Heath Notes

Which Diet Is Right for Me?

Also indexed as: Compare Diets, Diet Comparison

Finding the diet that fits you best can make all the difference to your health and weight control goals. To work on your weight, first try asking yourself: What kinds of foods are the hardest for me to give up? What’s my optimal, healthiest weight? Diets aren’t just about losing weight, however. Changing what you eat can also support the treatment of many types of health conditions.

While advocates say that the following diets may help control or prevent certain conditions, these claims may or may not be supported by controlled clinical studies or published scientific articles. For more complete information, go to the full article on the health concern or diet that interests you. You should always consult your doctor before changing your treatment (including diet) for any health concern.

Whatever your goals, if you aren’t sure which diets best fits your self-care needs, this list can be a place to start.

Diets by feature

Diet	Restricts	Emphasizes	Recommends
Atkins Unrestricted calories from protein and fat	Carbs	Protein	Exercise
Blood Type Food recommendations depend on blood type	Specific foods
Dean Ornish Designed for heart-disease prevention and reversal and weight loss	Fats	Fiber Vegetarian	Exercise Relaxation Nonsmoking
Fasting Suitable for short-term only	All foods
Glycemic Index Supports management of blood sugar disorders	Carbs	Fiber
High-Fiber Reduces risk of chronic diseases		Fiber Vegetarian
Low-Carbohydrate Includes Atkins, South Beach, and others	Carbs	Protein
Low-Fat Includes Dean Ornish and Pritikin diets	Fats
Pritikin Designed for heart disease prevention	Fats	Fiber Vegetarian	Exercise
The Zone Designed for athletic performance and overall health	Carbs	Protein
Low-Allergen For relief of symptoms caused by food allergies	Specific foods
South Beach Emphasizes healthy fats and healthy carbs	Carbs Fats	Fiber
Weight Watchers Balanced diet plan with weekly group support meetings	Calories Fats	Fiber	Exercise

Diet and health

Advocates claim that their diets may help or control the following common health concerns. Before trying a new diet be sure to read the full diet and health conditions articles—and remember to check with your doctor before trying new eating habits.

Allergies

Low-allergen diet

Rheumatoid arthritis

Cancer prevention

Colon disorders

High-fiber diet

Constipation

High-fiber diet

Diabetes type 2

Diverticular disease

High-fiber diet

Duodenal ulcers

Certain gastrointestinal disorders (constipation, Crohn’s disease, diarrhea, duodenal ulcer, gallstones, indigestion, irritable bowel)

Tyramine-free diet
Histamine-free diet
Additive-free diet
Nitrite-free diet
Low-allergen diet

Certain respiratory disorders (asthma, hay fever, sinusitis, sinus congestion)

Low-allergen diet

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The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires February 2010.

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Diets by feature

Diet and health