The best diet advice of 2025 | Canada Voices

It was a banner year for diet and nutrition stories in the media.

Major news outlets, such as The Globe and Mail, The New York Times and The Washington Post, devoted significant content to healthy eating.

And according to a U.S. survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 72 per cent of adults regularly saw diet advice in their social media feeds this year.

Stories that covered scientific studies on diet and health emphasized balanced and healthy eating habits. Healthy aging, gut health, plant-rich diets, moderation and ultra-processed foods were prevalent themes.

Here are four, evidence-based diet recommendations gleaned from 2025. Consider implementing them next year.

Adopt a science-backed healthy eating pattern

Studies continued to demonstrate the importance of focusing on your overall diet pattern – the quality, variety and combinations of foods eaten on a regular basis – rather than single foods or nutrients.

In March, a U.S. study of 105,015 adults linked several well-established healthy eating patterns to healthy aging, defined as living to the age of 70 years free of 11 major chronic diseases and without impairment in cognitive function, physical function or mental health.

These included the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, the Alternative Mediterranean Index, the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay).

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In February, a comprehensive evidence review found convincing evidence that adhering to the diet pattern recommended by the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research significantly lowers the risk of breast, colorectal and prostate cancers in adults aged 60 and older.

The U.S. News & World Reports ranked the Mediterranean, DASH and MIND diets, as well as the flexitarian diet, as the top four best overall diets for 2025. These eating patterns got high marks for nutritional completeness, health benefits, long-term sustainability and evidence-based effectiveness.

Include a variety of whole plant foods in your daily diet including vegetables, fruit, whole grains, pulses and nuts. Limit your intake of red and processed meat, refined grains, added sugars and ultra-processed foods.

Increase your intake of plant protein

There’s increasing evidence that getting more of your daily protein from plant foods, rather than animal foods, keeps you in good health longer.

A 2025 global study, for instance, observed higher life expectancies in countries where greater intakes of protein came from plants rather than animal foods.

Pulses (e.g., beans, chickpeas and lentils), soy (e.g., edamame, soybeans, tofu, tempeh, soy milk), nuts and seeds deliver plant protein, along with fibre, vitamins, minerals and protective phytochemicals.

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Whole grains offer plant protein, too. One cup of cooked farro and quinoa, for example, each have 8 g of protein.

Plan four (or more) plant-based meals in your weekly menu. Consider a tofu scramble, black bean or lentil soup, chickpea or edamame salad, vegetarian chili, chana masala, pinto bean tacos, whole grain bowl or tofu stir-fry.

Eat flavonoid-rich foods every day

Flavonoids continued to gain attention for their health-promoting properties this year.

Flavonoids are a group of over 5,000 phytochemicals with strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

In May, a U.S. study found that, among 86,430 healthy older adults, those who had highest “flavodiet” scores (i.e., they consumed the most flavonoids each day) had a lower risk of developing frailty, impaired physical function and poor mental health during the study compared with those with the lowest flavodiet scores.

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Higher (versus lower) flavodiet scores were also tied to a lower risk of developing dementia in a study from the United Kingdom published in September.

Include a variety of flavonoid-rich foods. Key contributors include black tea, green tea, apples, berries, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, sweet bell peppers, onions and dark chocolate.

Other good sources are kale, arugula, broccoli, red cabbage, celery and soybeans.

Embrace healthy carbohydrates

If you shun carbohydrate-rich foods for fear of gaining weight, developing diabetes or another health problem carbs have been unfairly blamed for, reconsider your position.

A study published in May suggests that eating enough of the right type of carbs everyday can add healthy years to your life.

Women whose daily diets contained the most high-quality carbohydrates during midlife (whole fruit, vegetables, whole grains, pulses) were 50 per cent more likely to become healthy agers at age 70 compared with women who ate the least.

Multiple studies published in 2025 also found that choosing high quality carbohydrates improves metabolic health.

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A review of six randomized controlled trials published in February found that following a low-glycemic diet (versus a high-glycemic diet) enhanced insulin sensitivity in people without diabetes.

And an extensive review of evidence published this month concluded that eating more whole grains is effective at managing diabetes, blood cholesterol, blood pressure and inflammation.

Replace refined grains with high-quality carbohydrates such as oats, brown rice, quinoa, farro, bulgur, whole wheat pasta, sweet potato, butternut squash, green peas, lentils, kidney beans, chickpea pasta and whole fruit. These foods also have a low-glycemic index.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan.