Diet, diet, who’s got the diet?
At any given point in time, half of all Americans are on a diet while the other half of Americans have given up on dieting and are eating whatever their hearts’ desire. And, in the meantime, obesity rates just keep on climbing. It seems about the only thing that is growing faster than our waistlines is the proliferation of diet plans. When it comes to choosing a diet plan, there are many options.
For instance, you can now choose from a bewildering array of diet plans, including the Mediterranean Diet, Paleo Diet, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, Wheat Belly Diet, Zone Diet, Dugan Diet, Ornish Diet and Okinawan Diet, not to mention numerous others. With all these diet options staring us in the face, how are people supposed to know which diet plan is really good for them or which one can actually deliver on its promises?
To begin with, it helps to know what our goals are. If all we want to do is to lose weight, we can most likely do that using any of the above plans. That is because all of them agree on one thing and that is the necessity of cutting out refined carbohydrates and hydrogenated oils like margarine which we now know are extremely unhealthy. Refined carbohydrates are highly processed, low-nutrition foods that are high glycemic. By raising our blood sugar levels and, correspondingly, our insulin levels, high glycemic foods contribute to obesity and greatly increase our chances of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Simply avoiding refined carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats can greatly lower our chances of developing high blood pressure, obesity and pre-diabetes.
If our focus is on losing weight at any cost, our weight-loss efforts can be detrimental to our health. There are legitimate ways of losing weight just as there are legitimate ways of doing anything. For example, no one is more effective at losing weight than anorexics, but that doesn’t make them healthier than other folks. And no one can gain muscle mass like those who take anabolic steroids, but who would think that would be a healthy choice for a bodybuilder to make? So, even if losing weight is our only goal, let’s make sure we do it in a healthy manner.
What are some of the best ways we can lose weight and keep it off? Vegetables come immediately to mind. We now know that our mothers were right when they told us to eat our vegetables. Ounce for ounce, vegetables are some of the most nutritious foods in the world. This is especially true of leafy green vegetables such as kale, collards, spinach, mustard greens and turnips. And don’t forget the romaine lettuce which contains more protein per ounce than ribeye steak. If you make salads the centerpiece of your dinner table each evening, your body will thank you.
Other veggies are also quite nutritious. Dr. Joel Furhman, M.D., in his book, Eat to Live, has an acronym he calls GBOMBS. GBOMBS stands for greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, and seeds and nuts. Dr. Furhman maintains these are some of the healthiest foods on the planet and encourages his patients to eat some of each every day. And for those who might worry that nuts and seeds are fattening, the truth is they can be if eaten to excess, but nut and seed consumption is associated with longevity. Studies show that strict vegans who eat nuts live longer than strict vegans who don’t consume any. Also, nuts and seeds have been shown to be cardioprotective, which is good enough for me.
A handful or so of raw nuts and seeds per day is fine if that is the main source of fats in the diet. If you are thinking of incorporating nut butters into your diet, please choose natural nut butters with no added sugar or oil. I love Smucker’s brand chunky peanut butter. In my estimation, there’s nothing better than a good peanut butter sandwich made with whole grain bread and natural peanut butter. But to each, his own.
Back to which is the best diet to choose. Personally, I would avoid any diet that
focused on eating a lot of protein such as the Atkins, South Beach and Paleo diets. These diets promote the consumption of meat products and don’t always make a clear distinction between refined carbs (which are bad for you) and complex carbs (which can be quite healthy).
And it’s not just the saturated fats that come with consuming a high protein diet. It is also the excessive proteins that can cause problems of their own. High protein, animal-based diets are highly acidic. Reducing acidity in our diets is good for our bones, and a plantbased diet does this better than anything else. It’s even better than drinking alkalized water.
Used with care, a little meat can go a long way. When used as a condiment or flavoring in our dishes instead of the main course itself, meat can enhance the taste of our meals without contributing to our diets in a negative way. And it just might save us some money.
As far as the ideal diet goes, I couldn’t say for sure, although I tend to think that in the Garden before the Fall, Adam and Eve were eating as God originally intended (Genesis 1:29,30). And I reckon that you couldn’t go far wrong by standing with Daniel and his friends when it comes to diet. At any rate, I certainly agree with author Michael Pollan who once said, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” Happy dieting!