Search for the optimal diet.

Since the beginning of time, we have been searching for diets that satisfy our palates while simultaneously optimizing health and well-being. Every year, there are hundreds of new diet books on the market that make a wide range of promises but rarely deliver. Unfortunately, consumers are gullible and believe much of the marketing hype because they are desperately seeking ways to maximize their health. As a result, they continue to purchase these diet books, sending many of them all the way to the bestseller list. Because many of these meal plans are not sustainable and are questionable in their approaches, the consumer is ultimately left to continue searching, only able to choose from the newest "fad" promoted by publicists rather than being grounded in science. Thus, the search for the optimal diet continues to be the "holy grail" for many of us today, presenting a challenge for nutritionists and practitioners to provide sound advice to consumers.