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Archive for the Diets Diets and Diets category
Wouldn’t everyone love to stop worrying about dieting? Just take a pill once a day and forget about it. The pounds just melt off. Well, nutritional science isn’t quite there, yet. But it is making strides. However, anyone considering their use should be aware of both the risks and the potential benefits.
Pharmaceutical companies have taken two basic approaches to weight loss pills: those that stimulate and those that block. Stimulate what? Block what?
Nearly everyone thinks that dieting would be a good idea. For many, it is. A recent study showed that the average American now consumes about 22% more calories than those of only a generation ago. With that, it isn’t hard to see why obesity could be a problem.
But dieting is not without risks, especially in an age when so many fad diets clamor for attention. The desire to lose weight rapidly can lead to health problems that outweigh the benefits of dieting. Rapid weight-loss dieting in particular can lead to a ‘rebound’, defeating the purpose in the first place.
One sure way to lose weight, it might seem, is simply to stop eating for a while. Simple as it sounds, that idea is fraught with potential problems.
The basic weight loss equation certainly remains valid in this case: using more calories than are consumed results in weight loss. If you don’t take in calories by eating, it’s fairly easy to satisfy that equation. Your body burns 70 calories per hour even just sitting idle on the couch.
Few commercialized areas of science are so filled with myths as that focused on weight loss. Everyone wants a simple, safe, no-willpower solution. Someday, we may actually get one. For now there are no magic cures. But there are quite a few myths that need to be exploded.
Julie E. Fletcher, over at the Battling Diabetes, wrote two killer articles that are worth giving a good read .. especially if you are diabetic, or have any family members who are diabetic.
It seems almost as if there is a new fad diet every week. Many of these contain elements of truth, but on the whole they contain much more good marketing than good science.
There is the 3-day diet, which touts eating little more than fruits for three days, followed by vegetables or meat or grains the other days. There are lots of variations.
While it’s certainly true that eating fruit regularly is a key element to good health - most contain needed carbohydrates, vitamins and fiber - eating almost exclusively fruit for three days leads to imbalance - in carbohydrates, fiber and additional otherwise healthy components. To an extent the body will equalize and store what it needs for later, but there are limits.
The title is something of a misnomer. There is no such thing as ‘the’ proper diet for every individual. Nevertheless, all humans are similar enough that there are broad categories, and many specifics, that are correct for almost anyone.
Despite all the fads of the last 30 years or more, it remains true - backed by a large amount and variety of nutritional research - that a good diet is the old-fashioned ‘balanced diet’ that has remained largely unchanged for 60 years or more. The keyword deserves repeating: balanced.
In order to optimize your health a good diet is essential. But, with all the fad diets around it can be difficult to know what is ‘good’. Nutrition science to the rescue! Though some things are still controversial, numerous studies reinforce the following basic information.
A healthy diet requires not just items from the four basic food groups, but in the proper proportion. The average person will need about 2000-2500 calories (sometimes more for larger men, less for women and those looking for rapid weight loss). About 50% of those calories should come in the form of carbohydrates, with 30% from fats (yes, fat is good!) and 20% from protein.
Despite the hype that too often accompanies the praise, fiber is a very healthy addition to a good diet. It’s no miracle cure, but a substantial amount of insoluble fiber does help move material through the colon faster. It has a cleansing effect on the digestive system.
By improving the solidity and bulk of solid waste it also helps to keep those who are aging more regular, less constipated. The result, supported by many studies, is (among other benefits) a reduction in the odds of colon cancer.
By Lisa Sequera
The Atkins diet is very popular, but it also comes with a lot of criticism. Health experts, doctors and diet specialists come from all different opinions when it comes to the Atkins diet and other low carb diets. Some believe that it is dangerous, some say that it is a healthy method to lose weight and others say that it works on a short-term basis.
However, there are also thousands of individuals who have found success with the Atkins diet. They can speak from personal experience and know that the diet works and it is an effective means of keeping weight off. There are thousands of testimonials that tout the benefits of the low carb way of living.
So .. 2008 will be my 3rd attempt at getting back into shape ... I want to use this blog as both my personal diary to getting back into shape, and also post a lot of relevant articles about fitness, weight loss, and general health stories. For all of us "Battling Obesity" - Let's Get Fit! More ..
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