NEW ORLEANS — There are so many diets that come and go as the latest fad, or trend.
Well now a local researcher has ranked some of the most popular diets by nutrition and environmental impact, from worst to best.
No doubt you've seen stunning before and after weight loss pictures of people on the keto diet. Well now, Tulane's Director of Nutrition, Dr. Diego Rose has looked at the keto diet and several others in a different way.
Dr. Rose found that keto was the least nutritious while also having the greatest negative impact on the environment.
“We learned that there were big differences in terms of the carbon footprint, the impacts that producing the foods to eat one of these diets, the impacts that that causes on the environment, and it was a lot greater than we expected,” said Dr. Diego Rose, Professor and Director of Nutrition at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
In fact, its carbon footprint was more than four times greater than the vegan diet, mostly due to methane gas emissions from cattle. And it’s 10 times the impact of chicken. So, why was it the least nutritious?
“They tend to be high in saturated fats because there's a lot of meat consumption,” said Dr. Rose, who says it’s because they’re not getting enough fruits and vegetables.
For one, fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, which may prevent cell damage that can lead to cancer, and heart disease.
The best for nutrition was a pescatarian diet. That's a vegetarian diet with seafood added. And it’s one many people are already following now during Lent.
And here's why vegetarian ranked better than vegan on nutrition.
“Folks that are eating a vegetarian diet are getting some dairy in their diet. Part of the issue in the U.S., at least in terms of the recommendations, we under consume dairy. We're not getting enough calcium. We're not getting enough potassium, and vitamin D.”
So, as you consider both sides of the list, nutrition and impact on the environment, Dr. Rose has this advice.
“If they want to make a change to improve their health, or to improve the environment, that's great, but I think they also need to be nice to themselves. Don't put yourself on such a strict diet that you're not going to be able to keep it up,” he advised.
The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.