The Facts of FAD Diets !

THE FACTS ABOUT FAD DIETS !!!!

INTRODUCTION:

A diet is best described as a fixed plan of eating and drinking where the type and amount of food are planned out in order to achieve weight loss or follow a particular lifestyle.

A fad diet is a diet that promises quick weight loss through what is usually an unhealthy and unbalanced diet.

Fad diets are targeted at people who want to lose weight quickly without exercise.

Some fad diets claim that they make you lose fat, but it’s really water weight you’re losing.

Fad diets that are restricted to certain foods may work, but most are boring or unappealing. This can make them difficult to follow on a long-term basis. And some fad diets can actually be harmful to your health.

How to Determine Fact from Fad:

To determine if a diet is a fad diet, ask yourself these questions:

1.  Does the diet promise quick weight loss?
2. Does the diet sound too good to be true?
3. Does the diet help sell a company’s product?
4.  Does the diet lack valid scientific research to support its claims?
5. Does the diet give lists of “good” and “bad” foods?

If you can answer “yes” to any or all of these questions, the diet is probably a fad diet.

Examples of Fad Diets:

High-protein diets:

These diets propose that you eat large quantities of protein (meat, eggs, etc.) to lose weight and build muscle. Regular physical activity and weight training build muscle strength, not eating large quantities of protein.

This type of diet can actually be dangerous. If you exceed the amount of protein your body needs daily, you put a strain on your liver and kidneys. The early weight lost with this diet is usually due to water loss, not fat loss.

Diets that focus on protein-rich foods may be missing specific nutrients and adding fat and calories to your diet.

Liquid diets:

Liquid diets cut out substances that may be beneficial to the body.

For example, phytochemicals (FY-toe-KEM-uh-kals) are plant substances (found in vegetables and fruits) believed to protect against disease. In addition, the effects of a liquid diet may be only temporary. Once you return to eating regular foods, you usually put the pounds right back on.

Grapefruit diet:

This diet proposes that eating only grapefruit will help you shed pounds. But any diet based on one food is much too restrictive to be healthy.

Usually, this type of diet is too low in calories and is missing needed vitamins and minerals.

Juice or broth fasts:

Some dieters try to lose weight by drinking only juice and/or broth for a period of time.

Fasting (not eating solid food) for a long period of time can lead to dizziness and fatigue. In addition, your body reacts to starvation by lowering your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories). This means your body is burning fewer calories.

Food-combining diets:

Some diets propose that a certain combination of foods will help burn calories faster. There is no scientific evidence to prove that the body processes certain combinations of foods any differently than random ones.

Some of these types of diets are low in protein and vital nutrients, and others may cause diarrhea.

Crazy for cabbage:

This all-cabbage fad diet helps dieters shed mostly water weight. Once the diet is stopped, the weight is usually regained. It may also cause gastrointestinal problems and light-headedness.

Nine most popular diets

1. Atkins diet

The Atkins diet, or Atkins nutritional approach, focuses on controlling the levels of insulin in the body through a low-carbohydrate diet.

If people consume large amounts of refined carbohydrates, their insulin levels rise and fall rapidly. Rising insulin levels trigger the body to store energy from the food that is consumed, making it less likely that the body will use stored fat as a source of energy.

Therefore, people on the Atkins diet avoid carbohydrates but can eat as much protein and fat as they like.

Although popular for some time, the Atkins Diet comes with certain risks. Individuals considering the Atkins Diet should speak with their doctor.

2. The Zone diet

The Zone diet aims for a nutritional balance of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fats, and 30 percent protein in each meal. The focus is also on controlling insulin levels, which may result in more successful weight loss and body weight control than other approaches.

The Zone diet encourages the consumption of high-quality carbohydrates - unrefined carbohydrates, and fats, such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts.

3. Ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet has been used for decades as a treatment for epilepsy and is also being explored for other uses. It involves reducing carbohydrate intake and upping fat intake. It sounds contrary to common sense, but it allows the body to burn fat as a fuel, rather than carbohydrates.

Healthy fats, such as those in avocados, coconuts, Brazil nuts, seeds, oily fish, and olive oil are liberally added to the diet to maintain an overall emphasis on fat.

The diet causes the break down of fat deposits for fuel and creates substances called ketones through a process called ketosis. This diet has risks including ketoacidosis for people with type 1 diabetes, however, and may result in diabetic coma and death. Although most studies are 2 years or less, there is some promising research in relation to diabetes management, metabolic health, weight loss, and body composition change.

4. Vegetarian diet

Many people choose a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons, as well as health.

There are various types of vegetarian: lacto-vegetarian, fruitarian vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, living food diet vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, and semi-vegetarian.

The majority of vegetarians are lacto-ovo vegetarians, in other words, they do not eat animal-based foods, except for eggs, dairy, and honey.

Studies over the last few years have shown that vegetarians have a lower body weight, suffer less from diseases, and typically have a longer life expectancy than people who eat meat.

5. Vegan diet

Veganism is more of a way of life and a philosophy than a diet. A vegan does not eat anything that is animal-based, including eggs, dairy, and honey. Vegans do not usually adopt veganism just for health reasons, but also for environmental, ethical, and compassionate reasons.

Vegans believe that modern intensive farming methods are bad for our environment and unsustainable in the long-term. If everybody ate plant-based food, the environment would benefit, animals would suffer less, more food would be produced, and people would generally enjoy better physical and mental health, vegans say.

6. Weight Watchers diet

Weight Watchers focuses on losing weight through diet, exercise, and a support network.

Weight Watchers Inc. was started in the 1960s by a homemaker who had lost some weight and was concerned she might put it back on. So, she created a network of friends. Weight Watchers is a huge company, with branches all over the world.

Dieters can join either physically and attend regular meetings, or online. In both cases, there is lots of support and education available for the dieter.

7. South Beach diet

The South Beach diet was started by a cardiologist, Dr. Agatston, and a nutritionist, Marie Almon. It focuses on the control of insulin levels, and the benefits of unrefined slow carbohydrates versus fast carbohydrates. Dr. Agatston devised the South Beach diet during the 1990s because he was disappointed with the low-fat, high-carb diet backed by the American Heart Association. He believed that low-fat regimes were not effective over the long-term.

8. Raw food diet

The raw food diet, or raw foodism, involves consuming foods and drinks that are not processed, are completely plant-based, and ideally organic.

Raw foodists believe that at least three-quarters of a person's food intake should consist of uncooked food. A significant number of raw foodists are also vegans and do not eat or drink anything that is animal based.

There are four main types of raw foodists: raw vegetarians, raw vegans, raw omnivores, and raw carnivores.

9. Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet is Southern European, and more specifically focuses on the nutritional habits of the people of Crete, Greece, and southern Italy. Nowadays, Spain, southern France, and Portugal are also included, even though Portugal does not touch the Mediterranean Sea.

The emphasis is on lots of plant foods, fresh fruits as dessert, beans, nuts, whole grains, seeds, olive oil as the main source of dietary fats. Cheese and yogurts are the main dairy foods. The diet also includes moderate amounts of fish and poultry, up to about four eggs per week, small amounts of red meat, and low to moderate amounts of wine.

Up to one-third of the Mediterranean diet consists of fat, with saturated fats not exceeding 8 percent of calorie intake. The Mediterranean diet is the most extensively studied diet to date, with reliable research supporting its use for improving a person's quality of life and lowering disease risk.

The Facts on Fad Diets

There is no shortage of diet plans that promise quick weight loss. But how do you know when a fad diet is potentially dangerous?

·         The diet promises that you will lose weight fast or at an unrealistic pace. The claims sound too good to be true. The diet's recommendations are based on a single study – or no research at all.

·         The diet's recommendations seem extreme.

·         Statements made about the diet are refuted by reputable scientific organizations.

·         It refers to foods as “good” or “bad.”

·         Personal testimonials are used to “sell” the diet.

·         The fad diet involves crash dieting, or very intense reductions in eating and drinking.

Feeding The Popularity Fad Diets

Why do fad diets become the rage? A number of factors typically fuel their popularity, including:

·         Celebrity endorsements. Who doesn’t want to be as popular and slender as the latest starlet?

·         The promise of quick weight loss. In this age of instant everything, there’s a natural temptation to fall for a weight-loss plan that promises quick weight loss in only weeks rather than months.

·         The “elimination” mentality. The idea that cutting out certain foods will result in quick weight loss plays into popular beliefs about dieting. “Many of these diets promote elimination of one or multiple food groups for a set number of days or in very specific combinations with some sort of gimmick,” says Penta, adding that many people equate misery and deprivation with dieting and so are more willing to accept this type of weight-loss plan, at least for a brief while.

·         Peer pressure. If all your friends are following the fad, it’s tempting to join in.

Potential problems with fad diets

• Poor long-term weight control

Most fad diets promote a “quick fix” and don’t teach healthy eating plans. They tend to be restrictive, boring, and difficult to follow over the long term. Once the weight is lost, a dieter often returns to old eating patterns and habits, causing him or her to regain weight.

Increased risk of chronic disease, like heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis

Many fad diets restrict or eliminate fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and whole grains. These foods are loaded with nutrients that are thought to help prevent many chronic conditions.

In addition, diets that are too high in protein may cause an increase in calcium loss, leading to osteoporosis.

• Reduced athletic performance

Diets that significantly restrict carbohydrates increase symptoms of fatigue and decrease body energy supplies and endurance. In addition, low carbohydrate diets cause a loss of fluid and electrolytes.

Your body needs carbohydrates for energy. Carbohydrate stores are tied to fluid in your body. When you don’t eat enough carbohydrates, your body pulls from your stores, also pulling fluid and electrolytes in the process. Your body then gets rid of fluids and electrolytes. This can cause low blood pressure and decreased performance.

• Kidney stones and gout

Diets that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates often lead to the formation of uric acid and calcium oxalate, causing kidney stone formation and gout.

• Ketosis

A diet that is low in carbohydrates puts your body into ketosis, a condition that is unnatural.

Ketosis most often occurs in starvation, but it can also occur if you don’t eat enough carbohydrates. Without adequate carbohydrates for an energy supply, fat becomes the primary energy source and ketones become the means of transportation. You may notice “keto breath” or a funny smell to your breath.

Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before beginning any diet or changed meal plan. Remember that fad diets have a low chance of success and may have harmful side effects.