With the start of a brand new year just around the corner, many people will be thinking about what resolutions they want to try and stick to in 2025.
And improving diet is always a big one, as this is one of the key components to better physical and mental health, along with exercise.
However, with so many different diets out there, it can be hard to navigate which ones are actually beneficial in the long run, and which ones are unsustainable. But experts have hailed one in particular that can help to ward off a number of problems, such as inflammation, acne and weight gain.
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If you're keen to head into 2025 with a better handle on your eating habits, then the paleo diet could be worth trying out.
Although this term may bring to mind the 'caveman' diet of the past, it's actually a lot easier and more accessible than you may think. CEO of The Paleo Diet, Trevor Connor, says that the focus is on nutrient-dense whole foods that our ancestors would have eaten.
He explained: "The more we can emulate the diet that we ate [all those years] ago, the healthier we're going to be, because that's what our bodies have adapted to. It's important to understand a lot of these foods don't exist any more, so we're trying to get as close as possible, but we can never actually perfectly emulate that.
"What that means is just simply eating fruits, vegetables, healthier meats. So grass-fed, natural meats, not your heavily processed meats, seafood, and then nuts and seeds sparingly."
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Eating a paleo diet and cutting down on ultra-processed foods can work wonders for your health, according to Trevor.
He explained that the number one benefit, in his opinion, was reduced inflammation - which can be a catalyst for health conditions such as cancer and diabetes.
A meta-analysis carried out in Australia which compared different diets including the Mediterranean diet and a plant-based diet found that paleo came out on top when it came to improving biomarkers of chronic disease.
Trevor added: "I spent two years researching the immune system and the Paleo diet's impact, and really saw how much of the current chronic diseases - so not just autoimmune disease but cancer, heart disease - are inflammatory conditions.
"They start as high levels of inflammation in the body that's inappropriate and ultimately leads to a diseased state."
Not only this, but according to Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Griffin McMath, the paleo diet can also help with weight loss, focusing clearly and even reducing acne.
She said: "I noticed my brain fog alleviated and I was thinking more clearly. I was in med school at the time so I was a big fan of this one. My focus was able to be maintained for a long time.
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"My sleep was a lot better. I struggled with nightmares for a large portion of my life and those had started to slowly go away, and part of that was sleep hygiene, but my energy levels were also maintained."
Griffin also explained that the paleo diet can lead to clearer skin thanks to hormone regulation, meaning hormonal acne - which usually appears along your jaw - may calm down.
And in terms of weight loss, the paleo diet can be a 'really sustainable' route to go down. Trevor added: "I really focus with people on eating healthy, exercise, focus on your health and the weight loss is going to happen."