How Healthy is Your Diet, Really?

By Nicole Catanese, Illustrations by Ammiel Mendoza, Refinery29
Healthy eating is very near and dear to our hearts here at R29. We're big proponents of the old adage that you are what you eat, so we do everything we can to know everything we can about our diets.

With that in mind, we asked a few of our favorite food experts to weigh in on seven of the most popular diets among the health-obsessed - vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, paleo, high-protein, raw, and macrobiotic - to give you the inside scoop on what they really do to your body. In the epic guide ahead, you'll find a breakdown of each diet, plus its nutritional pros and cons.

We get that for many of you on these diets, the choice may be about more than just about eating. So, hear us now: We don't intend for this to be a competition of which diet is best. This guide is here to do just that - guide you to make informed, healthy decisions about your dietary needs. And, as always, remember that there are no one-size-fits-all food solutions, and you should always talk to a medical professional - be it a nutritionist or your GP - about your specific diet requirements.

But, if you've ever been curious about all that hype around veganism, or if you want to find out if Gwyneth's macrobiotic plan really is as amazing as she claims, this one's for you....

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