If you're looking for a new diet, where do you start? Like many things in life, you probably turn to Google. If you're curious about what diets are trending now on the planet's top search engine, the company published its annual Year in Search report. This report runs down 2020's top trending searches—defined as queries that "had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2020 as compared to 2019"—in a variety of categories, including everything from dog breeds and NBA teams to recipes and, of course, diets. From ground-breaking apps like Noom to body-type targeting regimens like the endomorph diet, 2020 was all about custom diets, timed eating, and getting more plants into your meals.
Here are the 10 most popular diets of the this year,
1. Sirtfood Diet
The Sirtfood diet was developed by a pair of professional nutritionists based in the United Kingdom. It quickly became popular among European celebrities, in part because the diet not only permits but encourages the consumption of red wine and dark chocolate. The diet is based on research that claims that certain foods (including red wine and dark chocolate) promote levels of certain proteins (sirtuins, or SIRTs) that regulate your metabolism and may promote weight loss. Cheers to that!
2. Endomorph Diet
The Endomorph Diet takes a unique approach to dieting, starting with the idea that people have different kinds of bodies, with different needs, and that weight loss plans and diets should be responsive to these differences. Specifically, the Endomorph Diet recommends that Endomorphs—those with body types that are assumed to have lower metabolic rates—try something close to a Paleo Diet: high fat and protein, fewer carbs. (In that way, it's not unlike the Keto Diet.) The Endomorph Diet also recommends regular exercise as well, but that goes without saying. A diet won't work without moderate exercise—and exercise won't do much if you don't practice a healthy diet.
3. Intermittent Fasting Diet
Intermittent fasting starts with the idea that your body requires a specific amount of time to digest food properly, and applies this to your diet. There are three different kinds of Intermittent Fasting. The most common is called Time-Restricted Feeding, and allows for a fasting period of sixteen hours, followed by an eight-hour window for eating. Due to the sometimes taxing nature of extended periods of fasting, Intermittent Fasting is not recommended for certain groups of people, including young children, the elderly, and pregnant women.
4. Keto Ultra Diet
The Keto Diet—wherein you cut back on carbs and load up on lean proteins and healthy fats—has been popular now for a few years, and supplement manufacturers have now caught up with the Keto Ultra Diet. This supplement—when paired with the keto diet—is marketed as a fat burner and one that induces ketosis, the natural body state of combined fat-burning and muscle-building. While the effectiveness of the supplement isn't proven, clearly people are searching it online to see what the hype is.
5. Dubrow Diet
Designed by celebrity couple Terry and Heather Dubrow, the Dubrow Diet is meant to help dieters achieve their ideal "red carpet" body through a combination of intermittent fasting (16 to 18 hours at a time) and a low-carb diet. The diet encourages eating fiber-rich foods (which cause the sensation of fullness) and discourages eating simple carbs.
6. Noom Diet
Similar to Weight Watchers, the Noom Diet encourages a balanced diet and combinations of foods that are sorted into three groups: green foods (high consumption encouraged), "yellow" foods (moderate consumption) and "red" foods (to be used sparingly). The Noom Diet exists almost entirely as an online app, which pairs you with a trained coach who helps you meet your dieting and exercise goals and helps modify daily behaviors that lead to weight gain.
7. Dr. Sebi DietThe Dr. Sebi Diet is based on the work of the late herbalist Alfredo Darrington Bowman, and his theory of Bio-Mineral balance. The theory proposes that most body illnesses are related to the accumulation of certain mucuses in the body and that these mucuses can be eliminated by increasing the natural alkalinity of your blood. The Dr. Sebi brand offers a range of supplements which, when combined with a plant-based diet, are promoted as increasing blood alkalinity. Though the science is not yet in on the veracity of this controversial claim (Bowman wasn't a real doctor), the diet has proven to be popular in terms of search on Google.
8. 1,200 Calorie Diet
The 1,200 Calorie Diet is exactly as the name suggests: Your aim is to eat 1,200 calories a day. This diet is best suited for those with a more sedentary lifestyle, who might not require a full 2,000 calories per day. The math is simple: By consuming fewer calories, your body resorts to burning fat, which then spurs weight loss.
9. GOLO Diet
The GOLO Diet was developed by Dr. Keith Ablow and a team of doctors and pharmacists. The diet is based on the premise that a low-glycemic diet (which is one that reduces sudden spikes in blood sugar) can promote weight loss, fat burning, and a faster metabolism. The associated product is called GOLO Release, a mixture of plant extracts and minerals that, according to the company, helps to regulate blood sugar levels.
10. Endomorph Diet
The Endomorph Diet takes a unique approach to dieting, starting with the idea that people have different kinds of bodies, with different needs, and that weight loss plans and diets should be responsive to these differences. Specifically, the Endomorph Diet recommends that Endomorphs—those with body types that are assumed to have lower metabolic rates—try something close to a Paleo Diet: high fat and protein, fewer carbs. (In that way, it's not unlike the Keto Diet.) The Endomorph Diet also recommends regular exercise as well, but that goes without saying. A diet won't work without moderate exercise—and exercise won't do much if you don't practice a healthy diet.