Wisdom Wednesday: Eight Most Popular Diets – A Summary

Wow, that was a long series. I hope it gave you some options for improving your diet and maybe some understanding of why others choose to eat the way they do.
Although I learned a lot myself, I’m ready to move on to a new topic. But before I do, let me share some common threads to all these diets.

• Plant-based – Obviously, the Vegan and vegetarian diets are solely plant-based, but plants as a majority of the food intake was a common even in the Atkins Diet, after the induction phase.
• Limited Grains – The Paleo Diet excludes them completely, and some diets limit them to whole grains. Processed wheat, rice, and corn are the downfall of diets worldwide. It’s how we feed the masses, but they are nothing more than empty calories. They will sustain life, but not health.
• Whole food – Avoiding processed foods whenever possible was also a common thread. Eat a piece of fish rather than drinking a protein shake. They both contain about 15 grams of protein, but the real thing is much better than the processed food.
• Raw versus Cooked – Obviously, the Raw Food Diet is at the extreme, but all the diets promote eating a large percentage of your fruits and vegetables raw. If you have a thyroid issue, then avoid eating the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.) raw as they are goitrogens. Otherwise, I recommend about 50% of your diet be composed of raw fruits and vegetables.
• Adequate protein intake – All the diets focused on eating protein frequently. This can be a problem with the vegetarian diet. However, Americans often eat too much protein. (They generally just eat too much of everything) About 45 grams of protein per day is adequate. Make sure you have some protein at every meal, especially breakfast. A protein snack is a good idea as well.
• Healthy fats – This is a real change in thinking for many. Fat has been demonized for the past generation and many healthy fats have disappeared from our diet. Some fats, like the omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are essential. We cannot manufacture them from other foods, they must be in the diet to sustain life. But many fats are healthy, in fact, it’s the “reduced fat” products that contain most of the trans-fats that are so unhealthy. The data never supported a low-fat diet as a preventative for heart disease. It was just manipulated to support the need to lower serum cholesterol by selling statin drugs. I know this is hard for many of you, but add those healthy fats back into your diet. Fat is extremely satiating. I honestly believe that the loss of healthy fats from the American diet is a major factor in our epidemic with obesity.

The Bottom Line:
So pick one of these diet formats that fits your lifestyle. Or maybe combine some aspects from a couple of them. I think the Mediterranean Diet is the easiest for Americans to follow, but I like aspects of all of them. The key is to find the format that works for you, something you can adopt as a lifestyle rather than constantly “trying to diet”. Next week I’ll review when to take your supplements.

The South Beach Diet

The Raw Food Diet

The Mediterranean Diet

Weight Watchers

The Vegan Diet

The Vegetarian Diet

The Zone Diet

The Atkins Diet

The Eight Most Popular Diets - Introduction

Wisdom Wednesday: The Zone Diet

For the last few hundreds of thousands of years we have spent most of our time eating two food groups:

• Lean protein
• Natural carbohydrates, such as fruits and fiber rich vegetables

Our genes are still those of the hunter-gatherer, rather than the farmer. Farming is a relatively new phenomenon, as far as our genes are concerned. In other words, our genes have not yet adapted to consuming farmed products.

Although our genes are programmed to gather fruit and vegetables and catch the occasional prey, we are consuming huge quantities of very dense, highly processed carbohydrates, such as grains and products made from pasta, bread, corn flakes, bagels, etc. are generally made from highly processed carbohydrates.

When we consume large amounts of processed carbohydrates unpleasant biochemical reactions occur in our bodies.

• Weight gain
• Insulin fluctuations
• Pre-diabetes and diabetes
• Heart disease
• Poor overall health

The Zone Diet, developed by Dr. Sears takes into account our genetic makeup. Insulin production can be controlled if we eat low-density carbs, dietary fat, and protein in the right proportions. If we can maintain insulin levels within what Dr. Sears calls a “therapeutic zone”, it is easier to burn off excess body fat – and to keep it off permanently. Dr. Sears says it is possible, through the Zone to improve mental focus, enjoy increased energy and vitality.

Keeping you insulin levels within the therapeutic zone means staying in The Zone – hence, the name Zone Diet.

Carbohydrate, protein and fat balance

• 40% carbohydrate
• 30% fat
• 30% protein

Calorie consumption on the Zone
Unlike many other diets, the Zone does not tell you to eat fewer calories. Your calorie intake does not have to go down, but what you are eating has to change. The food you eat should consist of:

• Each meal must have some protein – about the size of a small chicken breast, or the palm of your hand (4 ounces).
• Each snack should have some protein in it (two snacks per day).
• The carbohydrate portion of a meal or snack should be about twice the size of the protein portion. Most of the carbs should be favorable carbohydrates, such as those found in vegetables, lentils, beans, whole grains and the majority of fruits.
• A small proportion of the carbs may be unfavorable ones, such as those found in brown rice, pasta, dry breakfast cereal, bread, bagels, tortilla, carrots, fruit juices, and some fruits (mango, banana and papaya).
• A meal or snack should also include some fat – good fat. Such as that fat found in avocado, olive oil, fish oils, and nuts.

The Zone Diet’s basic rules

• Have a Zone meal or snack no later than one hour after you wake up in the morning.
• Interval between meals should be between 4 to 6 hours.
• Have a meal between 2 to 2.5 hours after a snack – regardless of how hungry you are.
• Before every meal or snack, assess your hunger level. If you are not hungry and your mind is clear, you are in The Zone.
• Consume eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day.
• Start the meal/snack with a low-fat protein. Then add good carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, such as vegetables and fruits, plus good fats, such as olive oil or avocado.
• Typical meal protein should weight about 4 ounces for men and 3 ounces for women.

The Bottom Line:
This diet should be an easy transition for virtually anyone. It doesn’t prohibit any food, it just limits the refined foods and urges you to make healthier choices. This is a great place for you start to improve your diet.

Wisdom Wednesday: The Eight Most Popular Diets Today

As of October 15, 2015, Medical News Today listed the following diets based on three criteria: how many articles there are around about these diets/lifestyles, how popular they seem to be generally, and how often they receive feedback on them.

• The Atkins Diet
• The Zone Diet
• The Vegetarian Diet
• The Vegan Diet
• Weight Watchers
• The Mediterranean Diet
• The Raw Food Diet
• The South Beach Diet

The diet that is obviously missing from this list is the Paleo Diet. Based on feedback I receive from my patients; Paleo is by far the most popular at this time. So in keeping with the title, I will combine the Vegetarian and Vegan diets and add Paleo to the list.

Atkins Diet or Atkins Nutritional Approach, focuses on controlling the levels of insulin in our bodies through diet. If we consume large amounts of refined carbohydrates our insulin levels rise rapidly, and then fall rapidly. Rising insulin levels will trigger our bodies to store as much of the energy we eat as possible – it will also make it less likely that our bodies use stored fat as a source of energy. Most people on the Atkins Diet will consume a higher proportion of proteins than they normally do.

The Zone diet aims for a nutritional balance of 40% carbohydrates, 30% fats, and 30% protein each time we eat. The focus is also on controlling insulin levels, which result in more successful weight loss and body weight control. The Zone diet encourages the consumption of good quality carbohydrates – unrefined carbohydrates, and fats, such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts.