Diets of 2014

Every now and then comes a diet that either gets invented, or made popular by some celebrity or claims to give fantastic results. Whatever be the catalyst for their popularity, they made news either for right or wrong reasons. We made a round-up of some of the most popular ones in 2014.

The Ancient Grains Diet
This diet shone into the spotlight courtesy ne of the hottest women courtesy Angelina Jolie. These rumours sparked off courtesy, images of Angie looking underweight for her body frame which scales to a height of 5'8". This diet basically entails hardly any other food besides foodgrains that have been around or have changed since ancient times, for example, quinoa, millet, chia seeds and buckwheat to name a few. Health experts advise incorporating these ki9nd of ancient grains in our diets and reduce the intake of processed junk food. However, sustaining on self just on some handful variety of grains is not healthy either.

The DASH Diet
DASH stands for 'Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension' developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, US. This basically works for preventing hypertension, and help control in those who do have it already. "The DASH Diet can be easily adapted for Indians due to its holistic approach. In the original American format, the diet asks individuals to have whole cereal, whole wheat pasta, etc. These can be easily substituted for rotis made from bajra, jowar, ragi," says nutritionist Pooja Makhjia.

So what does this diet include? Here's a list: Vegetables: Four to five daily servings; Grains: Seven to eight daily servings; Fruits: four to five daily servings; Meat, poultry and fish: Two or less daily servings; Low-fat or fat-free dairy products: Two to three daily servings; Nuts, seeds and dry beans: Four to five servings per week; Fats and oils: Two to three daily servings; Sweets: Try to limit to less than five servings per week.

The Ration Book Diet
This diet was practised during wartime in the 50s. It was devised by Marguerite Patten and was based on rationing which continued until 1954. Patten was working for the Ministry of Food during World War II. For one adult, it consisted of: 100 gm bacon or ham (about four slices), a portion of fresh meat (equivalent to two small lamb chops), one shelled egg, two to three pints of milk, 50 to 110 gm cheese, 110 gm margarine and cooking fat and 50gm of butter per week. Fish and fruit were popular because neither of them was rationed. Also, vegetables were home grown and eaten in season. Canned meat like corned beef was limited. There was no pasta and very little rice. A typical day's menu consists ofporridge for breakfast, corned beef sandwich for lunch then meat or fish with two veg for dinner.

Beyonce's 22-day vegan diet
Songstress Beyonce and music moghul husband Jay-Z went on a 22-day Vegan diet plan last December apparently for a "spiritual and mental cleanse". And it instantly grabbed headlines. And guess what, few months later in May, Latina diva Jennifer Lopez too did the same 22-day vegan diet following Queen Bey's footsteps. Do not confuse vegan with vegetarian! There's a big difference. While vegetarians refrain from meat, fish and poultry, vegans take it a whole new level by eliminating all animal products including dairy products and eggs.

The 22-day cleanse is a concept from exercise physiologist Marco Borges, who founded 22 Days Nutrition, a vegan, organic, and gluten-free food and lifestyle company. Borges is friends with Jay Z and suggested to the rapper last year that he and wife Beyonce try out veganism for a few weeks. "Psychologists have said it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. On the 22nd day, you've found the way," Jay Z wrote on his website in an announcement about the endeavor before the 2013 holiday season. He went on to detail his plans, adding, "You can call it a spiritual and physical cleanse."

The Flexitarian Diet
Alas! a diet that sounds reasonable. Those who love their meat too much and can never give it up, can opt for this diet. And not just meat-lovers but also those aren't willing to go completely vegetarian. The best part about this diet is that nothing is off-limits, but the goal is to add more plant-based foods to your diet while reducing meat intake. This diet book has a short assessment of eating habits that will determine how you begin. Once can begin with baby steps. For example, if you're a beginner then you can go two meatless days per week (26 ounces of meat or poultry per week). Advanced levels of this diet includes skipping meat 3 to 4 days a week (18 ounces of meat or poultry a week), whereas experts go meatless 5 or more days a week (9 ounces of meat or poultry).