You hear a friend or coworker is dieting. What does that even mean? There are so many diets and do they even work? The definition of a diet according to google is: “restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight”. More often than not, these diets are temporary and once a certain time is up or an individual has achieved their goal they stop dieting. So in order for a “diet” to work it must become part of your lifestyle.
There are a variety of diets out there to accommodate your lifestyle. We’ll take a look at some of the most popular ones currently out there.
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (Dash Diet) – this is heavily promoted by the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The main purpose of this diet is to prevent and control hypertension. The main components include: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat, fish, poultry, nuts and beans. It limits the consumption of: sugar sweetened foods and beverages, red meats, and added fats. This diet has successfully reduced the systolic blood pressure by 6mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 3mm Hg in patients who were pre-hypertension. Those that had hypertension were reduced by 11 and 6, respectively. To find out more about the DASH diet, visit dashdiet.org
Paleolithic Diet – a nutritional plan that is based on the presumed diet of Paleolithic humans and is sometimes referred to as the paleo diet. Proponents argue that humans from the Paleolithic era were primarily free of diseases of affluence and this diet is designed to simulate that. The primary components of the diet are foods that can be hunted and foraged such as meat and seafood or raw fruits and vegetables. Meats and fish must have minimal additives so it is preferable that wild game meats and grass-fed beef are consumed. To find out more about the Paleolithic diet, visit thepaleodiet.com
Mayo Clinic Diet – developed by one of the nation’s leading medical center it is aimed at weight loss. The claim is that you will be able to lose 6 to 10 pounds in two week and then lose 1 to 2 pounds weekly until you’ve hit your goal. The program revolves around a food pyramid and has vegetables and fruits as its base. There are also daily habits that are incorporated including: eating a healthy breakfast, eating healthy fats, exercising for thirty minutes, etc. To find out more about the Mayo Clinic diet, visit www.mayoclinic.org/