- Standard American Diet
- Southern and Soul Food
- Mexican Diet
- Caribbean Diet
- Brazilian Diet
- Andean Diet
- Native American Traditional Diets
- Inuit and Arctic Traditional Diet
- Pacific Islander Diet
- Blue Zones
No. 13Standard American Diet
The way many people in the United States eat today, often called the "SAD". Studies of national survey data find that ultra-processed foods (packaged snacks, fast food, sweets and soda) make up more than half of the calories Americans eat. Typical meals lean on refined grains, sugary drinks, processed meat, cheese and fried food, while most people come up short on vegetables, fruit, beans and fiber. It is less a planned diet than what happens when busy lives meet cheap processed food and very loud marketing.
Strengths
- Credit where it's due: food is abundant and affordable, and classic deficiency diseases such as scurvy and pellagra are rare.
- A huge variety of foods is available all year.
- Fortified foods fill some gaps. Iodized salt, vitamin D in milk and folic acid in flour have reduced goiter, rickets and certain birth defects.
Watch out for
- Linked in many studies with obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, which now show up even in children.
- Low in fiber, potassium, magnesium and omega-3 fats; high in added sugar, sodium and refined seed oils.
- Large portions and sweet drinks are easy to overeat. (Nobody ever accidentally polished off a bucket of broccoli.)
- "Healthy" labels (low-fat, multigrain, protein bar) can still mean ultra-processed. The front of the box is marketing; the back is the truth.
Eating well within it
- Keep the familiar meals and upgrade the parts: a burger on a whole-grain bun with a side salad instead of fries, or tacos with beans, cabbage and salsa.
- Swap soda and sweet tea for water, sparkling water or unsweetened tea. Your teeth will send a thank-you note.
- Cook a few simple meals a week from whole foods: eggs, beans, chicken, potatoes, oats and frozen vegetables.
- Read ingredient lists. Shorter and recognizable is better; if it reads like a chemistry exam, put it back.
Possible supplement needs
Better food comes first. Vitamin D, magnesium and omega-3 are the common gaps.
Who should be careful
Anyone eating this way long term, especially people with diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease (or a family history of them), and children, whose habits form early.
No. 14Southern and Soul Food
Soul food grew from West African cooking traditions and the resourcefulness of enslaved Africans and their descendants, who made nourishing meals from rations, garden crops and discarded cuts. Its everyday heart is collard, mustard and turnip greens simmered with smoked meat, black-eyed peas (eaten on New Year's Day for luck), okra, sweet potatoes, beans, rice and cornbread. Fried chicken and catfish, smothered pork chops, mac and cheese, chitlins and sweet potato pie belong to Sunday dinners and celebrations.
Strengths
- The traditional base of greens, beans, peas, okra and sweet potatoes is rich in fiber, potassium, folate and vitamins A and C. The everyday plate was the powerhouse all along.
- "Pot likker," the broth left from cooking greens, holds many of their vitamins and minerals, so don't pour it down the sink.
- Strong traditions of family meals and sharing food.
Watch out for
- Dishes once saved for Sundays and holidays are now everyday food, alongside fast food and soda. Sunday has crept into the whole week.
- High in salt (cured and smoked meats, seasoning salt), fried food and sugar (sweet tea, desserts).
- African Americans and Southerners have high rates of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and stroke. In the large US REGARDS study, a "Southern" eating pattern of fried food, processed meat and sugary drinks was linked with more heart disease.
Eating well within it
- Season greens with onion, garlic, vinegar and a little smoked turkey instead of ham hocks and extra salt.
- Oven-fry chicken and fish in a cornmeal crust; when you do fry, use fresh beef tallow instead of seed oil that has been reused more times than a coupon.
- Bake sweet potatoes with cinnamon instead of candying them (they are sweet potatoes, after all); make cornbread with stone-ground meal and little or no sugar.
- Step sweet tea down to half-sweet, then unsweetened with lemon or mint. Go slowly; your taste buds will adjust.
Possible supplement needs
Darker skin makes less vitamin D from sunlight, so vitamin D is worth testing and supplementing.
Who should be careful
People with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease, and people on blood thinners who suddenly change how many greens (vitamin K) they eat.
No. 15Mexican Diet
Traditional Mexican food grows from the milpa, a field where corn, beans and squash grow together with chiles, tomatoes and wild greens (quelites). Corn is nixtamalized: cooked and soaked with lime (calcium hydroxide, not the green fruit), then ground into masa for tortillas and tamales. Avocado, nopal cactus, fruit and modest amounts of meat, eggs and cheese round it out, in dishes such as pozole, mole, tamales, frijoles de la olla and chiles rellenos. In 2010 UNESCO recognized traditional Mexican cuisine as part of the world's cultural heritage, which is more than any vending machine can say.
Strengths
- Corn and beans together give complete protein and plenty of fiber.
- Nixtamalization frees the niacin in corn and adds calcium. It protected Mexican communities from pellagra, which struck the US South and parts of Europe where corn was eaten without this step.
- Salsas, chiles and greens add vitamins and flavor cheaply.
Watch out for
- Mexico has some of the highest soda intake in the world and high rates of type 2 diabetes. In 2014 the country added a tax on sugary drinks, a rare case of soda getting the bill.
- Modern eating has shifted toward white flour tortillas, pan dulce (sweet bread), chips, fried foods and packaged snacks. The milpa grew none of those.
- Mexican restaurant food abroad is often buried under cheese and fried shells.
- Many tortillas today are made from instant flour with additives. A tortilla shouldn't need a supporting cast.
Eating well within it
- Choose corn tortillas, ideally from fresh masa, over flour tortillas.
- Cook beans de la olla from dry beans; if you refry them, use a little olive or avocado oil instead of buying canned refried beans with additives.
- Swap soda for water with lime, unsweetened jamaica (hibiscus) tea, or agua fresca made with little sugar.
- Fill tacos with grilled chicken, beef or fish, salsa, cabbage and avocado; keep chips and fried dishes for occasions (a Tuesday is not an occasion).
Possible supplement needs
Usually few on the traditional diet. Vitamin D if sun exposure is low.
Who should be careful
People with diabetes or prediabetes (portions of tortillas, rice, sweet bread and drinks), and people with reflux who react to hot chiles.
No. 16Caribbean Diet
Caribbean cooking blends Indigenous Taíno foods, West African traditions brought by enslaved people, and later Indian, Chinese, Spanish, French and British influences: a whole history in one pot. Staples include rice and peas (rice cooked with kidney beans or pigeon peas in coconut milk), plantains, "ground provisions" (yam, cassava, dasheen, sweet potato, breadfruit), callaloo, fish and tropical fruit. Signature dishes include jerk chicken, curry goat with roti, ackee and saltfish, and pelau. Many Rastafari follow "ital" cooking: natural, mostly plant-based food, often with little or no added salt.
Strengths
- Beans, peas and root vegetables give plenty of fiber and steady energy, not a soda spike.
- Fresh fish, herbs and spices bring flavor and nutrients, and none of it comes in a cube.
- Tropical fruits such as mango, guava, papaya and soursop are rich in vitamin C.
Watch out for
- Very high salt from salted fish and meats, seasoning cubes and bottled sauces. High blood pressure, stroke and diabetes are common across the region.
- Many islands now import most of their food, and white rice, white flour, fried chicken, soda and sweet drinks have grown. The cargo ship now writes the menu.
- Fried dumplings, plantains and patties are easy to overeat.
- Ackee must be fully ripe and naturally opened on the tree. Unripe ackee contains a toxin that can drop blood sugar dangerously. No shortcuts here: let the tree decide.
Eating well within it
- Soak saltfish overnight, then boil it in fresh water to remove much of the salt. Let the salt go down the drain instead of into you.
- Season with fresh thyme, scallion, garlic, onion, scotch bonnet and lime instead of seasoning cubes.
- Boil or roast green bananas, yams and breadfruit, and bake plantains instead of frying them.
- Make rice and peas with more peas and some brown or parboiled rice, and choose fresh fruit over sweet drinks and punches.
Possible supplement needs
Usually few. Vitamin D for people living in northern countries; vitamin B12 for those following a fully plant-based ital diet.
Who should be careful
People with high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease (salt), and people with diabetes (sweet drinks and large starch portions).
No. 17Brazilian Diet
Everyday Brazilian eating centers on arroz e feijão: rice and beans, often with a little meat or egg, salad and farofa (toasted cassava flour). The national dish, feijoada, is a slow-cooked stew of black beans and pork, served with rice, sautéed collard greens (couve) and orange slices. Cassava, tropical fruits such as açaí and mango, fish in the north and northeast, and churrasco (grilled meat) in the south are also central, along with sweets such as brigadeiros and small cups of very sweet coffee: small cup, big sugar.
Strengths
- Rice and beans together make a cheap, filling base with good protein and fiber.
- Brazil's 2014 national dietary guidelines became known worldwide for advice based on how processed food is: make fresh and minimally processed foods the base, avoid ultra-processed foods, and cook and eat meals with others. They use the NOVA system developed by Carlos Monteiro's team at the University of São Paulo. Official advice you could fit on a fridge magnet.
- Lunch is still often a home-style cooked meal, not a sad desk sandwich.
Watch out for
- Ultra-processed foods (soft drinks, packaged snacks, instant noodles, sweet biscuits) have grown, and so have obesity and diabetes.
- Frequent feijoada and churrasco mean lots of salted and processed meat.
- Lots of white rice, white bread and sugar, the beige trio.
- Açaí bowls sold today are often loaded with sweet syrup and granola: dessert in a health-food costume.
Eating well within it
- Keep arroz e feijão as the daily base, with a generous scoop of beans.
- Make feijoada with more beans, fresh beef in place of pork, sausages and salted meats, and plenty of couve.
- At a churrasco, fill half your plate with salad, molho à campanha (tomato and onion vinaigrette) and vegetables before the grill wins you over.
- Choose whole fruit over juice, and cut the sugar in your cafezinho a little at a time.
Possible supplement needs
Usually few on the traditional base. Vitamin D if sun exposure is low.
Who should be careful
People with high blood pressure (salted and processed meats) and people with diabetes (large portions of rice, sweets and sweet drinks).
No. 18Andean Diet
Built on crops first grown in the Andes thousands of years ago: thousands of potato varieties (yes, thousands), quinoa, kiwicha (amaranth), corn, beans, tarwi (Andean lupin) and tubers such as oca. In the highlands, potatoes are freeze-dried by night frost and sun into chuño, and meat comes from guinea pig (cuy), alpaca and llama, often dried as charqui. Chicha, a fermented corn drink, is shared at gatherings, while chicha morada is an unfermented purple corn drink. On the coast, Peru is famous for ceviche: raw fish cured in lime juice.
Strengths
- Quinoa, kiwicha and tarwi are rich in protein; potatoes give vitamin C and potassium. The humble potato deserves better press than the French fry gives it.
- Freeze-drying, drying and fermenting let families store food through hard seasons, no refrigerator required.
- Trout from mountain lakes and fish from the coast add lean protein, and liver adds iron.
Watch out for
- In cities, white bread, rice, noodles, fried chicken, soda and sweet drinks have grown, and so has obesity. The soda truck can climb mountains too.
- Anemia in young children has long been a public health concern in Peru and Bolivia, especially in the highlands.
- Lime juice does not kill all germs or parasites in ceviche. It changes how the fish looks, not everything living in it.
- Quinoa must be rinsed to remove bitter saponins, and tarwi must be soaked for days to remove bitter, toxic alkaloids. Patience is an ingredient.
Eating well within it
- Make potatoes, quinoa and beans the base of meals, boiled or roasted rather than fried.
- Choose chicha morada made with little sugar, or water, over soda.
- Eat beef or chicken liver from time to time, with vitamin C foods, for iron.
- For ceviche, use very fresh fish from a trusted source. "Probably fine" is not a source.
Possible supplement needs
Use iodized salt, since mountain soils are low in iodine. Iron for children and women who test low.
Who should be careful
Pregnant women, young children and people with weak immune systems should avoid raw fish dishes. People with diabetes should watch starch portions.
No. 19Native American Traditional Diets
There is no single Native American diet. Each nation ate what its own land and waters offered: the Three Sisters of corn, beans and squash across much of the East and Southwest; bison on the Plains; salmon in the Pacific Northwest; wild rice (manoomin) around the Great Lakes; acorns in California; and mesquite, cactus fruit and tepary beans in the desert. Game, fish, berries, nuts and wild greens filled out the diet, and food was tied to ceremony and the seasons, not to a drive-through menu.
Strengths
- Whole, seasonal foods with plenty of fiber, protein and natural fats, and almost no sugar or flour. No ingredient list needed.
- The Three Sisters, planted together, support each other in the field and give a balanced meal on the plate: teamwork from the soil up.
Watch out for
- Removal from homelands, lost hunting and fishing rights, and boarding schools cut many families off from their traditional foods.
- Government rations and commodity foods (white flour, lard, sugar, canned meat, cheese) replaced traditional foods. Frybread was born from these rations, and for many families it is both a symbol of survival and a beloved part of gatherings.
- American Indian and Alaska Native adults now have the highest rate of type 2 diabetes of any US group. The Akimel O'odham (Pima) of Arizona have among the highest rates recorded, while related Pima in Mexico, living more traditionally, have far lower rates.
- On many reservations, fresh food is far away and costly, which makes the healthy choice the hard one.
Eating well within it
- Bring heritage foods back to the table: tepary beans, wild rice, bison, salmon, blue corn, squash and berries. Old foods, ready for a comeback.
- Keep frybread for gatherings, where it belongs, and try baked breads and blue corn mush at home.
- Support food sovereignty work: tribal gardens, seed banks, returning buffalo herds, and chefs such as Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota) cooking with Indigenous ingredients.
Possible supplement needs
Usually few with traditional foods. Vitamin D in northern areas or for people who spend most of their time indoors.
Who should be careful
People with diabetes, kidney disease or high blood pressure: as traditional eating brings blood sugar and blood pressure down, their medicines may need lowering.
No. 20Inuit and Arctic Traditional Diet
For thousands of years, Arctic peoples lived almost entirely on animal "country food": seal, whale, walrus, fish such as Arctic char, caribou, birds and eggs. Fat and organ meats were prized, and much food was eaten raw, frozen, dried or fermented. Plants were few (try growing a salad on sea ice): berries, some greens, seaweed and partly digested plants from caribou stomachs.
Strengths
- Raw animal foods supplied nutrients most people get from plants, including vitamin C, since cooking destroys much of it. So much for vitamin C coming only from oranges.
- Fatty fish such as Arctic char are rich in omega-3 fats, vitamin A and vitamin D, vital in dark winters.
- In the 1970s, Danish researchers Bang and Dyerberg reported little heart disease among Greenland Inuit and credited omega-3 fats. Later researchers have questioned how accurate those health records were, so the famous story comes with an asterisk.
Watch out for
- Store foods (white flour, sugar, soda, chips, processed meat) are now a large share of the diet in many communities, with rising obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. Northern store food is very expensive.
- Marine mammals at the top of the food chain carry mercury, PCBs and other pollutants that drift north from industry far away.
- Polar bear liver holds toxic amounts of vitamin A. Admire the bear; skip the liver.
- Fermenting foods in plastic bags or tubs instead of the traditional ways has caused botulism in Alaska. Here, tradition is the safety manual.
Eating well within it
- Eat traditional fish such as Arctic char, and caribou, when you can; they are far richer in nutrients than the store food replacing them.
- Follow local health advice on which animals and organs to limit.
- Ferment foods the traditional way, not in sealed plastic.
- At the store, choose frozen vegetables, oats, eggs, canned fish and water over soda and chips. Soda is a pricey way to buy sugar water.
Possible supplement needs
Vitamin D and omega-3 when little country food is eaten.
Who should be careful
Pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children, because of mercury and PCBs; they should follow local advice on which marine foods to limit.
No. 21Pacific Islander Diet
Across thousands of islands, traditional meals were built on taro, breadfruit, yams, sweet potato and cooking bananas, with coconut, fish and shellfish, and pork and chicken mostly at feasts. Food was often cooked in earth ovens (the umu of Samoa and Tonga, the imu of Hawaiʻi, the lovo of Fiji), and preserved by fermenting, as with Hawaiian poi made from taro. Feasts and sharing food are central to family, church and community.
Strengths
- Taro, breadfruit and other root crops give fiber, potassium and lasting energy, not a sugar spike and crash; coconut gives a traditional fat.
- Fresh fish gives protein, omega-3 fats and iodine, no can opener needed.
Watch out for
- Since the mid-1900s, imported foods have replaced much of the traditional diet: white rice, white flour, sugar, soda, instant noodles, canned corned beef and luncheon meat, and cheap fatty cuts such as turkey tails from the US and mutton flaps from New Zealand and Australia.
- Several Pacific nations, including Nauru, Tonga and Samoa, now have some of the highest rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes in the world. Samoa banned turkey tail imports for a time, and Fiji banned mutton flaps. When a government bans a cut of meat, take note.
- Feast-sized portions remain while daily life has become less active. The plates stayed big; the daily workload shrank.
- Some reef fish carry ciguatera toxin, which cooking does not destroy.
Eating well within it
- Put taro, breadfruit, green bananas or sweet potato back in place of white rice and bread. They were there first.
- Choose fresh fish and chicken over turkey tails, mutton flaps and canned meats.
- Drink water or fresh coconut water instead of soda. The coconut even comes with its own cup.
- At feasts, fill up first on fish, root crops and palusami (taro leaves in coconut cream).
Possible supplement needs
Usually few with traditional foods. Vitamin D if sun exposure is low.
Who should be careful
People with diabetes or high blood pressure (canned meats are very salty), and anyone eating reef fish in areas known for ciguatera.
No. 22Blue Zones
"Blue Zones" is the name writer Dan Buettner, working with National Geographic and demographers Michel Poulain and Gianni Pes, gave to five places where unusually many people seemed to live into their 90s and 100s: Okinawa (Japan), the Sardinian highlands (Italy), the Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica), the island of Ikaria (Greece) and the Seventh-day Adventist community of Loma Linda, California. Buettner described shared habits he called the "Power 9," including mostly plant foods, beans, eating moderately, daily movement, faith, purpose and close family ties. Notice that none of them comes in a bottle.
Strengths
- The shared habits (plants, beans, little processed food, activity, close ties) match much other evidence. Boring advice keeps winning.
- The Adventist Health Studies, which followed tens of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists, found that Adventists, especially vegetarians, lived several years longer on average than other Californians.
Watch out for
- These are observations, not trials. They cannot prove the diet caused the long lives; genes, hard work and luck also play a part. Correlation and causation are not the same thing.
- The diets differed: Okinawans ate sweet potatoes, vegetables, tofu and some pork; Sardinian shepherds ate bread, goat milk, cheese and wine; Nicoyans ate corn, beans and squash; many Adventists are vegetarian and avoid alcohol.
- Critics, including researcher Saul Newman, argue that some extreme ages reflect poor birth records and errors, and many Okinawan records were lost in World War II.
- Younger people in several Blue Zones, especially Okinawa, now eat a modern diet and do not show the same long lives. Fast food, it seems, travels well.
Eating well within it
- Eat beans or lentils most days, with plenty of vegetables, whole grains and nuts. Unglamorous, cheap and filling.
- Stop eating when you are about 80% full, a habit Okinawans call "hara hachi bu." The last few bites are the ones you never miss.
- If you eat meat, keep it a small side, and share meals with people you love.
Possible supplement needs
Vitamin B12 if you eat mostly or fully plant foods; vitamin D if sun exposure is low.
Who should be careful
Older adults losing muscle and people recovering from illness should make sure plant-heavy meals give enough protein.