What you need to know about the latest diet trends
There have been some pretty crazy diet trends over the years. An endless slew of health “experts” continue to pop up claiming to have the secret to fast and effective weight loss. This makes selecting an eating plan, or even knowing what’s good and bad for you, very difficult and overwhelming.
However as most of us know, diet fads are often unhealthy, potentially dangerous, and usually not very sustainable. The following is a brief outline decoding the newest diet trends and buzz words of the health world so you can get up to speed on what’s what.
5:2
The 5:2 diet involves restricting calories to 25 per cent of your energy needs for two days each week.
So during these “fast days” each week, you eat one quarter of your recommended daily calorie quota. The average intake limit is 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men.
The restriction of calories on fast days is said to generate the change in the way we eat on “feast days”, making you more selective with eating choices.
Weight loss varies immensely between individuals. The important thing is that this diet can be sustainable for at least five days a week.
Potential benefits
- No restriction of portion sizes
- No calorie counting
- Learn to understand how much you need to satisfy your hunger
What to eat:
- Lots of fresh vegetables
- Small portions of lean protein
- Drink lots of water
- Drink herbal teas, soups and broths
The paleo diet
The modern paleo diet is based on eating everyday foods that mimic those of our pre-agricultural, hunter-gatherer ancestors.
It means getting back to basics of food that had to be hunted or gathered in order to survive rather than relying on modern day conveniences and highly processed food sources. (However many people still seem to drink alcohol!).
When you feel hungry, you can eat as much as required until you feel comfortably satisfied.
Potential benefits
- May help to optimise health
- May help minimise the risk of chronic disease by providing a nutritional approach that works with genetics to help you stay lean, strong and energetic
What to eat:
- Lean meats
- Fruits
- Vegetables, including yams and sweet potato
- Seafood
- Nuts (peanuts are a legume and therefore not recommended on the Paleo diet)
- Seeds
- Healthy fats
The raw food diet
“Raw” foods refer to living, uncooked, unmodified, unprocessed whole foods rich in vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and enzymes. This is because it is believed that cooking food destroys its nutrients.
Dehydrators are acceptable for fruits and nuts as the low temperatures do not destroy the essential nutrients or enzymes, making them available for absorption.
Potential benefits
- Help provide your body with essential enzymes for processing foods
- May help detoxify your system
- May help improve energy
- May help manage cholesterol
- Foods that are fibre rich, and low in fat and sugar may help maintain better glucose levels
- May enhance body performance, while potentially shedding excess weight
What to eat
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Nuts
- Sprouted grains
- Beans and seeds –
- Organic, pesticide and herbicide free everything
Isagenix:
This is one of the biggest buzz words going around right now. Isagenix is more than a health trend, it’s also a multi-level marketing company. Isagenix markets dietary supplements and personal care products, with their main business model revolving around meal replacement smoothies. Meal replacement diets have a history of being dangerous, dishonest and ineffective in the long run due to the stress on your metabolism if you choose to return to a normal eating pattern. It is also very expensive.
Isagenix also involves “fasting days” which are said to help in the dispelling of toxins from the body
Potential benefits:
- Make money and create a career if you choose to sell the product
- Rapid weight loss
- Detoxifying
Related links:
Seven of the worst cooking habits that you need to break
‘Healthy’ foods that could be harming your health