In the ever-changing world of food and nutrition, popular trends have a way of coming and going. Some, such as the recommendation to eat fish for heart health, seem to have staying power; others, such as taking antioxidant supplements for cancer prevention, fade away.
So, what nutrition trends did we see emerge in 2011? Here is but a sampling.
GLUTEN-FREE
Long-standing sufferers of celiac disease must feel like they are living life on easy street these days. You can now find bread, pasta, pizza, crackers and cookies that are free of wheat, barley, rye and their derivatives on restaurant menus and grocery store shelves almost anywhere.
Considerable media attention has been afforded to Dr. William Davis's book, Wheat Belly, which argues that many common ailments are actually caused by exposure to gluten.
CAVEMAN DIET
As the "less-is-more" trend continues to dominate nutrition, the movement away from processed food - and toward whole food - continues.
While Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, recommends not eating anything that your grandmother or great grandmother wouldn't recognize, fans of the Paleolithic, or "caveman diet," recommend you take it a step farther, and follow a diet in line with that of our ancestors before the advent of agriculture some 10,000 years ago.
Rich in animal protein, green vegetables, tubers (root vegetables), fruit, nuts and seeds, Paleo eating has taken hold in both popular culture and athletic circles.
The good news? There isn't a low-nutrient food in the bunch, and a number of studies have demonstrated improvements in weight, heart health and blood-sugar control with this lifestyle.
The bad news? If we spurn agriculture en masse, agri-food experts estimate the Earth's resources could only support a population about the size of Canada.
CHEESE AND YOGOURT
With a continued trend toward "what's old is new" in the world of nutrition, we probably shouldn't be surprised that cheese, often seen as a scourge of heart health, might be on its way to vindication.
While undoubtedly high in arguably artery-clogging saturated fat, population studies published this year suggest regular cheese-eaters are at no greater risk of cardiovascular disease than their cheese-avoiding counterparts.
While grilled cheese-lovers rejoice everywhere, caution is still needed: A rather dainty 30-gram (1 ounce) serving of regular cheese provides a similar number of calories (120) as a 4-ounce (110 gram) piece of grilled, skinless chicken.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the dairy cooler lies the yogourt section, which is seeing a spike in popularity of Greek-style yogourt.
While research suggesting that higher-protein diets are helpful for weight control continues to mount, it should not be surprising that protein-rich alternatives to meat, of which Greek yogourt is one of the best examples, continue to flourish.
With some 18-20 grams of protein per 1/4 cup serving, plain Greek yogurt provides more than double the protein of other yogurts.
Jennifer Sygo is a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic Canada (clevelandclinic.ca), which offers executive physicals, sports medicine and wellness counselling.
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