lowering cholesterol. Still other people may prefer a diet that delivers the greatest benefit for the lowest cost. Or a diet that is healthy and also easy to stick with.
- What health problems do you have? One diet may have an advantage over another depending on whether you have cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or none of these.
- Which foods do you like best? Your tastes, culture, and location may shape your dietary preferences, and powerfully affect how likely you are to stick with a specific diet.
Which diets are high in health benefits?
Two very well studied diets demonstrate clear benefit, including lowering risk for heart disease and stroke and reducing high blood pressure: the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet.
But the portfolio diet may be as good as or better than these plans, at least for combatting cardiovascular disease that contributes to clogged blood vessels, heart attacks, and stroke.
What? You've never heard of the portfolio diet? You're not alone.