ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FAD DIETS

by Gift Anaja

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FAD DIETS!

Let me put this out there in bold fonts, NO FOOD IS TABOO IN NUTRITION. If I could wear a t-shirt with the words “there are no bad foods”, inscribed on it, I would. I don’t know which is more prevalent between crazy FAD diets and weight watchers projecting their different experiments on misinformed people. Sincerely, I find it greatly upsetting that these diets’ initiators have placed profit before well-being; these diets could have detrimental effects on holistic health. 

Please don’t get me wrong, in as much as there are no bad foods, some foods have ingredients that are not as nutritious or beneficial for the body, Example trans-fat and artificial additives which are present in high quantities in processed foods when excessively consumed this can negatively affect your health.

WHAT IS FAD DIET?

A FAD diet is a trendy weight loss plan that promises dramatic results. It often involves you restricting the consumption of certain foods and favouring the consumption of others. Restricting yourself from certain foods can lead to a binge limit cycle or impulsive disorder around food; this, in turn, can affect your physical, emotional and mental well-being. These FAD diets do work because they hack the body’s metabolic system, but the end does not justify the means in Nutrition. The body is going to react and get into an unhealthy retreat in the long run. That is why FAD diets don’t produce lasting results.

Example of FAD diets and my reservations.

Controlled carbs example, the Atkins diet, keto diet, sugar busters, etc.

Personal reservations

  • Our body system was made to burn glucose as fuel and not ketones. We might feel like it doesn’t matter, but it does. That is why people on these diets experience fatigue, headaches, brain fog etc.
  • Eating a lot of animal proteins can lead to increased acidity and a high risk for kidney stones.
  • Avoiding milk and calcium-rich foods can lead to osteoporosis.
  • This diet is rich in saturated fats can induce hyperlipidemia (a high amount of lipids in the blood).

High carbohydrates/low-fat example; the Ornish diet; Eat more, weigh more minor; the excellent carbohydrate revolution; the Pritikin principle.

Personal reservations

This particular group of FADS make a little bit of sense to me, but my reservations are as follows;

  • It is pretty low in healthy fats, which plays an important role in heart health, reduced inflammation, improved brain function and healthy growth.
  • It poses a high risk of nutritional deficiencies. Every food has nutrients they provide for the body. Limiting any food is limiting their nutrients

Portion control; Dr Shapiro’s picture-perfect weight loss; volumetric weight control plan

This is one of the most fact-based FAD out there, and it’s the message we are all trying to preach. In order to lose weight, you must be on a calorie deficit. 

Personal reservations

  • They don’t take account of the nutrient density of foods. To lose weight, portion control/ calorie counting works well, but to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is better to take nutrient density into consideration

Food combination, fit for life

This particular diet and its combination are pretty unsettling. It goes against two significant concepts food synergy and the matrix effect of food.

Liquid diets; the 1:1 diet by Cambridge weight plan

This particular diet has been medically proven to work, and I affirm that it is effective.

Personal reservations

  • Everything is turned into shakes that could affect gut health, thereby leading to constipation and bad breath.
  • Therefore, it is low in calories, effective for weight loss, but quite unadvisable for other health challenges.

Diet pills, herbal remedies and slimming teas.

  • My reservation is towards the short lifespan of the results they produce, especially when you stop taking them; the fact that you become more overweight than before is disturbing.

References:

https://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/atkins-diet-what-it-is

https://www.eatright.org/health/weight-loss/fad-diets/what-is-the-ketogenic-diet

https://dietsinreview.com/diets/fit-for-life/

https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/volumetrics-diet?src=usn_tw