Smoothies and detox drinks, gluten-free pasta with vegan pesto, energy bars and protein shakes — eating has long become more than mere nourishment. For many people, diet today is an expression of lifestyle, ethical convictions, and the desire for self-optimization. Terms such as functional foods, clean eating, and glow food shape current trends.

Results of a QS study from 2023 show how widespread such dietary styles have become: 13% of respondents follow a flexitarian diet, 8% are vegetarian, 3 % are vegan, and 1% follow the Paleo diet. Nine percent adhere to clean-eating rules, while 11% follow low-carb diets. The majority 63% say they have little use for special diets and report eating simply “normally.”

Silke Restemeyer , press and public relations officer at German nutrition society (DGE), places current nutrition trends in context.

Do Organic Foods Improve Health?

Organic food is an important economic factor. In Germany, it now generates around €18 billion in sales, and the market continues to grow. But the question remains whether organic products are actually healthier than conventionally produced foods.

“Demonstrating a health advantage for organic products scientifically is difficult,” Restemeyer said. The vitamin and mineral content of fruits and vegetables depends on many factors — for example, harvest time, transport duration, storage, and degree of ripeness.

Some health-related benefits, however, can be associated with organic food. They typically contain less nitrate, from which carcinogenic nitrosamines can form during cooking. Vegetables from organic fields are generally lower in nitrate than conventionally grown produce. In addition, organic products have significantly lower levels of pesticide residues.

Organic cereals tend to contain somewhat fewer mold toxins (mycotoxins). Furthermore, organic fruits and vegetables are often rich in antioxidants. Milk and meat from organic production also show a nutritionally more favorable fatty acid composition, especially when animals are pasture-raised.

What Is Clean Eating?

“Clean eating largely avoids synthetic additives — such as sweeteners, sugar, colorings and flavorings, flavor enhancers, trans fats — and other undesirable substances in processed foods,” Restemeyer explained.

Typical rules of this eating style include: eating breakfast every day, drinking at least 3 l of water daily, preparing meals for work (meal-prepping), not using diet products, eating six small meals spread over the day, and limiting alcohol consumption.

“Clean eating is mainly propagated on the internet and in blogs. It is said to boost performance, improve body awareness, reduce acne, headaches, bloating, concentration problems, lack of drive, and overweight. There is no scientific evidence for those claims,” Restemeyer said.

At the same time, she pointed out that the approach can have positive aspects: “It corresponds to a balanced, plant-focused diet. People who prefer minimally processed foods, pay attention to quality and prepare their meals themselves are certainly doing themselves a favor.”

However, it is crucial that the diet remains balanced and not overly one-sided. Otherwise, there is a risk that not all nutrients will be consumed in sufficient amounts.Restemeyer also criticized the fact that processed foods are often judged categorically in the clean eating concept. There are, however, high-quality processed foods, such as fermented products like sauerkraut or certain types of cheese.

“A certain flexibility in diet is much healthier than rigid adherence to strict rules,” Restemeyer said. Tips for healthy eating can be found in the DGE recommendations.

Do You Need Supplements?

Vitamins, proteins, or so-called superfoods — dietary supplements are often used today to boost performance and well-being. From a nutritional-science perspective, however, they are usually unnecessary.

“Most people are adequately supplied with nutrients through their diet and generally do not need extra doses of vitamins and minerals,” Restemeyer said. Studies also show that for most vitamins the reference intake values are met or even exceeded — with the exception of vitamin D and iodine.

However, a calculated shortfall does not automatically mean a true deficiency. If reference values are not met, individual needs may still be covered because these values already include substantial safety margins. “Falling below the reference values only allows conclusions about an increased probability of under-supply,” the expert stressed.

The cause of under-supply is often an unfavorable selection of foods. “The more varied the diet, the lower the risk of under-supply with vitamins and minerals.”

People who take high-dose dietary supplements while also consuming fortified foods may risk overconsumption.

Certain risk groups, however, have special recommendations: Pregnant and breastfeeding women may need iron and iodine supplements. Women planning pregnancy should take 400 µg of folic acid daily in addition to a folate-rich diet. For infants, vitamin K is recommended, and in the first year of life a supplement with 10 µg of vitamin D and 0.25 mg of fluoride is advised.

People following a vegan diet should take vitamin B12 regularly and have their status checked by a physician. Vitamin D (20 µg/d, or 800 IU) is also recommended for people who spend little time outdoors or do not expose their skin to sunlight. The DGE also recommends using iodized and fluoridated table salt.

Detox Claims Debunked

Detox cures, smoothies and so-called cleansing drinks promise a “reset” for the body and surge in popularity, especially at the start of the year — a kind of “spring cleaning” for body and soul.

Proponents of such detox diets assume the body needs to be cleansed of “toxins.” Causes named include an unhealthy diet with many additives, high fat and sugar content, nicotine, alcohol, environmental toxins, and stress. Regular detox cures are said to free the skin, lymphatic system, intestines, and internal organs of toxins.

The DGE, however, noted that there are no meaningful human studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of such detox diets. From a scientific perspective, cleansing the body of toxins is not necessary. Often it is not even clearly defined which toxins or pollutants are supposedly being removed and by what mechanism they would be broken down.

“A healthy human body can ‘cleanse’ itself,” the DGE wrote. There is no scientific evidence for the effectiveness of such detox diets to date. Whether and to what extent metabolism is stimulated is also unclear. The commonly observed rapid weight loss is likely due primarily to the strong calorie restriction.

Children, adolescents, and pregnant and breastfeeding women should not undergo detox cures. People taking medication are advised to consult a physician beforehand.

Beauty From the Bowl?

The glow food trend literally claims beauty comes through the gut. Colorful vegetable bowls, antioxidants, carrots, nuts, and green tea are said to improve the skin, provide energy, and slow the skin’s aging process.

There is, in fact, a connection between diet and skin health, Restemeyer said. Normal skin function requires sufficient intake of vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc, essential fatty acids, and high-quality protein.

For healthy people, however, a balanced diet is usually sufficient to meet needs. From a nutritional-science standpoint, a balanced, plant-focused diet is paramount. The DGE also emphasizes that single foods or nutrients cannot replace a healthy lifestyle. Factors such as adequate sleep and exercise also play a decisive role in skin health.

Healthy Sustainable Diets

Plant-based eating is often associated with climate consciousness and ethical action. The DGE points out that producing animal-derived foods at today’s scale places a significant burden on the planet. Reducing the current share could therefore be positive from the perspectives of animal welfare and sustainability.

Diets that primarily include vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and plant oils provide many essential nutrients, fiber, secondary plant compounds, and unsaturated fatty acids. Observational studies also show that a plant-focused diet is associated with a lower risk for overweight, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

How healthy a plant-based diet actually is, however, depends greatly on the quality and processing of the foods, Restemeyer stressed. Highly processed plant-based products often contain a lot of fat, saturated fats, or sugar and should therefore be consumed only rarely.

Also, the terms “plant-based” and “vegan” are not synonymous. “For healthy adults, a vegan diet — with vitamin B12 supplementation, a well-planned varied food selection and, where necessary, supplementation of other critical nutrients — can be a health-promoting diet,” Restemeyer said. The DGE has produced an FAQ and a flyer with many practical tips on vegan nutrition.

Benefits and Limits

The concept of functional foods is that certain foods are intended to produce specific health effects. Products are enriched with probiotics, fiber, or protein — a well-known example is protein bread.

“The term ‘functional nutrition’ is not a clearly defined scientific concept,” Restemeyer explained. It usually refers to a way of eating meant to support certain bodily functions — for example, gut health or performance.

The federal Institute for Risk Assessment also points out that the term functional foods is not legally defined. The consumer advice center warns against constantly reaching for fortified foods. “More is rarely better” — people who regularly consume such products may risk overconsumption of certain micronutrients.

Individual functional ingredients used in health claims by manufacturers are assessed scientifically by the European Food Safety Authority. In general, however, the DGE continues to recommend primarily a balanced diet.

This story was translated from the Medscape’s German edition.