Which Diet is Best For Me?

In a study, 50 participants were on a Donut only diet for one month, after 30 days all reported significant weight loss, reduced symptoms of depression, diabetes, atherosclerosis, lower blood pressure, better sleep, less stress and increased libido.

The groundbreaking study highlights the previously overlooked benefits of trans fats, refined sugar, salt and a range of industrial chemicals in this nutrient-laden and readily available food group.

While this nutritional approach has its skeptics, “Donutarians” enjoy robust health and longevity.

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Just kidding, of course, poking fun at the craziness, that is the diet industry.

But, considering how and to what extent the public has been misinformed on food and nutrition for decades, my satire on donuts isn’t far from truth.

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Related:  3 Reasons for Misinformation on Diet and Nutrition

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There are a hundreds, if not thousand diets, the 10 of the most popular today are:

1. Paleo Diet

Also called the cavemen diet, or the stone age diet, it requires the consumption of foods, presumed to have been the only foods available and consumed by humans during the paleolithic age.

While there are variations in the way the Paleo diet is interpreted, it typically includes fruits, vegetables nuts, roots, meat and excludes foods, such as dairy, grains, sugar, legumes, and processed oil.

     2. Ketogenic Diet

This increasingly popular diet is high on fat and low on carbohydrates. Normally, carbohydrates in food are converted into glucose. Restricting carbohydrates forces the body to burn fat, inducing the state of Ketosis.

At least 70% of the food intake in this diet needs to be fat, so it is rich in meat, oils, high fat dairy, nut and seeds, while avoiding grains, sugar, fruits and starchy vegetables.

    3. Vegetarian Diet

The vegetarian is a plant based diet, that excludes meat, but usually includes dairy, There are different types, the lacto vegetarian, frutarian vegetarian, pesco vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian and the living food vegetarian.

    4. Vegan Diet

The vegan diet is also plant based diet, that avoids both all animal foods and dairy. Veganism is a lifestyle, not just a diet, its aim is to eliminate harm to living beings.

    5. Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is a high fat, high protein, low carb diet. It is based on the premise that “burning fat takes more calories, so you can expend more calories”. Followers of this diet can consume unlimited amount of meat and fat, while avoiding carbohydrates.

    6. Mediterranean Diet

This diet focuses on the nutritional habits of the people of Southern Italy, Greece, Crete, Southern France and Portugal. The emphasis is on lots of plant foods, fresh fruits, beans, nuts, whole grains and olive oil. It includes moderate amounts of dairy and meat.

    7. Low fat Diet

Based on the idea that “fat makes you fat”, this diet promotes eating plenty of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and moderate amounts of lean meat, fish and poultry, usually for weight loss.

    8. Intermittent fasting Diet

It is theorized that intermittent fasting puts the cells under stress and improves metabolic health. There are several different types, variations of daily, or weekly fasting schedule. After 12 hours, the body runs out of stored energy in carbs and starts burning fat.

    9. Starch Diet

This diet is based on starches, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, couscous, quinoa, barley and corn. It is a whole food, plant based diet, that also includes fruits and non-starchy vegetables, but no meat, or dairy.

    10. South Beach Diet

This is another low carbohydrate and high fat and protein diet. It has three phases, the first kick starts the weight loss process, the second takes the dieter to their target weight and the third aims to maintain the ideal weight.

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So what is the best diet for you?

It depends on your goal. The main reason for dieting is weight loss.

The best diet for weight loss is actually No Diet. The vast majority of people who diet for weight loss, gain the weight back when they stop dieting and they end up on the yo-yo diet.

The main consideration for weight loss is calorie intake. When we take in less calories than we expend, the body will burn fat. But it is a complex subject, the psychological component, “emotional eating”, can not be underestimated.

Even sleep is a factor in it, not getting enough sleep slows down metabolism, making it harder to lose weight.

Eating moderate amounts of healthy food with an active lifestyle is the answer for weight loss and weight maintenance.

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Other reasons for dieting are weight gain, treating specific medical issues, or for health and wellness.

High fat, low carbohydrate diets may have success initially, but on the long run the results are usually not sustained.

Animal based foods pose a risk factor for the development of a number of diseases and consuming large amounts of those over a long period of time on the high fat diets is unhealthy.

Although some practitioners treat certain medical conditions successfully with the currently popular Ketogenic diet, the Ketone bodies that are produced with this high fat diet are acidic and keeping the body in Ketosis indefinitely is risky.

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy. The body has the ability to run on fat, so that when food is not available, energy can be produced.

For these reasons, the best diets are those that promote plant based, whole foods with no, or small amounts of animal-based foods included. The Starch diet, the Vegan diet and the Mediterranean diet fit this criteria.

Related:  Vegan Myths and Misconceptions

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“Starch” doesn’t sound as glamorous, as “South Beach”, the latter invokes images of fun in the sun, wealth and scantily clad beach bodies.

But every part of the world where most centenarians live and folks are the healthiest, lots of starch is consumed, along with non-starchy vegetables, fresh fruit, healthy fats, like nuts and unprocessed oil and only small amounts of meat, or dairy.