A scientific study has claimed Paleo and Keto diets which have been used by celebs like Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow are the worst for your heart.
A new report from the American Heart Association (AHA) ranked popular diets on how good or bad they are in terms of heart healthiness. It argues that Mediterranean, pescatarian and vegetarian diets adopted by the likes of Beyoncé, Selena Gomez and Harry Styles are far better for us.
The resulting rankings placed popular selective diets such as the Mediterranean, pescatarian and vegetarian diets in the top tier for heart health. Just above these at the pinnacle of healthy heart eating are DASH diets - subscribed to by American singers Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Hudson - which include foods rich in potassium and are designed to control blood pressure.
READ MORE: Your old Mario games could be worth hundreds
However, diets such as the Keto and Paleo diets were found to be detrimental to heart health due to reduced fibre intake and a lack of limits on consuming saturated fats. Experts have said that though these diets may result in short-term weight loss, they aren't sustainable in the long run.
Dr Christopher Gardner is the chair of the writing committee for the new scientific statement and the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford University in Stanford in California. He said misinformation about dieting techniques on social media means we are more confused than ever before about which diets are good or bad for our health.
He said: "The number of different, popular dietary patterns has proliferated in recent years, and the amount of misinformation about them on social media has reached critical levels. The public — and even many health care professionals — may rightfully be confused about heart-healthy eating, and they may feel that they don’t have the time or the training to evaluate the different diets.”
The AHA's dietary guidance comprises ten key features, with an emphasis on limiting unhealthy fats and reducing our consumption of excess carbohydrates. The guidance aims to limit the risks of health conditions like Type 2 diabetes and risk factors such as obesity, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The new scientific statement reviewed long-term dietary patterns and split them into different categories. Each diet was evaluated the ten features in the AHA's guidance for a heart-healthy eating pattern and were given a scored out of 100, with higher scores indicating entire adherence to the AHA's dietary guidance.
The study argued the highest-ranking heart-healthiness diets, with scores higher than 85, were flexible and provided a broad range of healthy foods to choose from. The DASH-style (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets, which are designed to treat or limit high blood pressure, obtained a perfect score in meeting all of the AHA's guidance.
These diets tend to be low in salt, added sugar, alcohol and processed foods and rich in non-starchy vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. The Mediterranean-style diet, which limits dairy and emphasises vegetables, also received a high heart rating.
Pescatarian and vegetarian diets also ranked highly, with vegan diets below them. Very low-fat and low-carb diets formed the third tier of diets with scores of between 55 and 74.
The lowest-ranked diets, however, with scores of less than 55, were found to be the Paleolithic and very low-carb Ketogenic diets. The Paleo diet, which has been followed by actors Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum is an eating plant based on foods humans might have eaten during the Paleolithic Era of around 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago.
It focuses on foods our ancestors could obtain through hunting, such as grains, legumes and dairy products. Meanwhile, subscribers to the Keto diet eat plenty of fat and very few carbs, so that your body enters a fat-burning mode known as ketosis.
This dieting technique has been sampled by the Kardashian sisters, actress Halle Berry and basketball superstar LeBron James. These restrictive diets, though helpful in the short-term for losing weight, can result in a reduced fibre intake as well as being unrestrictive on saturated fats, which could increase the risks of cardiovascular disease.
Dr Gardner said: "There really isn’t any way to follow these diets as intended and still be aligned with the AMA's Dietary Guidance. They are highly restrictive and difficult for most people to stick with long term.”
He added: "While there will likely be short-term benefits and substantial weight loss, it isn’t sustainable. A diet that’s effective at helping an individual maintain weight loss goals, from a practical perspective, needs to be sustainable."
The AMA's guidance did not take into account commercial dieting techniques such as Weight Watchers or Noom. Other factors not measured in the study include short-term diets intended to be followed for less than 12 weeks, practices such as intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating or diets designed to manage non-cardiovascular conditions.
Order your 48-page Eurovision souvenir guide from our online shop
Discover, learn, grow. We are Curiously. Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
READ NEXT:
Zara's £30 tote bag is a 'dupe' of £610 designer Chloe version
Mum who 'loves a bargain' gets Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags for less than £5
ABBA Voyage outfits on display at Liverpool's British Music Experience
EuroFestival line-up in full announced as Liverpool set to host Eurovision Song Contest
LUSH Liverpool holding Eurovision Song Contest performances and meet and greets
