Search Weight Loss Topics:




Jan 3

Fad diets to avoid in 2020 – Stuff.co.nz

Long Term Weight Loss Comments Off on Fad diets to avoid in 2020 – Stuff.co.nz

After downing all the trimmings and then some across the silly season, the turn of the year is the most popular time for a lifestyle reboot; when good intentions come to the forefront and bad habits are kicked to the kerb until temptation gets in the way and you're left hanging for another flip of the calendar.

Becoming a healthier version of yourself is one of the most favouredand immediately actionable resolutions to kickstart in the new year, but with headlines trumpeting another fad diet at every given moment, where to start with your full-body overhaul can be a confusing situation.

It's also not encouraging that the average stage for resolutions to fail is around the middle of February.

2019 was the year that the plant-based diet really took off it took top honours as the highest searched diet trend by Google.

READ MORE:*Weight loss: 3 reasons your new diet won't work*What to know before trying to improve what you eat*Best and worst of the 10 most popular diets*The high-protein diet myth

There's a lot to be said of the eating preference, including a roll call of health benefits, sustainablesignificanceand the opportunity toexpose and try new flavours.

Praise be vegetarians are no longer left chewing menus over a whole portobello mushroom or baked potato when dining out.

And for those plant eaters still chasing the feeling of ripping apart animal flesh come meal time, a growing number of meat replacements also found there way on to supermarket shelves. The reviews are mixed, however,and meat products still play their part.

But we're here to look at the fad diets that you should steer clear of in your quest for a new and improved body.

Often sold on the idea of being a quick fix and resulting in extraordinary weight loss, fad diets generally trade science-based facts for celebrity endorsements.

Ever hear about Steve Jobs' fruitarianism diet where he only ate fruit? Lots of apples. How about the one where the Hollywood A-lister consumed nothing but cabbage soup? You can only imagine how that turned out.

123RF

When it comes to dieting, where to start on your full-body overhaul can be a confusing situation.

Even the Romans were privy to the odd fad diet. One of the earliest recorded harks back to when warriors would chow down on exotic offal lion hearts for example in a effort to improve bravery and strength.

The 19th century saw an unfortunate rise in the popularity of arsenic pills in an effort to speed up metabolism. Rather than weight loss, participants were left walking a thin tightrope towards arsenic poisoning.

Heading into a new solar cycle in 2020, you may be tempted to cross-examine the sun, earth and moon for inspiration. Previously fist-bumped by the likes of Demi Moore and Madonna, the werewolf diet is one programme that looks up to the solar system for guidance.

The most elementary version of the diet involves fasting during the full or new moon by only consuming water and fruit juice. And when our guiding star is working its magic, you'll apparently clear your body of toxins and drop nearly three kilograms of water weight in a day.

The downside is that there's no scientific evidence to prove that the moon has any effect on the fluids in our bodiesand you'll be deficient in beneficial nutrients.

Further otherworldly options, like the chakra diet, involve consuming foods by specific colourings to remain balanced. When your sixth chakra, or the third eye, requires realignment you'll need to devour all things in the hue of purple grapes, blueberries, purple cabbage, eggplant, you name it.

Elaine Rush

AUT nutrition expert Professor Emeritus Elaine Rush believes the "best kind of diet for health is a variety of wholesome foods every day".

AUT Professor Emeritus Elaine Rush, an all-round nutrition expert, says the chakra diet "has some truth for plant food intake",though when your Sahasrara is in dire need of some loving, finding an entire menu's worth of the purest white foods may not be an easy task.

"Diversity is the key to a healthy diet, so colours areone way to achieve thisbut it looks overly complex and some foods may not be available or cost too much." Rush adds.

Hailed by meatheads across the globe, the carnivore diet (also known as the zero-carb diet) involves downing nothing but red meat, fish and other animal foods. It's perfect if you like, and can afford, steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but this concept of eating is beyond charred and is not the best way to be moving forward with the unstable climate in 2020.

From a health perspective, Rush says the protein-heavy diet doesn't have "enough fibre for bowel health and low [if milk is consumed]or no carbohydrates can be really hard for satiety [feeling full]and energy."

You can even look at the blueprints of the human body to see if we're designed to eat only meat.Rush's quick answer is, "No".

"Our teeth [and digestive system]are for an omnivorous diet incisors for nipping, canines for grasping [at the front of the mouth],but the premolars and molars are for grinding food such as grains, vegetables and fruits.

"Whilst the paleo diet was before farming, it does not mean that they did not eat grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits that were growing 'wild' plus all the physical activity involved with foraging," she adds.

STUFF

Scientists say a radical new plant-based diet is best for the planet but is it best for our health?

To really kick this one in your meat-filled guts, there's no research on the diet and it's not planet-friendly.

Restricting food groups (willingly and unwillingly) is a growing issue across the country.Rush believes that"more than half of New Zealand's population do not eat sufficient fruit and vegetables for health and we have a high prevalence of bowel cancer the two things go together."

Perhaps the Whole30 diet is the way forward? Arriving from Melissa Hartwig Urban, an American sports nutritionist and four-time New York Times bestselling author, the programme is a promising, extraordinarily popular diet, where participants avoid all forms of sugar, including grains, dairy, alcohol, legumes, soy and processed foods for 30 days.

The month-long dietary experiment is credited for eliminating cravings, improving energy and sleep, relieving medical symptomsand losing weight healthfully and sustainably.

Rush says that, "perhaps this could be the kickstart needed",and the timespan is "realistic". Though participants should "emphasise what is eaten", particularly the balance of vegetables, fruit and meat which should have some diversity.

"The exclusion of legumes, grains and dairy is of concern," she adds, but the exclusion of alcohol and added sugar is "good, as they do not have any benefit, except calories".

As the digits in the name and plenty of online experiences suggest, this diet is helpful in the short-term, but the extremities of cutting out several food groups make it unsustainable and the weight is likely to pile back on quickly once you settle backinto your everyday eating habits.

123RF

The chakra diet involves consuming foods of specific colourings in order to remain balanced.

Also at the top of 2019's list of eating preferences, werethe ketogenic (or keto) dieta high-fat, high-protein and low-carbohydrate programme that forces the body to burn fat, rather than carbohydratesand intermittent fasting, which involves giving your digestive system a well-deserved rest for at least 16 hours of the day. The easiest way to introduce this one is by skipping breakfast.

Taking food evasion to the next level is the snake diet, which mimics the eating habits of animals. Just like our reptilian cousins, you too could down one high-fat, high-protein meal across one-to-two hours, while starving yourself for the remainder of the day.

Rush says there is some evidence that "fasting can help with weight loss and that restriction of calories you can, maybe, live longer".

"Maybe it is just that we eat too often and periodic fasting may be beneficialthere's evidence that it improvesgut health."

But there are pitfalls that come with the snake diet's extreme fasting technique for weight loss.

The natural human desire to indulge is one that's bound to get in the way when deprived of food, with unhealthy rewards and the natural attraction of binge-eating. Those with conditions like diabetes or low blood pressure, open themselves up to more severe health problems.

Sven Brandsma/Unsplash

A protein-heavy diet doesn't have "enough fibre for bowel health", believes AUT nutrition expert Professor Emeritus Elaine Rush.

The bottom line is that fad diets may do more harm than good, not surprisingly for your general health and wellbeing, but also on your wallet and the planet.

One of the most disastrous fads was perhaps the cotton ball diet, when the absorbent objects were soaked in juice or fruits smoothies and then downed as a way to suppress appetite effectively making the participant feel full without gaining weight. The result? Blocked intestines. Possibly death.

On the road to better health and a happier planet, Rush believes that, "we have to eat foods that are sustainable and also share food globally. They are an indulgence."

"I have huge concerns around the effects on the next generation critical periods of growth that require optimal nutrition are the generation of sperm and ova, infancy and childhood growth, adolescence when the reproductive system and the body reach their full potential.

"We replace our cells continuously and, if the nutrient building blocks are not there, the tissuewill not be built well with lifelong consequences. Everyday is the next day of your life and we should look after our bodies every day."

SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF

Previously fist-bumped by the likes of Demi Moore and Madonna, the werewolf diet looks up to the solar system for guidance.

But how can we tell the difference between a flash-in-the-pan diet and an effective one?

In the first instance, Rush says, "the definition of a diet is the 'kinds of foods that a person habitually eats' and most diets are life-long".

"Fad diets often focus on one food, or food group, or nutrient and the resultis an 'unbalanced'diet.

"For example,vegetarians and vegans have to be particularly careful about vitamins B12 and the mineral iron. High fat, low carbohydrate means that fibre intake is low. Most fad diets cannot be sustained and the problem is that, after the weight is lost, it is regained and often goes to a higher set point..i.e. yo-yo dieting."

She adds that another way of looking at diets is as a food pattern and which foods and food groups dominate.

"Dietary patterns are affected by lack of money so 40 per centof New Zealand households say that they cannot buy the foods that they need due to lack of money.

"Fad diets are for those that really do have a choice and often are to lose weight."

123RF

Designed as a way to suppress your appetite, the "cotton ball diet" only resulted in blocked intestines.

So the burning question still remains about what we should be eating moving into the new year. It's certainly not a shopping trolley full of meat and, as a long-term solution, eating to the colour of your wonky solar plexus chakra might not be the best route to follow.

Rush concludes that the "best kind of diet for health is a variety of wholesome [minimally processed] foodsevery day, not too much and mainly plants [for the health of the planet]."

Continued here:
Fad diets to avoid in 2020 - Stuff.co.nz

Related Posts

    Your Full Name

    Your Email

    Your Phone Number

    Select your age (30+ only)

    Select Your US State

    Program Choice

    Confirm over 30 years old

    Yes

    Confirm that you resident in USA

    Yes

    This is a Serious Inquiry

    Yes

    Message:



    matomo tracker