04 Jun Watching What You Eat? Here’s How To Determine The Best Diet For You
Today, the best diets will recommend eating more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, while limiting red meats, sugary drinks, and sweets. Research has shown that calories matter, with a focus on eating high-quality foods in appropriately-sized portions [1].
Eating quality foods is key to maintaining a healthy weight. In a health-conscious world, new diets are constantly being created to help individuals shed excess pounds, boost their immune system, and feel healthier overall. However, just like how individuals have different needs, there’s no one single diet that’s best for everyone.
Many fad diets today promote healthy eating, but not all can be effective in helping individuals achieve their weight goals. The perfect diet has to be compatible with your lifestyle. Here are some general questions you can ask yourself when determining the best diet.
1. Does the diet suit my eating habits?
If the diet calls for six meals a day, but you struggle with eating two meals a day, odds are the diet will fail. A long-lasting diet should match the way you eat. For instance, if you are the type of person that is regularly on the go, you should have a diet plan that accommodates your travel patterns.
Easy-to-prepare meals such as the raw food diet that encourages eating uncooked and unprocessed foods like washed fruits and vegetables may be suitable. The diet is intended to provide you with a surge of energy, while decreasing inflammation and lowering the number of carcinogens in one’s diet [2].
2. Does the diet calls for big or small changes?
Some diets require significant amounts of changes to one’s lifestyle habits, while others only promote smaller and gradual changes. A sensible diet is one that you can accept and live with for long.
Diets such as the keto diet deprive the body of carbohydrates so that fat is burnt as a fuel source instead. It is considered an extreme diet that can be hard to stick to as our primary energy source has to be changed, making it harder for our bodies to adapt to in a short period of time.
Alternatively, the Mediterranean diet may be suitable for individuals who wish to eat healthy without major changes to their natural diets. It is a vegetable-heavy diet that avoids a lot of meat, without eliminating it altogether.
Whole grains, nuts, fish, chicken, and olive oil are some of the encouraged foods to eat. In addition to helping with weight loss, this diet is proven to help individuals prevent cardiovascular diseases and cognitive decline [3].
3. Does the diet require additional supplements?
Most of the nutrients needed for good health can be obtained via the foods we eat on the diet plan. However, certain diets may require an additional vitamin or mineral supplement for nutritional “insurance”. For instance, the vegan diet eliminates meat and animal products, therefore reducing the intake of cholesterol and saturated fat.
This can help individuals minimize their overall risks of coronary heart diseases, high-blood pressure and obesity. Yet, with the lack of meat, vegans will have to incorporate additional proteins and vitamins into their diets to maintain a healthy, functioning body.
Supplements can help cover any aspects of the diet which may be lacking. Immunity, for example, can be easily overlooked when the diet is focusing mainly on losing weight. Vitamins such as C, B6 and E can help with maintaining healthy immunity booster and heart health.
Besides picking the best diet, you should also consider supplementing yourself with additional booster vitamins which will benefit your body even beyond weight loss and maintenance.
References
[1] Gardner CD, Trepanowski JF, Del Gobbo LC, et al. Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion: The DIETFITS Randomized Clinical Trial.
Corinna K, Ada LG, Pieter CD, et al. Long-Term Consumption of a Raw Food Diet Is Associated with Favorable Serum LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides but Also with Elevated Plasma Homocysteine and Low Serum HDL Cholesterol in Humans.
The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 135, Issue 10, October 2005, Pages 2372–2378
Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Martin-Calvo N. Mediterranean diet and life expectancy; beyond olive oil, fruits, and vegetables. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care
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