With titles from A to Z, there are hundreds of diet plans
and the media headlines are full of tips on “this diet” or “that diet”. The medical literature banters back and forth
about the benefits and risks of “low carb” versus “low fat” versus “high
protein” as we hyper-analyze measurements such as good cholesterol, bad
cholesterol, insulin, glucose, weight and blood pressure. But which diets really work, what do they
have in common, and which ones promote good health?
On my bookshelf sit about 30 books on various diets which I
have read over the years, including The Atkins, HCG, Hormone, Jenny-Craig, Mediterranean,
NutriSystem, Paleo, Ornish, Pritikin, South Beach, Weight-Watchers, and Zone
diets, just to name a few…. Each diet
has it’s own “claim to fame”, and there are some common-sense threads that they
all share, with a few of them making recent medical news.
Well Known Diets
The Atkins diet promotes weight loss by severely limiting
carbohydrates, which are the “ready to burn” food source that converts quickly
to glucose, and any glucose that is not burned for energy gets stored as
fat. By eliminating carbohydrates from
the diet, the body naturally breaks down stored fat into chemicals called
“ketones” which are burned for energy.
Ketones suppress appetite, which also leads to less calorie intake. In the short term, the Atkins diet usually
works for weight loss, but there is much controversy over the long-term health
effects.
The South-Beach Diet is a “heart-friendly” version similar
to the Atkins diet, but it makes a distinction between good and bad carbohydrates,
and between good and bad fats. Similar
to Atkins, reducing carbs is key, but mostly the high-glycemic carbs that so
quickly breakdown to glucose. Unlike the
Atkins plan, only healthy fats are allowed.
The Pritikin and the Ornish diets are both centered on a
low-fat diet. As with the South-Beach
diet there is a distinction between good and bad carbs or fats. The Ornish program in particular emphasizes
the diet as part of a bigger program including exercise, stress relief, and
healthy social connections. Dr. Ornish
has published numerous articles on the success of his program in reversing
heart disease, and has succeeded in getting insurances such as Medicare to
actually pay for qualifying patients to go through his “intensive cardiac rehabilitation”
program.
The Paleo diet, also known as the “caveman” diet, is based
on the idea of eating similar to our distant Paleolithic hunter-gatherer
ancestors, focusing on a diet that includes wild game, fish, nuts, roots,
fruits and vegetables. Excluded are
foods that came into our diet after the age of agriculture and domestication of
animals – namely grains, legumes, and dairy.
Loren Cordain, PhD, Colorado State University professor and author of “The Paleo Diet” says even though
grains and dairy seem healthful, our "genome has not really adapted to
these foods, which can cause inflammation at the cellular level and promote
disease.”
The Mediterranean Diet... even the name inspires a vision of
warm breezes, crystal blue waters, and fresh healthy foods. Rich in plant foods and healthy fats the diet
has shown some of the best health benefits of any in numerous studies. The focus is on locally available and fresh
seasonal foods, relying heavily on unprocessed, whole plant foods such as fruits
and vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, olives, and olive oil along with
some cheese, yogurt, fish, poultry, eggs, and wine.
Several diet plans emphasize the role of hormones in proper
metabolism. I enjoyed The Hormone Diet
as a great review of how many hormones, such as thyroid, cortisol, and the sex
hormones, impact metabolism. This plan
emphasizes low-allergenic natural foods, and takes readers through a 3-step program
that starts with a detox diet, all the while pointing out that balancing
hormones is key to good metabolism and weight loss.
The Zone diet is geared toward eating a balance of foods
that lower inflammation and lower insulin levels. Author, Dr. Sears, recommends lower
carbohydrate intake and some protein at every meal in order to blunt the fat
storage hormone called insulin, and encourage more of the fat breakdown hormone
called glucagon. The focus is that we
think of food not as "a source of calories but as a control system for
hormones."
Calorie Control
Programs
The Jenny Craig diet has been around since the 1980s and
centers on calorie control with pre-packaged meals being the focus during the
initial phases of the diet. Exercise and
lifestyle are also emphasized in the formal programs. About the only limitation in food type is
limiting high-glycemic carbs.
NutriSystems goes back to the 1970s and provides a
pre-packaged food system that takes convenience to a new level by shipping
complete microwavable meal plans for a month.
Again, calorie control is the focus, and the food ingredients are
generally healthy, being low in salt, mostly low-glycemic good carbs, low fat,
healthy protein, and high-fiber.
Starting in the 1960s, one of the oldest and most well known
diets is Weight Watchers. As stated on
their website it was based on the idea of “changing habits and getting support
and encouragement from people who cared” and “the belief that the best way to
control weight is to change bad eating habits”.
The program allows most any food and focuses on calorie control using a
point system that gives certain foods certain points with a limit on how many
points one can eat in a given day, thus leading to an overall method of
encouraging the choice of more of the healthier low calorie low point foods.
The HCG diet has been wildly popular in recent years
although it has been around since the 1950s.
It is an aggressive weight loss program that centers on using the HCG
hormone, normally made during pregnancy, to help the body
readily breakdown stubborn fat deposits.
Not a long-term plan, this diet is more about shedding pounds. Eating a very restricted calorie diet of
normal meats, fruits and vegetables, while injecting the HCG hormone, dieters
don’t get hungry and usually lose up to a pound per day. This diet should be done with medical
supervision.
With the above overview of some of the most well-known diet
plans you may be better informed, but still a bit confused about which one to
follow. In “Dietary Confusion, part two”
I will condense the lot of these into what I consider the most successful plan
that will help you lose weight, promote good health and feel your best.
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Bio
Scott Rollins, MD, is Board Certified with the American
Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative
Medicine. He specializes in Bioidentical Hormone Replacement for men and
women, thyroid and adrenal disorders, fibromyalgia, weight loss and other
complex medical conditions. He is
founder and medical director of the Integrative Medicine Center of Western
Colorado (www.imcwc.com)
and Bellezza Laser Aesthetics (www.bellezzalaser.com). Call 245-6911 for an appointment or more
information.
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