It’s joined the ranks with Paleo, Ketogenic, and 5:2 as one of the buzziest fad diets.
But is the Whole30 plan, which completely eliminates sugar, alcohol, and processed foods for a month, as healthy as it seems?
Australian dietitian Kate Gudorf has revealed that although the diet has a few benefits, it is overly-restrictive and may lead to harmful eating habits.
Along with sugar and alcohol, the Whole30 diet also requires completely cutting out dairy, grains, and legumes.
The Whole30 diet eliminates sugar, alcohol, dairy, legumes, and grains for 30 days, asking followers to instead focus on eating whole foods like fruits and veggies (file photo)
It even restricts dieters from jumping on the bandwagon of another new diet trend that recreates guilty pleasures with healthy ingredients.
That means flourless brownies or pancakes made out of bananas and oats are off the table – literally.
‘Remember, these are the same foods that got you into health-trouble in the first place,’ the Whole30 website warns.
‘A pancake is still a pancake, regardless of the ingredients.’
Whole30 does not allow baked goods or junk food, but instead focuses on whole foods that had very few listed ingredients, if any at all.
Australian dietitian Kate Gudorf has revealed that although the diet can teach good habits, it is overly-restrictive and may lead to harmful binge eating
The diet claims that eliminating these food groups from the body will help press the re-set button.
After 30 days these foods can be slowly reintroduced, helping people realise which ones may be affecting their ‘day-to-day life and long-term health’.
One great aspect of the diet is that it asks followers not to count calories or weigh themselves, Gudorf told Now to Love.
This helps people learn to only eat when they’re hungry and become less tied to the number on the scale.
But Whole30 is also ‘overly restrictive’, Gudorf adds, and cuts out important food groups like grains and dairy.
The diet completely eliminates sugar and all baked foods – even recipes that may substitute unhealthy ingredients with foods approved in the diet
‘There is little, if any, evidence that these foods are inflammatory or that they should be removed from a healthy person’s diet,’ she said.
Cutting out dairy could even lead to a calcium deficiency, which would be especially detrimental to teenagers and women over the age of 50.
The Whole30 diet even forces followers to completely restart if they slip up.
Gudorf recommends eating a balanced diet with foods from all five of the groups instead, and to speak to a doctor before deciding to cut one out.
‘The Whole30 diet is likely a fad diet,’ she writes, ‘And one that is best avoided for long-term weight management.’