17.2 Characteristics of a Nutritious Eating Pattern

While we encourage paying attention to what you’re eating, we discourage dieting, per se. Practicing a nutritious and healthy eating pattern that provides all of the essential nutrients doesn’t require following a specific diet or rigid set of rules, counting all calories, or weighing everything you eat; it can be flexible and involves incorporating healthy choices a majority of the time over time and in accordance with individual needs and goals.

Researchers have concluded that no one specific diet is best above all others or for everyone. Rather, health promotion and disease prevention are associated with a general nutritious eating pattern, which is characterized by (Katz & Meller, 2014; Mozaffarian, 2016; Sacks et al., 2017):

• Mostly whole or minimally processed foods direct from or close to nature
• Primarily plants
• Fish, seafood, poultry, and lean meats, if desired
• Limited red and processed meat and other highly processed foods high in trans and saturated fats, added sugars, and refined grains

Diets consistent with this nutritious eating pattern have been associated with reduced blood pressure and total and LDL cholesterol levels (Wang et al., 2015), as well as (Katz & Meller, 2014; Mozaffarian, 2016; Sacks et al., 2017):

• better overall health
• increased longevity and decreased risk of mortality
• preserved cognitive function and brain health
• decreased risk of:
  • insulin resistance
  • metabolic syndrome
  • obesity
  • type 2 diabetes
  • cardiovascular disease
  • cancer
  • neurodegenerative disease
  • inflammation
  • asthma