Diets should be tailored to suit individuals

THE low-carbohydrate, highfat (LCHF) way of eating has been the centre of debate for some time. It has received an enormous amount of praise from supporters, as well as criticism from those in the medical field.

For those people looking to embark on an LCHF diet, it is important to first establish what you want to achieve. Your answer should be based on your lifestyle, health and eating goals in relation to your overall state of well-being. This will then help to determine a way of eating that is best suited to you as an individual.

The LCHF diet is an extreme way of eating and, at the end of the day, these approaches are seldom the answer in any industry or walk of life.

The LCHF diet is not a balanced way of eating and cannot be seen as a “one size fits all” approach to be applied across the board.

That said, an LCHF diet certainly does have a role to play in the health of certain individuals. Low-carbohydrate diets are prescribed by dieticians for specific clients who will derive clinical benefit from them.

If we look at “Banting” as one example of an LCHF approach, the one outstanding benefit is that it has made people realise how much processed and refined foods they were eating.

It has also made people more aware of how unhealthy and damaging processed foods are for them. “Banting” has helped many obese people lose a considerable amount of weight, which will significantly benefit their health in the long run.

For these reasons we can give “Banting” the accolades it deserves.

On the other hand, we are seeing people with raised cholesterol levels as a direct result of eating an LCHF diet, as well as people who have found that they have gained, instead of lost, weight on an LCHF diet.

The observation in professional practice is that most people seem to have applied certain aspects of “Banting” in their approach to eating, but are, by definition, not strictly following an LCHF diet.

This, ironically, seems to be a way of eating that is balanced and in line with that which is recommended by the majority of health care professionals, dietitians included.

So these people may call themselves “Banters”, but when they list the foods they are eating on a daily basis, they are actually including all the food groups and not eating a “by the book” LCHF diet.

This translates to a diet very low in, or devoid of, any processed foods. Meals are based on “real” foods as they exist in their natural form.

A high intake of fresh vegetables and lean protein is the cornerstone of this way of eating, but also includes some fresh fruit as well as unrefined, complex carbohydrates such as lentils, legumes, sweet potatoes, wild rice, quinoa, barley or rye, to name a few.

For want of a better description, it could be best described as a Mediterranean way of eating.

One must also understand what it means when a diet is described as being either low or high in the different macronutrients, proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

It has no reference to types of foods or to food labels.

Instead, when a diet is prescribed it is calculated based on these macronutrients contributing towards a percentage of the total energy intake.

The nutritional content of each type of food that is eaten throughout the day is considered, making sure that the total resulting nutritional intake is in keeping with the desired ratios of protein to carbohydrate and to fat.

Another significant variable that we can no longer ignore is our unique DNA and genetic make-up. Gone are the days of “one size fits all” approaches to eating or fad diets and generic dietary advice. DNA testing is now readily available to map the genotype and determine susceptibility to unsuitable lifestyle factors.

Based on this information, a personalised diet programme can be tailored to suit individual needs and achieve the best possible outcome for health.

The future of health care and the prevention of illness and disease lie in personalising your lifestyle to match your DNA profile.

Anyone embarking on an improved lifestyle approach, which includes changing their eating habits to benefit their health, should ideally have a way of eating calculated that is best suited to them as an individual, and which focuses on their goals.

Provided it is prescribed appropriately, an LCHF diet does have a place and should be used where it is clinically indicated.

However, from the results of DNA testing we are finding that a more balanced approach to eating would appear to suit most people.

• Gibson is a dietician specialising in paediatric and sports nutrition.