Forget calories, count ingredients if you want to restore your health.
That’s the basic principle of a new diet designed by a doctor tipped to play a role in the Trump administration.
“If an item comes out of a package and contains five or more ingredients, it is not allowed,” said creator Dr. Aseem Malhotra.
“There is nothing natural or healthy about products like this.”
A short list of ingredients indicates that the food has undergone very little processing. Although science hasn’t yet determined exactly why, studies suggest that the more processed your diet, the higher the risk of diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
These health issues – which affect nearly 140 million Americans and Britons in total – are what Dr. Malhotra had in mind when he designed this diet.
The cardiologist claims his patients reversed their prediabetes and lowered their blood pressure in 28 days thanks to the diet, which is not meant to be followed forever.
Dr Malhotra – who DailyMail.com reports could be given a key role at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Trump – acknowledges how strict this is.
Even though there is no calorie counting in the diet because “we don’t want people to go hungry”, all sugary foods that lack fiber are prohibited, such as white bread, pasta and rice.
Dr Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr, told DailyMail.com that his Metabolic Reset diet would launch on February 10.
He told DailyMail.com: “It’s for sugar addicts, like I was, who need to break their junk food addiction and restore their metabolic health.”
He only recommends following it for about a month. After that, people can slowly reintroduce carbs on weekends.
Dr Malhotra told DailyMail.com: “I know this product works, I have been doing it for years and I recommend it to my own patients as well.”
A man who took part in a pilot program for Dr Malhotra’s diet revealed he lost 11 pounds and put his type 2 diabetes into remission after just four weeks.
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Another dieter, aged 51, claimed that all her joint pain disappeared when she cut out bread, carbs and cheese on Dr Malhotra’s plan.
Dr Malhotra, 47, has been working on the diet for two years alongside London-based nutritionist Kim Pearson and says it is largely based on the Mediterranean diet (which is often hailed as one of the healthiest meal plans ), with an emphasis on plant-based foods and healthy fats, like olive oil and raw nuts.
He says such ingredients would help the body remove excess cholesterol from the arteries and keep blood vessels open.
This in turn helps reduce the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.
Dr. Malhotra suggests a berry smoothie or vegetable omelet for breakfast.
Berries are packed with nutrients and antioxidants and can be a good source of fiber, which can aid digestion and slow the progress of food through the digestive tract. They are also filling and low in calories.
Berry smoothies are also rich in vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, B vitamins, and magnesium.
A protein salad is the recommended option for lunch: load up on as many vegetables as you like. You can choose lean or fatty cuts of meat, and red meat is certainly not off limits.
In the evening, Dr. Malhotra and Pearson recommend a stir-fry with fiber-rich Japanese noodles or meatballs with vegetable spaghetti.
You should eat three meals a day and leave four to five hours between each session.
With packaged foods with long lists of ingredients banned, Dr. Malhotra’s diet will involve learning some cooking skills.
He also admits that buying fresh ingredients will cost “slightly more”, but he emphasizes that it will save you money in the long run, as your medical costs will be reduced thanks to the diet which will improve your health.
The doctor, 47, has been working on the diet for two years with nutritionist Kim Pearson, pictured.
Participants should also “allow for an overnight fasting window of between 2 and 4 p.m. to reset the digestive system.”
The diet recommends eating at least five vegetables or fruits per day, included in at least two meals.
When it comes to drinks, Dr. Malhotra says his diet only allows for calorie-free coffee, water, and tea.
Diet sodas are banned because it emphasizes that they “would be considered ultra-processed with additives that could compromise health.”
He also explains that “fake sugars” can cause people to develop a sweet tooth and crave all sweet foods. This is why “we want to work with people so that they do not succumb to their sweet tooth and adapt their palate to whole foods”.
Participants can also drink alcohol in moderation, with the suggested consumption being three small glasses (175 ml) of dry wine or seven single measures (25 ml) of white spirit.
Explaining why alcohol is allowed, Ms Pearson says: “We want to ensure the plan is sustainable for people in the long term and for many the opportunity to have a few glasses of wine a week is something they enjoy.”
But Dr. Malhotra isn’t suggesting banning junk food in the United States, admitting that he himself was a former sugar addict who consumed about 40 teaspoons a day.
Instead, he hopes his diet will help Americans adopt new habits and from there they can adapt it to their lifestyle.
This “makes the goals more digestible.”
One of his “simple changes” for Americans who don’t follow his diet is to eat McDonald’s hamburgers without the buns. In one of his investigations, Dr. Malhotra found that the bread contains 50 additives, while the filled patties themselves are safe to eat.
To make his Metabolic Reset diet more accessible, he says people can adopt the “80/20 rule” if they’re really missing their guilty pleasures.
This allows them to stick to their diet 80% of the time and cheat if it’s the weekend or they’re attending social events where their favorite ingredients might not be available.
Dr. Malhotra says his diet is largely based on the Mediterranean diet, with an emphasis on plant-based foods and healthy fats.
Dr. Malhotra’s views on processed foods provide insight into how the country’s food policies could be shaped under the Trump administration.
He also has close ties to RFK Jr, Trump’s pick for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, who has spoken at length about his plans to ban ultra-processed foods and combat obesity.
Mr Kennedy proposes to change all that with his radical policy to ban pesticides, food additives, seed oils and some ultra-processed foods.
Details of what might be banned are unclear, although the idea is a key part of his “Make America Healthy Again” plan, which he said was aimed at providing families with “safe food and ending to the epidemic of chronic diseases affecting our children.
He only explicitly mentioned Yellow 5, but similar ingredients that could be put under the microscope are Red 40, Blue 1, titanium dioxide, propylparaben and potassium bromate, which are often added to candy and to pastries.
These ingredients, which are either banned or heavily regulated in Europe, have been the subject of new laws aimed at making foods safer.
Experts estimate that the American diet is 70% ultra-processed foods.
Dr. Malhotra’s diet plan comes with a $50 registration fee and a $25 monthly fee.
This offers people meal plans and access to educational advice and support through “an exclusive online platform”.
You can access it here metabolicreset.co