Which Diet Trends to Try and Which to Skip

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The Pandemic has caused many of us to pack on a few extra pounds, but which fad diets are worth the hype? Millennium Physician Group Family Medicine Physician Aschanti Abarca Selva explains, when it comes to the pound-dropping promises of the latest fad diets, don’t fall for it.

“Will you lose weight with any of these many optional diets out there? The paleo diet, keto diet, Atkins diet? You will lose weight,” she admits. “But the way they work is with deprivation of certain groups of foods, which is not really compatible with life long-term.”

The bottom line is really quite simple: if a diet sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

“As physicians, we try to follow the guidelines according to what the American Heart Association says, what the American Diabetes Association says,” Dr. Abarca Selva explains.

Whichever diet you choose to follow, it’s always best to discuss it with your primary-care provider before making any major changes. “Ideally, you should discuss with your doctor which diets are appropriate for you and which foods are better or worse for you,” Dr. Abarca Selva warns. “Because there are some patients who have some conditions in which certain foods are not indicated. Our cardiac patients are not candidates for a keto diet, which is loaded in fat. So we go back always to the basics. Moderation.”

Dr. Abarca Selva adds, you can’t go wrong by practicing portion control and avoiding refined sugars and trans and saturated fats.