Skip to content

The Truth Behind Diets and Healthy Eating: Program Recap

Home The Truth Behind Diets and Healthy Eating: Program Recap

Published September 10, 2026

There are many ways that we can take control of our health, including managing what and how we eat.

Thank you to Emily Santora, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Capital Health, for a wonderful overview of how we improve our health through what we eat. There are many different diets out there that all claim to help loose weight, control weight, and provide other positive health outcomes, but in truth, each person has different needs and responds to changes in diet in different ways. There are many things we can do to change our lifestyle and food choices (including how we prepare meals, what we accent food with, and when we eat) that can have positive impacts on our health without committing to a restrictive diet. So let’s take a look at the many options available to us as we try to improve our physical health. Before starting any diet or changing your eating habits, speak to a health care professional.

Why We Diet

For many of us, we start thinking about dieting and our food choices due to specific health concern – obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol to name a few. For others, we are trying to change our lifestyle and changing what we eat or how we eat can help us more fully integrate into that new lifestyle. However, before undertaking any changes, it is important to know yourself first (specific conditions, medications, etc.) that might affect or be affected by new diet trends as well as develop specific health goals that we want to achieve so we have the most information when picking what suits us best. Not all diets are suitable for everyone, especially if this is something we plan on sustaining over a long-period of time. Eat diet has it’s their own pros and cons so be sure to careful consider all your options before making any dietary or nutritional changes.

Types of Diets

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a diet that focuses more on when you eat rather than what you are eating. The overall goal is limit your eating to a specific time period (12pm – 8pm for example) so that it helps prevents snacking and overeating. The timing can be adjusted to your personal preference and schedule.

Pros

  • Less night-time eating
  • Possible weight loss
  • Possible improved blood sugar control

Cons

  • Possible side effects include low energy, hunger, irritability, gas, bloating, and constipation
  • Limited scientific evidence
  • Risk of hypoglycemia/low blood sugar (especially for those with type 1 and 2 diabetes that are on insulin)

Mediterranean

Based on the dietary trends of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, this diet focuses on less meats and sweets as well as a mindfulness toward what you are eating. This diet tends to prioritize whole grains, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fatty fish, nuts, beans, legumes, and seeds.

Pros

  • Increased fiber and healthy fats intake
  • Less saturated fat and added sugar
  • Heart healthy

Cons

  • Can be more expensive
  • Cultural and dietary preferences (can be restrictive)
  • Time and preparation of meals

Plant-Based Diets (Vegetarian/Vegan)

Plant-based diets seek to replace most or all animal products with plant-based and more sustainable sources. Traditional animal meats are replaced with plant-based substitutes and there is a higher focus on nuts, beans, lentils, and legumes to supplement protein that might be lost by not consuming animal products.

Pros

  • Lower cost
  • High fiber intake
  • Environmentally friendly

Cons

  • Possible lack of or reduced protein intake
  • Higher risk of vitamin deficiencies
  • Some plant-based products are highly processed

Low Carb/Keto

This diet aims to put your body into a state of ketosis, whereby your body starts breaking down fats rather than carbs for energy. As a result, the diet is very low in carbs and high in fats and protein. However, given the extreme nature of diet, it is usually not sustainable long term, especially since your brain needs carbohydrates to function properly. Side effects can include constipation, fatigue, dizziness, and risk of disordered eating pattern; caution is also advised for those who use medications to lower blood sugar as you are already drastically reduce the amount of glucose the body will produce.

Pros

  • Possible improvements with insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control
  • High protein helps control appetite
  • May lead to weight loss

Cons

  • Lack of fiber
  • Potential increase in LDL cholesterol
  • Possible side effects (mentioned above)
  • Possible vitamin deficiencies

Paleo/Caveman

This diet aims to mimic the foods and eating patterns of humans hundreds of thousands of years ago, focusing on high protein, moderate fats, and low carbs. This includes eating lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds while avoiding whole grains, cereals, refined grains, sugars, dairy, white potatoes, legumes, alcohol, coffee, salt, processed foods, and vegetable oils.

Pros

  • Focuses on nutrient dense foods
  • Help reduce intake of added sugar, sodium, and processed foods

Cons

  • Higher cost
  • Risk of deficiencies (B vitamins, vitamin D, and calcium)
  • High intake of meat
  • Meal preparation

DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)

Some diets attempt to target a specific health condition, such as high blood pressure. The DASH diet is an evidence-based diet pattern aimed to reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol, and improve overall heart health. It looks to lower sodium intake to between 1,500 and 2,300 milligrams per take by focusing on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and nuts while avoiding saturated fats, cholesterol, and added sugar.

MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay)

As the acronym implies, the MIND diet is focused on improving brain health and slowly down the progression of neurodegenerative conditions like dementia. This diet focuses on whole grains, vegetables (specifically leafy green ones), nuts, beans, berries, poultry, fish and olive oil while limiting pastries, sweets, read meats, cheese, fried foods, butter, stick margarine, and alcohol.

Anti-Inflammatory

There is even a specific diet created to help reduce inflammation by reducing the amount of processed foods we eat. Some plant-based foods and healthy fats are key to this diet while limited refined carbs, added sugars, and processed foods.

Before choosing any diet, be sure to speak with a health care profession or dietician/nutritionist to ensure that you can meet you personal health needs, ensure the long-term sustainability of the diet, and focus on nutritional adequacy.

Basics of Health Eating

There are a few things that we can do to improve out eating habits and live a healthier life without having to commit to a specific diet. Try to focus on:

  • Lean proteins – chicken without skin, fish (tuna/cod/haddock. tilapia/salmon), shellfish, low-fat dairy, beans, peas, lentils, eggs, lean cuts of red meat (flank steak, lean ground beef, pork chop), and tofu
  • High fiber starches – fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (oatmeal, whole grain pasta/bread, brown rice, quinoa)
  • Unsaturated fats – nut butters, hummus, oils (soybean, olive, peanut, canola, avocado), and avocado

We can use the “Plate Method” to help us visualize what a meal might look like by dividing our plate into 1/4 for protein, 1/4 for grains, and the remaining half for fruits and vegetables (with maybe some dairy on the side).

Grocery Shopping/Meal Planning

Even before we start eating, we can take some simple steps when selecting what we want to eat that can help us keep on track and make healthy decisions. Try to plan out meals ahead of time and make a list of the ingredients you have and what you need from the store. If we get easily distracted while food shopping, try ordering online or having your food delivered to minimize unnecessary purchases.

Eating Healthy on a Budget

It can be expensive to change our eating habits and focus on healthy foods, but there are ways to help reduce the financial burden, including checking for sale and coupons prior to making a list, choosing canned or frozen produce, and choose what is in season. Additionally, we can reduce foot waste (and the money we throw away) by saving leftovers (and eating them!) or cooking less at meals if needed. Try planning a meatless dinner or meal each week or look for food assistance resources, such as food banks/pantries or government food assistance programs.

Dining Out Tips

It is perfectly fine to dine out when trying to eat healthy or change our diet habits. The biggest obstacle many people face is portion control (large portions is what America is known for). We can try to mitigate this by putting half the meal away in the beginning (ask for a to-go container), eating slower, and not skipping meals. Try looking at the menu ahead of time to determine what might fit best for your health goals. You can ask for dressings, sauces, and condiments on the side to control the amount of added sugars or sodium you intake. Also, try to limit ordering fried foods and high calorie drinks.

Healthy Cooking

We when cook, we often don’t think about what we are doing or putting into the food, especially when it comes to family recipes or if we are crunched for time. However, there are many things we can do in the kitchen to get us on the right path to health eating. Limit the amount of added sugar by using cinnamon or sugar substitutes instead. You can reduce your salt intake by flavoring foods with herbs, spices, garlic, lemon juice or vinegar. Use healthy fats when cooking, such as avocado, canola, and olive oil, and measure your amounts or use cooking spray. We can try using healthier cooking methods like baking, grilling, steaming, roasting, or air-frying. If our dishes look a little bland or all the food looks similar in color, try adding different color foods (usually will help add more vitamins and minerals).

Healthy Snacking

Snacking is totally fine, but we should also be mindful of what we are snacking on. Try to include protein and fiber in snacks, such as:

  • Skim string cheese and an apple
  • Apple with peanut butter
  • Greek yogurt with berries
  • A half sandwich (meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles)
  • Tuna with whole grain crackers
  • Granola/protein bar

Limits, Limits, Limits (Moderation)

As the saying goes, all things in moderation; that is very true when it comes to our diets. Limiting certain things in our diet can have a huge impact on our overall health. Limit added sugars in our food and drinks by choosing low calorie fluid options, limiting soda and juices, and limiting other sources of added sugar such as ice cream, candy, breakfast cereals, sweetened yogurts, and desserts; men should strive for 36 grams of sugar per day while women should strive for 25 grams.

High levels of sodium intake can be a big problem as it seems to be added to almost everything we eat. In fact, the average American intakes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day, way over the limit of 1,300 – 2,500 milligrams per day. Avoid high sodium foods like deli meats, take out foods, pizza, canned soups, chips, and savory snacks. Instead, cook more meals at home (more control), flavor foods with herbs and spices, rinse canned beans or vegetables, and look for labels that say “sodium free”, “low sodium” or “reduced sodium”. Prolonged intake of high levels of sodium can increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, kidney disease and kidney stones.

Saturated and trans fats can have adverse affects on our heart by increasing our LDL cholesterol. These fats are commonly found in beef, pork, full-fat dairy, butter, tropical oils, fried foods, and lard and cream. To help reduce these, try swapping out the above with:

  • 1% or skim milk, low-fat cheese, no-fat yogurt, or low-fat ice cream
  • Lean beef, pork, or venison
  • Chicken without skin
  • Reduced fat, whipped, or liquid spreads
  • Liquid vegetable oils – corn, canola, olive, soybean, and safflower

Overconsumption of alcohol can have serious effects on our health, contributing to high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, stroke, heath failure, irregular heart beat, liver disease, and digestive problems. Alcohol has very little nutritional benefit and is full of “empty” calories.

More Information

If you would like more information about healthy eating and/or dieting, please visit Capital Health’s Metabolic and Weight Loss Center at https://www.capitalhealth.org/medical-services/metabolic-and-weight-loss-center. You can view a recording of the program on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/oIC_lJVMz7I. Please download copies of the following handouts as well:

If you have any questions, please contact Emily Santora at esantora@capitalhealth.org or speak with your healthcare provider.

NJSL Presents

New Jersey State Library Presents

NJSL is committed to providing our patrons with information services, including NJSL Presents, our series of free, virtual programs, presentations, and trainings on topics of interest to State government, Thomas Edison State University (TESU), and the public.

NJSL Presents Events Calendar 

Sign up to attend our live, online presentations on topics including genealogy, NJ history, personal finance, and career development.

NJSL Presents Newsletter

NJ State Library Newsletters banner with an abstract blue background of angled lines and textures, and a digital illustration of a laptop with various newsletter, envelope, and contact information images.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop about upcoming programs, exciting events, library news, and highlights from our special collections!

Related Posts
Latest Posts