Dieting: Fact versus fiction

HEALTH

When 23-year-old fashion design student Reena Sachdeva saw Beyonce lose weight by going for a detox diet, she was inspired. Sachdeva blindly went for the diet for three days, cutting out salt and eating only fruits, vegetables and some low fat food. To her shock, she realised that rather than losing weight and feeling healthy, she felt weak and cranky. Just like her, there are many who think that cutting on calories drastically can lead to quick weight loss. Many even believe that having fruit juices are great for health. Here’s what experts have to say about dieting as they differentiate between fact and fiction.

TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOU NEED TO CUT DOWN ON CALORIES DRASTICALLY

This is not true at all. Your calories should always be above your resting metabolic rate or BMR. “Diets that make you eat lesser calories will always make you compromise on your nutrient levels. You need to balance your macronutrient content,” says Rashi Chowdhary, nutrition and metabolic expert. Agreeing to this thought, Ritika Samaddar, nutritionist, Max Super Speciality Hospital, says, “To start with, one can focus on keeping the negative calories below the level of 400500.”

LOW FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU

They are the worst and they are making everyone sick and overweight. “80% of your hormones are made up of fat and cholesterol. You go low on these nutrients and mess with your internal biochemistry, your gut health and hormonal health,” says Chowdhary.

FRUIT JUICE IS HEALTHY

If you want to follow any diet, calculate your BMI (Body mass index) by dividing your weight with your height and then go for the right option. Always go for a diet that a doctor recommends, which is according to the nutrients your body needs POONAM SHARMA, AEROBICS INSTRUCTOR

Fruits and fruit juices are the biggest source of fructose in our diet. Juicing destroys many valuable antioxidants. “It also increases the glycemic load spiking the glucose levels right after consumption. Fibre in fruit helps in keeping check of instant rise of glucose and insulin as compared to juice,” says Lovneet Batra, nutritionist, Fortis La Femme. Also, most fruit juices are liquid candies that rebound hunger.

SKIPPING MEALS HELPS

Nutritionist recommend having frequent and small meals throughout the day. Several scientific studies suggest that eating small meals at frequent intervals and at the right time boosts metabolism rate. Smaller meals help keep blood sugar level stable and gives us more energy to stay active. “Smaller meals increase the thermogenic effect of food making you burn extra calories. It ensures that your body doesn’t get into stress mode of starvation leading to imbalance in hunger hormones,” says Batra

BROWN BREAD IS BETTER THAN WHITE:

What is passed off as atta bread or brown bread is often not whole wheat bread. Breads are high in carbohydrates. “Both white and brown breads are unhealthy since they are made of refined flour. Hence, they just add on empty calories and have no nutrients,” says Samaddar. So you shouldn’t have bread at all? No, that’s not true. If bread is prepared with whole ingredients, there’s nothing wrong in eating it. Whole wheat bread or whole oats bread are better picks.

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