Trends emphasise diets such as low histamine, circadian eating and DASH, which focus on holistic health and well-being
As in music, movies and holiday destinations these days, lately it seems as if there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to nutrition plans and weight-loss programmes. Every hyped diet reminds you of something you’ve tried before, and perhaps the fads have now fallen away to confirm what truly works. In 2024 the classic Mediterranean diet was indeed voted best of the year by a panel of experts for the US News & World Report, and for the six years before that. But there is always more to learn about the resources of the body, and the latest trends for 2025 lean into new understandings of biochemistry, and of long-forgotten eating habits that may yet return us to health.
LOW HISTAMINE DIET
Somewhat imperfectly understood as “a bad thing” by many – especially those allergic to pollen, peanuts, bee stings, or animal dander – histamines are chemicals that we need to form natural immune responses. They only become a problem when the system overreacts to produce an abundance, or when the body can’t break them down fast enough. Certain foods are also so histamine-heavy that they can overload the existing supply present in the cells, leading to all sorts of common digestive issues, from bloating to diarrhoea.
Gut health experts such as California-based specialist Dr Amy Burkhart have developed diet plans that minimise the overall histamine intake, and cut out produce that tends to block the DAO enzyme which, in turn, helps clear those histamines from the body. Generally speaking, such plans comprise lots of fresh meat and salmon, non-citrus fruits and non-dairy milks, while avoiding trigger items such as tomatoes, avocado, wheat and especially fermented foods. The goal, according to Dr Burkhart, “is only to decrease histamine levels” – to eliminate them altogether would be undesirable and ultimately impossible.
CIRCADIAN EATING
Intermittent fasting has been a practice for so long now that most of us have anecdotal reports of success or failure in sticking to a clock-watching cycle of eating and abstaining. The 16:8 routine can be tough to keep up though, especially for those accustomed to dining out and being generally sociable, and some have come to believe that the circadian method is both more natural and more sustainable in the long run.
Instead of setting specific hours to your consumption, this entails a simpler approach like front-loading the day with calories and easing off toward evening. “This aligns with the body’s natural rhythm and can improve digestion, energy levels and weight management,” according to Delhi-based nutritionist Kajal Aggarwal, but the real trick is ensuring that your intake emphasises nutrient-dense whole foods: fruits, veg, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats. Broadly speaking, this approach is more holistic than the recent fasting fad, and experts like Aggarwal suggest it may be better for overall health than the latter’s standard measurement of success by weight loss.
The science behind the timing of eating is extremely complex and many of the existing studies have shown mixed results, but some have shown real promise in improving our understanding how all this works. As with circadian sleeping patterns, the sun may have a lot to do with it – insulin seems to reset our body clocks by increasing the synthesis of proteins, and exposure to light before feeding seems to best align with certain inherent genomic rhythms. Washington University researchers have even discovered an immune cell directly linked to the sequencing of gut activity, their theory being that disruptions to that process may help explain ailments from obesity to colon cancers.
THE DASH DIET
One of the older diets now doing the rounds was developed more than 20 years ago by American researchers working on ways to lower blood pressure through food intake.
They called it DASH, or Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension, and multiple studies showed it to be highly effective in that respect. In September 2024, however, The New York Times reported that very few people were following that diet, despite having much more clinical evidence to back it up than many others that are more popular.
Since then, DASH has been trending again, as renewed attention inspires more people to try an eating plan based on hefty quantities of fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts, supplemented with lean meat, poultry and fish. Dr. Stephen Juraschek, a professor at Harvard Medical School, admits that such a programme can seem “radical” to first-timers. At any given meal, he says, “you’re really talking about fruits and vegetables being half of the plate.”
The standard advice is to start slow, stay flexible and maybe add one piece of fruit or vegetable to each meal every day, while throwing in more nuts, seeds and legumes through the week. More than two decades of clinical trials have shown that this can dramatically decrease blood pressure, even in those who are consuming higher-than-recommended levels of sodium (salt). Substantial weight loss proceeds naturally from the DASH diet, and if that’s the specific goal, consider following the recipes and meal plans laid out by experts at the prestigious Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org) or by dietician and health writer Carolyn Williams (carolynwilliamsrd.com).
