You are what you eat.
Several lifestyle diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, and cancer have been on the rise lately. The manifestation of these diseases is not only a result of bad living choices but is equally contributed by bad dietary choices. Due to these issues, the health trends are changing, and with the changing times, everyone wants to stay healthy. Gone are the days when one would pick up a sandwich or a roll and a coffee and be on the move. Nowadays, people choose carefully and make decisions about the popular diet they want to eat/ the diets they wish to follow.
Whatever works best for you
There are an endless number of diet plans that one can follow. These popular diets can serve different purposes ranging from weight loss to gaining muscle mass, improving focus, or being more healthy.
Although there are many sources on the nutritional information of different diet plans that can be obtained just at the click of a button, these trends should not be followed blindly.
You should always consult a professional before starting one. So let’s delve into different types of popular diet plans.
Watch what you eat and choose wisely.
Mediterranean Popular Diet
A diet inspired by Mediterranean people who followed it traditionally. This popular diet focuses mainly on plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables with less processed meat and chicken.
In addition to this, use a wide variety of whole grains and legumes healthy fats like nuts, seeds, and olive oil—the moderate use of dairy and eggs along with moderate wine consumption.
The American Heart Association recommends this popular diet for a healthy heart. In addition, many research studies have also suggested using the Mediterranean diet to reduce the risk of Diabetes. Other benefits include improved cognitive function, decreased inflammation and frailty in the older population, and improved gut health.
Paleo Diet
Sharing its origins from the paleolithic age, when there was the absence of agriculture and people used to hunt and gather food. And hence also called the “Caveman Diet”, returning to what early humans ate.
A diet rich in whole foods, vegetables, lean meats, fruits, seeds, and nuts. This diet is devoid of any processed foods, dairy, beans, legumes, grains, and sugar.
Some studies show that this popular diet helps in weight loss due to consuming fewer carbs and more proteins. However, cutting on beans, legumes, grains, and dairy may lead to the loss of essential nutrients.
Atkins Diet
A popular diet that focuses on lowering your carbohydrate/sugar intake. You will have to cut down on carbohydrates, including the healthy ones, although you can eat as much fat and moderate protein. Hence, the body burns and uses the stored fats for energy rather than sugars.
Divided into four phases, wherein the first phase, you cut down on your sugar (under 20gms of carbohydrates in one day), and in the next phases, you reintroduce it slowly. This, in turn, helps the person to lose fat and hence maintain weight in the long run.
The advantage of this popular diet is protection from many lifestyle diseases.
Some health concerns after following this diet include low levels of protein in the blood, kidney stones, deposition of extra fat in the liver, and nutrient deficiencies; this diet should be followed only after consultation with your doctor.
Keto Diet
Another popular diet low in sugar moderate in protein and fat intake is the Keto diet. Based on the principle of Ketosis, which means the body uses fat rather than sugar as the source of energy.
Although being somewhat similar to the Atkins diet, the only difference is a strict restriction on carbs in the Keto diet. Whereas in Atkins, sugar is incorporated gradually.
The keto diet is highly beneficial in weight loss, reducing triglycerides, controlling blood sugar, improving digestion and mental health.
Skipping meals-The Healthy way out
All the popular diets mentioned above can augment good health, but research also shows that abstinence from food for a short period of time can provide umpteen health advantages.
The fasting process can get rid of toxins from your body and repair them at the cellular level. There are different fasting methods you can follow and enjoy their benefits.
Intermittent Fasting: Based on alternate cycles of fasting and eating, which can be followed in several ways. Here, a day or a week is divided between fasting and eating.
16/8 method: One of the most popular fasting methods involves an eight-hour window. For example, skipping your breakfast and eating straight at noon, followed by dinner. Although, it can be a little difficult for people to follow, who can’t skip their breakfast.
Alternate Day fasting: In this way of fasting, you skip your meals every other day. This kind of fasting is a little difficult for beginners and can not be done for a long period of time.
Spontaneous meal skipping: A popular diet with no hard and fast rules, you can skip whichever meal you like.
For example, you can skip your lunch if you have had a heavy breakfast and then, straight away, have dinner without munching any snacks in the evening. After fasting, make sure you eat other healthy meals.
Eat stop Eat: Based on the pattern of eating normally four to five days a week and fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week.
The fast can last from dinner on one day till dinner the next day. Or you can eat your breakfast at 9 in the morning and not eat anything till 9 a.m. the next day. This leads to an accomplishment of 24-hour fasting.
The Warrior Diet: This diet involves eating small portions of raw foods such as fruits and vegetables during the day and then eating one big meal at night.
You can fast all day long and then eat only between a four-hour window period. The example is between 4-8 in the evening, before going to bed.
This has been the earliest and most popular form of intermittent fasting that people follow. Also, the foods eaten during the day are extremely healthy and unprocessed.
Cons: Intermittent fasting may not be suitable for everyone, people who are malnourished or are sensitive to blood sugar level drops, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children.
The Whole-30 diet
This diet is gaining popularity with time. It’s a diet based on removing alcohol, legumes, grains, sugar, dairy, and additives in processed foods from one’s diet. It helps reset your body’s metabolism, as it eliminates certain foods that may have a negative effect on your health.
The diet needs to be followed for a period of 30 days and hence the name. There are no cheat meals, and the diet needs to be followed strictly.
Foods that are allowed include poultry and meat, eggs, seafood, all types of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds except peanuts, some healthy fats such as coconut oil, ghee, clarified butter, duck fat, and healthy plant oils.
After completion of the 30 day period, the second phase comprises reintroduction of the eliminated foods. This can be done by adding back a single food at a time. Doing this will help you rule out the foods that do not suit you.
One major disadvantage of this popular diet is that it may deprive an individual of many nutrient-rich foods.
The F-factor Diet
The F in the F-factor refers to fiber. Dietitian Tanya Zuckerbrot created this diet.
It is a high fiber diet, mainly created for weight loss. It combines lean proteins with high-fiber carbohydrates. Being low in calories, the food keeps individuals feeling fuller throughout the day.
It involves eating at least 35 grams of fiber per day and adhering to the recommended portion sizes for different fats and proteins.
The fiber can be obtained by eating pulses like beans, lentils, peas, and chickpeas. Fruits like apples, pears, bananas, guavas, raspberries, oranges, figs, blackberries, and dates.
Vegetables such as artichokes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, and parsnips. Along with this, nuts and seeds like sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, almonds, peanuts, and pecans.
The priority in this popular diet is to have wholesome, nutritious, and nourishing foods.
The bottom line to summarize, it can be said that when you eat right, it feels right. Treat your popular diet like a bank account and make good food choices, as they are like little investments that add up to a healthier you. Check out the JoyScore App for more information on health and nutrition. A healthy lifestyle with a well-balanced diet is all you need for a happy life!
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