The research on some popular diets is compelling and diets can be a worthwhile tool for many who struggle with certain health conditions. There is also an important reality to diets and their serious side effects. Here's a general overview of what could be called the popular diet dilemma.
Diets are attractive. They're considered to be easy solutions to the eating conundrum. Who can deny the simplicity they offer. It's hard to argue with results like losing weight FAST! This can be helpful for certain medical conditions or even athletes who need to lean out for sport performance.
They take the thinking out of eating.
This is a benefit to many people. Nutrition and eating is complicated and requires effort. With popular diets there's usually no tracking carbs, protein and calories! Diets are relatively easy as they eliminate food groups, types of foods and/or have structure around meal timing. It's a lot less complicated to follow a diet with it's structure and rules.
They usually include high quality foods.
Diets tend to eliminate processed foods and aim for whole foods; overall a better diet quality with nutritious foods.
There's a sense of confidence in acquiring a new eating pattern. It can be really energizing especially when you start.
So what's the other side to consider?...
The diet message.
A not-so-obvious problem with diets is that most people feel they need to be on one. Diets translate a message that if you aren't actively on a diet, then you aren't taking care of yourself and your health. Obviously that's not true but nonetheless, that's the message. This cultural belief creates diet culture often leads to disordered eating practices which can be more disastrous to nutrition than the benefit.
Diets can lead to health problems.
Taking out entire food groups without good planning can cause serious nutrient deficiencies.
The Paleo/whole 30 diets can limit carbs (a food source required for physical recovery and mental acuity). Limiting carbohydrates also decreases exercise performance for exercisers and athletes which could outweigh health benefit. Mental functioning is also affected while on these low carb diet patterns. Youth and young adults in learning settings can have difficulty focusing or someone working in a high-stress/mentally demanding profession requiring critical thinking may likely find this diet practice unsustainable.
Another example is the case for keto. Keto diets aren't heart disease friendly. Keto doesn't discern between heart healthy fats and high cholesterol/saturated fat animal sources which makes a huge difference in diet quality. Keto also puts the body in a keto-flu- a condition where the body is fatigued, one may feel nauseated and have cold-like symptoms; generally not an overall thriving lifestyle. Often enough this high-fat diet pattern can cause severe gallbladder dysfunction and lead to infection. For exercisers and athletes in training- cutting out or reducing carbohydrates on the keto diet can significantly affect activity performance and recovery. This diet also can create side-effects like constipation as they limit crucial sources of fiber.
If you choose a vegan or plant-based diet, nutrient deficiencies like protein, B12, iron, iodine and calcium are founded concerns. It's much too common to fall into a processed/junk-food vegan diet pattern that lacks high quality-high fiber proteins, vegetables and essential nutrients.
Food obsessions.
Significantly limiting or eliminating foods has been consistently shown in research to lead to unhealthy food obsessions and preoccupation with food.
Diets aren't sustainable.
If you've been on a diet, you probably know this. It's all sunny when the weight is falling off but what happens when the diet no longer works for the family or when things change in life? Diets make it very difficult to eat with family and friends or attend social occasions, not to mention travel and spontaneous life schedules. Diet restriction means social restriction.
Long term weight challenges.
Many times post-dieters end up with long term struggles with food and weight satisfaction. As diets are short term, yo-yo weight patterns are typical long term patterns.
The bottom line: Diets are attractive, easy and have some merit for select individuals. They also have a back-door and side-effects just like any "quick-fix". To learn more about the different types of diets and discover if these could benefit you, see other related posts talking about the current research that supports them.
Comments