SCIENTISTS have revealed a diet that allows you to eat what you want – as long as you hit certain targets.
Diets are usually miserable because you have to restrict dozens of foods, sometimes entire food groups (carbs or fat).
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But the Pure Healthy Diet Score plan doesn’t tell you what foods to avoid, rather, the food to fill up on.
There’s no need to cut out dairy, carbohydrates, or meat, as you do with diets such as keto and Atkins, for example.
And there’s no suggestion you have to throw out your favourite treats, such as chocolate and crisps – although you’d likely be better off doing so if you’re looking to get healthier.
It’s based on a study of around 250,000 people in 90 countries in search of the most nutritious way to eat.
The goal of the diet is not weight loss, but rather the prevention of disease and death.
However, shedding some pounds may be a secondary benefit to better health, given the principles are largely in line with basic fat loss foundations.
Researchers found that eating more fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, and whole-fat dairy was associated with lower heart disease and mortality across the world.
First author Andrew Mente, principal investigator at the Population Health Research Institute, said a healthy diet is not necessarily a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
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“We determined that a healthy diet can be achieved in a number of ways which does not necessarily require either including or excluding any specific food category – such as a moderate amount of whole grains or unprocessed meats can be part of a healthy diet,” he said.
Dr Mente believes higher rates of heart disease and early death are not necessarily due to overindulgence of meat, dairy or saturated fats but actually, under-nutrition caused by people not eating enough key food groups, The Telegraph reported.
Data showed that those in the study with the worst diets ate the lowest level of saturated fat, found in butter, lard, fatty meats and cheese.
Eating too much saturated fat is linked with a number of heart and circulatory diseases.
However, people may have gotten the wrong message to cut saturated fat…