There’s this one weird trick doctors don’t want you to know… because it doesn’t work. It’s natural to hope for a one-size-fits-all, lose-weight-fast-and-forever solution. And if your sibling or friend is doing it or you saw it on TikTok, it can be tempting to just give it a try and see what happens. But what's the science behind these diets? Are some better than others? And will your nutritionist judge you if you try one?

On this episode of Mayo Clinic on Nutrition, we talk with Dr. Summer Allen about the good and the fad: what makes diets work (or seem like they do) and what you should consider before trying one yourself.

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Many of us have reached for a sweet or salty treat out of loneliness, anxiety, or stress. But where does the emotional impulse to eat come from? And does what we eat impact our mood too?

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People choose to ‘go vegan’ for a myriad of reasons, from animal welfare to environmentalism. But is veganism automatically healthier just because it's plant-based? What do people need to know before they make the whole food switch?

On this episode of On Nutrition, we talk with Dr. Dawn Mussallem, a longtime vegan and doctor of osteopathic medicine, about how a plant-based diet has helped both herself and her patients—and how it could help you.

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

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"Diet" is one of those words where two people can say it and mean totally different things. And in a medical nutrition context, those differences are important. So what do we mean when we talk about diet vs. dieting? And how can we move from restricting how we eat to being more mindful of our habits? Because when it comes to food, what's on our mind and what we put in our mouths matter.

On this episode of On Nutrition, we talk with Dr. Donald Hensrud about diet, dieting, and the topic that has launched a thousand Google searches: what should I eat?

Find us online at Mayo Clinic Press for more health and wellness articles, podcasts and books.

Do you have feedback, questions or topic suggestions? Email us at mcppodcasts@mayo.edu.

"Mayo Clinic on Nutrition" digs into the latest nutrition trends and research to help you understand what’s health, and what’s hype. Together with Mayo Clinic dietitian Tara Schmidt, we’ll unravel the complexities of modern diets, offer evidence-based nutritional advice, and debunk common myths about the things we eat. Whether you want to understand a dietary concern, manage your weight, or simply eat better, we’ll learn how to make nutrition choices to not just eat well, but be well.