10 Most Popular Diets in 2014

As we’re counting down the last days of this year, global search engines, namely Yahoo and finally Google, revealed their most searched for terms of 2014. Healthy lifestyle, diet and fitness topics were in the spotlight of lifestyle categories, not just fashion and beauty.

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So, let’s take a look at the most popular diets on the web in 2014.

Paleo Diet

While this cavemen-inspired diet was ranked second in Yahoo’s global searches, it landed on the first position on Google. If you decided to start a new diet this year, you most probably considered ditching diary, grains, legumes, processed oils, refined sugars, and pretty much all modern food. Its effectiveness is quite controversial however, according to doctors. If you are a beginner, you may find more about it here.

Gluten-free diet

This isn’t among the top 2 or 3 diets for 2014, but more importantly, one of the most popular questions globally was “What is gluten?”. So, yes, millions of people either tried the gluten-free eating plan, or at least were highly interested in it. So, no grains for them.

Atkins diet

This ultra-complex diet with tons of rules, strict timings and restrictions, was the second most popular eating plan in the US. It was also among the top diets on Yahoo. It leads to weight loss through limiting the carbohydrate intake. An updated version of the original book with guidelines about the Atkins diet can be download it here.

The Dukan diet

This is a high-protein, low-fat diet in four separate stages, in which you don’t have to count the calories. It is said to be the diet plan, used by Kate Middleton and her mom to get in their best shapes before the royal wedding. The book about the diet is written by Dr. Ducan and can be downloaded here.

Mediterranean diet

This type of eating has been praised by doctors for years for focusing on fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains and olive oil. And now more and more people are depending on it, not only to lose weight, but also to improve their overall health and to possibly extend their life spans.

Dash diet

It’s actually DASH and it stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It includes eating lower-sodium foods to lower the blood pressure. It also limits the intake of nuts, legumes, sweets and oils.

Alkaline diet

This diet supposedly keeps your body “alkaline”(at a steady, healthy pH level) to prevent illnesses and help weight loss. Last year, Victoria Beckham supported this type of eating, drinking a lot of water, eating fruits and veggies, and avoiding sugar, alcohol, animal proteins and processed foods.

Elimination diet

This isn’t a weight loss diet – it aims at finding out whether you have allergies and intolerances to certain foods. You keep record of everything you eat along with various symptoms and then you start to eliminate foods.

South Beach diet

This diet focuses on eating the right proportions of carbs, fat, and protein, emphasizing the importance of lean meats, heart-healthy oils and vegetables. It offers 1000 Recipes: Get exclusive access to delicious recipes, expert advice & member support. Start the South Beach Diet today!.

The Military diet

Also known as the 3-day diet, it includes detailed menu for only three days, in which you eat less carbs and fats. It is said to help people shed 10 pounds if used properly. But you need to stick to the featured foods precisely.

These were the most searched for diets in 2014, but there are other eating plans that gained popularity, including the 22-day Hercules diet of Dwayne Johnson (the Rock), the HCG diet, the Super Shred diet, and the Doctor’s diet. Most of these eating plans, however, aren’t proven to be effective and doctors recommend you keep it simpler and don’t choose a very restrictive diet.

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