ᐃᓅᑦᓯᐊᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᑲᔫᓯᐊᑦ

Diet trends for 2022.

Every year new diet trends come along, and some old trends reappear with a new name. In this blog we will talk about some expected diet trends for 2022.

Let’s sort out the fact from the fiction and help you eat your best in 2022!

1) Reducetarian

It seems that there is always a new name for eating more plants. With more people realizing the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and focusing on meat alternatives terms like “flexitarian” and “plant-based” became more common. The latest term for 2022 is “reducetarian” which describes someone who tries to eat less meat, dairy, and eggs. No matter what you call it, eating more plants and less animal products is both good for the environment and good for our health. Meat alternatives like beans and legumes are an excellent source of protein and fibre as well as many vitamins and minerals. They are an excellent choice for people trying to control their blood sugar levels or lower their cholesterol. Eating less meat, especially red meat, can also help lower cholesterol by limiting the amount of saturated fat in your diet.

2) Sunflower Seeds

While sunflower butter has been around for a while and especially popular as a nut-free peanut butter alternative for school lunches, it is expected to be back in the spotlight for 2022. Ben and Jerry’s has even come up with some ice cream flavours featuring sunflower seed butter! We can expect to see sunflower seeds in more and more products in 2022. Whole Foods has even listened sunflower seeds in its Top 10 Food Trends of 2022. This is a trend we can get behind. Sunflower seeds and sunflower seed butters are an excellent source of healthy fats as well as protein and fibre. Spread sunflower seed butter on a sandwich or try it stirred into overnight oats! Sprinkle sunflower seeds over just about any meal or have them on their own for a crunchy snack.

3) Immune boosting foods

In light of the ongoing pandemic, many people are trying to find ways to support their immune system. Many companies and manufacturers are taking advantage of this, and we will likely see more food and supplement products that are being advertised as being “immune boosting”. While these products may or may not be helpful, good nutrition can help support a healthy immune system. Making sure you are eating enough fruits and vegetables and getting protein at each meal is a great place to start. Try filling 1/2 your plate with fruits and vegetables, ¼ with protein and ¼ with whole grains.

4) Keto

The keto diet is essentially a low carbohydrate, high fat diet. While this diet isn’t new for 2022 it is likely a trend that is going to persist. More research needs to be done to determine if low carbohydrate diets like keto are good for weight loss, heart health or managing diabetes. If you are following a keto diet, it is important to talk to your doctor or dietitian to ensure you are getting all the nutrients you need. The concern when following a diet like keto is that it cuts out or severely limits whole food groups. This can put people at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Keto and other “low carb” diets tend to make carbohydrate containing foods look like the bad guys, but this is not the case. Carbohydrates provide our bodies and brains with its preferred energy source, glucose! Carbohydrate rich foods, especially whole grains and fruits and vegetables, also provide our bodies with fibre, a nutrient that most of us aren’t getting enough of.

5) The MIND diet

The MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. The focus of this diet is on foods that support a healthy brain. These foods include leafy green vegetables like kale, lettuce or spinach, other non-starchy vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil, whole grains, fish, poultry, and legumes. The MIND diet also recommends having less red meat and processed meat, butter, cheese, pastries and other sweets and fried food. Some research has shown that this diet can reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Try out our Banana Bread Overnight Oats recipe, it incorporates many of the foods listed here including whole grains in the form of rolled oats, nuts and seeds and you can even add berries along with the bananas as a topping.

References:

Gardner CD, Kim S, Bersamin A, Dopler-Nelson M, Otten J, et al. Micronutrient quality of weight-loss diets that focus on macronutrients: results from the A TO Z study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;92(2):304-12. Abstract available from: http://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/pubmed/20573800

Rinaldi S, Campbell EE, Fournier J, O’Connor C, Madill J. A comprehensive review of the literature supporting recommendations from the Canadian Diabetes Association for the use of a plant-based diet for management of type 2 diabetes. Can J Diabetes. 2016 Oct;40(5):471-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2016.02.011. Epub 2016 Jul 28. Abstract available from: https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/pubmed/27476051

van den Brink AC, Brouwer-Brolsma EM, Berendsen AAM, van de Rest O. The Mediterranean, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diets Are Associated with Less Cognitive Decline and a Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease-A Review. Adv Nutr. 2019 Nov 1;10(6):1040-65. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmz054. PMID: 31209456; PMCID: PMC6855954. Abstract from: https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/31209456/