Here’s the Healthiest Way to Eat

Keto. Atkins. Vegan. Dash. Paleo.

Popular diets come and go, leaving us wondering what’s the best approach to healthy eating? A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says the answer is—drumroll, please—a fish-centric Mediterranean Diet, with elements of intermittent fasting.

The Mediterranean Diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, extra-virgin olive oil, fish and seafood, and fermented dairy products. It doesn’t strictly prohibit foods (in fact, doing so often backfires, the scientists found), but it minimizes red meat, processed meat (such as pepperoni, bacon and sausage), sugar, fried foods and refined grains (versus whole grains). The researchers also advised restricting all daily food consumption to an eight- to 12-hour window.

A U.S. News & World Report analysis of 35 diet approaches confirmed these findings, listing the Mediterranean Diet as the best overall eating strategy. In second place was the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which is strikingly similar to the Med.