What is the Ideal Diet?

Guide to finding your ideal diet explains personalized nutrition, elimination diets, gut healing plans, calorie balance, and anti inflammatory whole foods for weight, hormones, and digestion.

Vegetarians live longer and have lower cancer rates! Should I be vegetarian?

I heard paleo helps with weight loss. Should I go paleo?

I gained weight on a paleo diet. What do I do now?

I have Crohn’s disease. Will GAPS/SCD/FODMAPs help? (PS what do all these acronyms mean??)

Confused? No wonder. The amount of information circulating about “the right diet” is dizzying, and it’s enough to confuse anyone. But I have a secret for you: There is no one-size-fits-all approach. What works for you may not work for your neighbor, because you are your own set of genes, a unique blueprint determined by your ethnicity, ancestry, lifestyle, biochemistry. Your superfood could be your neighbor’s achilles heel.

So. How do you determine what’s right for you?

What is the Ideal Diet?

When I meet with a new client to gather information and health history, I ask his or her top 3 health concerns and goals. This is the first way to determine what to eat. Do you want to lose weight, control inflammation, balance hormones, reduce stress, sleep better, improve skin health? Pinpoint your health goals.

Secondly I ask about symptoms one is experiencing on a daily basis. Fatigue? Digestive issues, gas, bloating? Insomnia? (these are the top 3 by a landslide). Certain health conditions and symptoms will also determine what you should eat.

Typically I have anyone with digestive issues or hormone imbalance do a 30-60 day elimination diet, which kicks the gluten, dairy, and soy. These are the foods many people have trouble digesting or have reactions to, and they happen to the foods most people consume most often. Eating foods to which you have intolerances or don’t digest well creates inflammation, hormone imbalance, and digestive issues. For those with autoimmune disease or diagnosed digestive conditions like SIBO, Celiac, Crohn’s, or any inflammatory digestive issue, I’ll usually recommend an autoimmne paleo plan, which goes a step farther and eliminates foods high in anti-nutrients that irritate the gut lining. I say “typically” because this is a very individualized process. It depends on your level of motivation and what you can stick to without feeling overwhelmed or giving up.

There are several diets that encourage healing of the digestive tract (GAPS, low FODMAP, SCD), but in my experience, it depends on the specific condition.

Once you’ve completed your elimination diet, you’ll better know to which foods you react and which are OK, and that helps you curate your perfect diet. The base of everyone’s diet should be nutrient-rich veggies of all kinds, including leafy greens and starchy root veggies. Amounts of protein and fat depend on your goals and activity level. I recommend everyone include superfoods such as bone broth, fermented foods, spirulina, herbs, healing beverages.

Keep a food journal for a few weeks so you can pinpoint how certain foods affect you and how you are feeling during the day. I recommend everyone determine his/her daily calorie needs for weight loss, gain, or maintenance. One of the biggest pitfalls I see is thinking calories don’t matter because you’ve ditched processed foods, grains and dairy. Over-consume anything, even the most nutrient-dense foods, and you’ll gain weight or won’t meet your weight loss goals.

Conclusion

The short answer here is there is no one right diet for everyone. It depends on many different factors as well as your health goals. You can experiment with the elimination diet to determine your food sensitivities, and make sure to include plenty of veggies, organic proteins, wild fish, and good fats like olive oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee, avocado. Above all, enjoy your food! Learn how to be mindful of the way foods affect you. And don’t forget to include some treats once in a while. A little dark chocolate can improve anyone’s mood!

Frequently Asked Questions

What do diet names like GAPS, SCD, and FODMAP mean?

GAPS, SCD, and low FODMAP are therapeutic diets designed to reduce gut inflammation and digestive stress. They limit specific carbohydrates or fermentable foods that can trigger symptoms. These plans are structured tools for gut healing, not universal cures.

Can these diets help people with Crohn’s disease?

Some people with Crohn’s disease or inflammatory bowel conditions report symptom relief using structured elimination diets. Reducing fermentable carbs and irritants may calm inflammation. Results vary, so medical guidance and personalization are essential.

Is there one best diet for digestive problems?

There is no single best gut healing diet. Digestive health depends on genetics, stress levels, microbiome balance, hormone status, and food tolerance. Personalization based on symptoms and testing supports long term digestive stability.

Why is an elimination diet often recommended first?

An elimination diet removes common inflammatory triggers such as gluten, dairy, soy, and processed foods. This gives the gut time to calm inflammation. Foods are then reintroduced gradually to identify specific reactions and restore dietary flexibility.

How do symptoms guide food choices?

Daily symptoms like bloating, reflux, fatigue, brain fog, or poor sleep provide feedback about food tolerance. Tracking reactions after meals helps identify inflammatory triggers and supports smarter adjustments that improve digestion and energy levels.

Why is food journaling important during healing?

Food journaling connects meals with physical and emotional symptoms. Writing down digestion, mood, and energy changes reveals patterns that may not be obvious. This structured tracking supports data driven nutrition choices rather than guesswork.

Do calories still matter on a clean diet?

Yes, calorie balance still influences weight and metabolic health. Even nutrient dense foods can lead to weight gain if portions exceed energy needs. Combining whole foods with mindful portions supports sustainable body composition and gut health.