5 of the world’s healthiest diets are going to surprise you. On the surface they look completely different, but they have some key things in common that make them each extremely healthy options.
What makes a diet healthy?
There are a lot of varying answers to this question. But today we’re going to cut straight to the bottom line and talk about the 2 key parts of a healthy diet.
For the most part (without a major argument from anyone in science anywhere) a healthy diet is generally made up of 2 key components:
- It’s high in fiber-rich foods. These are plant foods – fiber is only found in plants. Any kind of plant foods. That includes even vilified, starchy plant foods like potatoes, who also happen to have a ton of fiber in them.
- It’s low in added sugar. This isn’t the same thing as eating things that are sweet or even sweetened. It’s about eating foods that, for the most part, don’t have some form of dedicated sugar on their ingredient list.
When we talk about the healthiest diets in the world, they all have these 2 things in common.
What is the healthiest diet in the world?
We’re going to take the easy (but accurate) road and argue that there’s no one most healthy diet in the world.
What you’ll find in this post is a collection of eating habits from different parts of the world that all have a cultural history and a population with long lives, low levels of chronic disease and no ingrained cultural habits of restriction.
Whether by design, demographics or collective cultural decision, these dietary eating patterns all very high in fiber and very low in added sugar. As a result, these diets are all high in whole plant foods and low in processed or pre-packaged foods.
These simple ways to healthy eating have been shown to be key to improved heart health, lower levels of chronic inflammation and generally lead to improved health outcomes on the whole.
Here they are. The 5 healthiest diets in the world:
- Mediterranean diet
- Traditional Okinawa Diet
- Nordic Diet
- Traditional French Diet
- West African Diet
These are traditional diets and are not fad diets or diet trends. They’re also not quick fixes or short term diet changes for immediate weight loss or health improvement.
Each of these 5 diets of eating should be seen more as lifestyle choices rather than fast health makeovers.
Some you might have expected, others maybe have come as a shock. What might be most surprising of all is that none of the world’s healthiest diets are low carb diets that look like Atkins or Keto. Keep reading for a full rundown on each of these eating patterns, and the main reason why they each rank as super healthy diets.
World's Healthiest Diet #1: Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean Diet is one of the most well known diets in the world. It’s also one of the most common recommendations for people looking to looking to lower their cholesterol levels and bring down their blood pressure.
A typical plate of food might be heavy in non-starchy fruits and vegetables and full of whole grains. Proteins like fish act as a regular addition to this foundation, while desserts and salty snacks are occasional treats. A combination of fatty fish and high fat plants like olives make this diet generally lower in carbohydrates and slightly higher in unsaturated fats and excellent choices for cardiac patients.
Key parts of the Mediterranean Diet include:
- Mostly fruits and non-starchy vegetables, legumes and whole grains
- Some fish and poultry
- Less dairy
- Minimal meat, sugar and salt
- No processed foods
World's Healthiest Diet #2: Traditional Okinawa Diet
Like the Mediterranean Diet, a traditional Okinawa Diet is full of whole plant foods. However a key difference between these two is the much higher levels of carbohydrates and lower levels of overall fat found in this eating style.
There are higher amounts of starchy vegetables included in this diet, along side more grain-based foods. Vegetables like sweet potatoes and pumpkin combined with moderate amounts of rice and wheat-based noodles make this diet higher in carbs but lower in fat. Protein is primarily plant-based from soy, followed by much smaller intake of fish, other seafoods and some pork.
Finally, a large part of the Okinawa Diet is not focused on specific food items but has an emphasis on quantity. Eating until you’re 80% full is a key rule of thumb when following this traditional diet plan.
Key parts of The Okinawa Diet include:
- Mostly vegetables (both starchy and non-starchy) and grain-based foods (rice and wheat noodles)
- Some soy products
- Less fish, seafood and pork
- No dairy, eggs, added sugar, beans, nuts/seeds or processed foods
World's Healthiest Diet #3: Nordic Diet
The Nordic Diet is the only diet on this list that isn’t a home-grown, traditional diet born from a single cultural reference. It was designed with an emphasis on the foods typically found in Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Finland) as a response to the growing trend of obesity and chronic health conditions that have come out of western dietary habits and eating patterns.
The heart of the Nordic Diet falls in line with both the Mediterranean and Okinawa eating styles.
Key parts of the Nordic Diet include:
- Mostly fruits and vegetables (especially root vegetables), fatty fish, legumes and whole grains
- Some fermented dairy like yogurt, cheese
- Less amounts of red meats, game meat
- Minimal amounts of added sugar
- No processed foods
World's Healthiest Diet #4: French Diet (Originally the French Paradox)
What’s interesting about the French Diet is it’s reputation for being high in saturated fat, high in carbs and washed down with lots of wine. But the reality is the French Diet is fairly aligned with a Mediterranean diet eating style.
For a long time, the French paradox was a question about why obesity and heart disease wasn’t a major national epidemic, as it had been in the United States. After all, staples of this diet include cheese, breads and cured meats. There are a number of reasons for this, but as the French have shifted their diet to one more in line with a standard American diet and increasing their consumption of processed foods, their rates of heart conditions have increased substantially.
So what was the difference with a traditional French diet?
The difference is an emphasis on enjoying delicious foods in small amounts. Foods richer in fats and sugar are balanced against a majority amount of whole fiber-rich plant foods during each meal. Overindulging is not emphasized or encouraged. Small portions and stopping before becoming full (similar to an Okinawan diet) is key here.
This diet includes:
- Mostly fresh fruits and vegetables (both starchy and non-starchy), legumes, olive oil, whole grains
- Some fatty fish and seafoods, meats and poultry
- Less dairy, cured meats, wine
- Minimal amounts of sugar and processed foods
World's Healthiest Diet #5: West African Diet
Many of the traditional eating styles found in West Africa diets demonstrate another style of eating that’s falls more closely in line with the carbohydrate rich Okinawa diet.
Traditional West African foods are full of starchy root vegetables, leafy greens, corn, cereals and legumes like peanuts. But despite it being a diet heavy with carbs, this traditional diet is high in fiber and has almost no processed foods or added sugars, putting right in the ranking as one of the healthiest diets in the world.
Key parts of many West African Diets include:
- Mostly fresh fruits and vegetables (starchy and non-starchy), corn and rice, legumes
- Some poultry, goat, fish and seafood
- Minimal amounts of dairy, eggs
- No added sugar, processed foods
And That’s It!
The world’s healthiest diets look very different on first glance, but have a many important similarities. The first is they are all high in fiber from whole food plants. Secondly, they’re all low in added sugar and processed foods.
If you’re looking for ways to switch up your diet or counsel your clients on something different, consider one of these traditional diets for a sustainable lifestyle change.
Want this in a handout? Find this 2 page patient education handout and many others on healthy eating HERE.
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