Diets

 Diets

By Peter Galvin, MD

Food consumption provides both essential and non-essential nutrients for the human body, thereby promoting both growth and health. Food habits are a complex issue, influenced by food availability and social, economic, and physical factors. Named diets have become more common today. Let’s look at some of the known named diets, most of which can achieve both weight loss and reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses and diseases.

 

Plant-Based Diets

The most researched and studied of these diets is the Mediterranean diet, which began to be studied shortly after the end of WWII. Today it is characterized by the predominance of plant foods (fruits, vegetables, minimally processed cereals, nuts, and seeds) with moderate amounts of mostly fermented dairy products (cheese and yogurt), low-to-moderate amounts of fish and poultry, low amounts of red meat, and (happily) wine with the meal. Vegetarian diets, around since antiquity and often practiced for religious or ethical reasons, come in many shapes and sizes. A vegetarian diet may be defined as one that excludes meat and meat-derived foods but may include other animal products. On the other hand, a vegan diet excludes any food or beverage that is wholly or partially derived from animals. Lacto-vegetarian diets include dairy products and ovo-vegetarian ones include eggs. The more restrictive a vegetarian diet is, the more likely it will cause nutritional deficiencies, including deficiencies of vitamin B12, present only in foods of animal origin, vitamin B2, niacin, iodine, zinc, calcium, potassium, and selenium.

 

Low-Fat Diets

In the 1980s, dietary fat was blamed for heart disease and obesity, making low-fat diets and products increasingly popular. While there is no universal definition, a low-fat diet typically contains less than 30% lipids. The Ornish diet contains less than 10% fat, mostly polyunsaturated fats, while otherwise eating pretty much anything a person wants. Adherence to these diets can be challenging as not only many foods of animal origin are excluded, but so are vegetable oils and oily plant foods (e.g., nuts and avocados). Low-fat diets do lower blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes, plus they lower death from any cause.

 

Carbohydrate-Restricted Diets

By restricting carbohydrates, these diets lead to the production of ketone bodies (see the Kreb’s cycle) which can be detected in the urine. They have been studied since the end of the 19th century but became very popular with the release of the 1972 book “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution.” Variations include the keto diet, Zone diet, and South Beach diet. Diets that restrict carbohydrates must increase consumption of other macronutrients like proteins, lipids, or both. These diets lower post-prandial (post-meal) insulin levels and are very useful in preventing or controlling diabetes, plus they lead to significant weight loss. There is growing evidence that they may also have positive effects on schizophrenia, mood disorders, cognitive function, and Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Most versions of the Paleolithic, or Paleo, diet are low carbohydrate and very high in fiber, and include fruits, roots, vegetables, wild game, fish, and honey.

Other dietary programs include the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, designed to lower blood pressure, the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet, and time-restricted diets, for example intermittent fasting. These diets all may help to reduce one’s weight and lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes, plus they may extend life expectancy.

Please direct questions and comments to editor@rockawaytimes.com

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