Is a low-fat diet better than a low-carb diet? Here is what you must know about it   |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

New Delhi: Weight loss diets have become a common diet option for people in recent times. Various types of diet methods have emerged to facilitate weight loss while keeping into consideration peoples requirements, health status and needs. Low-carb and low-fat diets are some common diets that aim at improving health through methods of dietary control and restriction. The effectiveness of the two is often debated upon and it makes people sceptical about choosing the best one out of the two. Several factors must be considered when picking an ideal diet. For instance, a low-carb diet could be helpful for people working on a weight loss diet, but it can also offer health benefits to people who suffer from diabetes. This implies that there is not just one factor that contributes to the effectiveness of a diet.

A diet that includes the consumption of foods that are low in carbohydrate content, and rich in fat, fibre, and protein is called a low-carb diet. Some popular diets that work on the principle of low-carb include the ketogenic diet and the Atkins diet. The foods that could be eaten on this diet include foods such as chicken, salmon, beef, eggs, pork, trout, walnuts, yoghurt, cheese, spinach, berries, broccoli, butter, and olive oil.The foods that must be avoided on this diet include sugars, processed foods and foods that are rich in carbohydrates. Refrain from eating foods such as ice cream, soft drinks, candy, fruit juices, pasta, rice, bread, and wheat.

A diet that includes the consumption of limited fat content is known as a low-fat diet. It is one of the most widely preferred diets for weight loss. You can make your diet low-fat by making certain alterations to the preparation method as well as making changes to the foods you consume. Foods that must be eaten include low-fat foods such as spinach, broccoli, kale, cabbage, beans, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, quinoa, mushrooms, and garlic.When on a low-fat diet, you must avoid foods with high-fat content such as whole milk, butter, oils, chocolates, and nuts.

Both low-fat and low-carb diets can benefit health. While a low-fat diet can help improve levels of cholesterol, a low-carb diet can help improve levels of blood sugar in the body. There have been studies to compare and study the effectiveness of low-fat and low-carb diet with emphasis laid on weight loss. Some studies are as follows:

Despite low-fat diet being a more common method opted by people, both low-fat and low-carb diets offer their set of benefits. However, a low-carb diet may offer better and more effective weight-loss benefits as compared to a low-fat diet. Depending on your requirements, you can pick a diet that you think would be best for you. Before making a decision, make sure you consult a professional to maximise the results and prevent any adversities from coming up.

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.

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Is a low-fat diet better than a low-carb diet for weight loss? Here is what you must know - Times Now

Choosing to avoid meat and eat a plant-based diet has never seemed so virtuous and necessary. Between the intrinsic cruelty of industrial livestock production and livestocks climate footprintestimated by the U.N.s Food and Agriculture Organization to be 14.5% of all greenhouse gases world-wide, significantly greater than that of plant agricultureit has become increasingly difficult to defend the place of meat and animal-sourced foods in our diets. Jonathan Safran Foer, the novelist turned animal-rights activist, may have best captured this thinking in his 2019 nonfiction book, We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast. As he writes, We cannot keep the kind of meals we have known and also keep the planet we have known. We must either let some eating habits go or let the planet go. It is that straightforward, that fraught.

An essential part of this argument is the proposition that animal-sourced foods, and particularly red and processed meats, arent just bad for the planet but harmful for the people who eat them. As the journalist Michael Pollan famously urged in his 2008 bestseller In Defense of Food, that is why we should eat mostly plants. This has become the lone piece of dietary counseling on which most nutritional authorities seemingly agree. It creates a win-win proposition: By eating mostly (or even exclusively) fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, while getting our proteins and fats from plant-based sources, we maximize our likelihood of living a long and healthy life while also doing whats right for the planet.

But is it that simple? A growing body of evidence suggests it isnt, at least not for many of us.

The other food movement that has won increased acceptance over the past decade is the low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic dietketo, for shortwhich has emerged as a direct response to the explosive rise in the incidence of obesity and diabetes. More than 70% of American adults are now obese or overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; nearly one in 10 is severely obese, and more than one in 10 is diabetic. An unavoidable implication of these numbers is that the conventional wisdom on weight losseat less, move your body morehas failed tens of millions of Americans.

These are the people who, sooner or later, may well experiment with alternative approaches, venturing into the realm of fad diets. They may try plant-based eatingvegetarian or even veganand if those dont return them to health, try keto or one of the many variations on low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets, from the original Atkins diet to the South Beach diet to paleo to the latest trend, carnivore. If they find that an unconventional approach works for them, allowing them to achieve and maintain a relatively healthy weight without enduring hunger, that will be their motivation to sustain it. But because this way of eating is most easily accomplished with animal-sourced foods, they may come to believe that whats good for them (and even their children) isnt good for the planet.

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The Keto Way: What If Meat Is Our Healthiest Diet? - The Wall Street Journal

Suzi Gerber, aka Chef Suzi, knows a thing or two about sticking to a healthy diet. In college, she ate vegan but it was anything but healthy whole foods (more like dairy-free ice cream). She had all sorts of health issues, debilitating pain and fatigue, and eventually learned she was dealing with an autoimmune disease. To ease her chronic pain and exhaustion, she went on a healthy, whole-food plant-based diet and immediately felt better. But it wasn't until she worked in a restaurant that she learned how to make plant-based nutritious gourmet food. Now, 50 pounds lighter and with much to teach, she has launched Plant-Based Gourmet, a brand and a book, to let others learn how to eat this way.

When Suzimade herswitch to a whole food plant-based approach that emphasized nutrition and low-carb eating, she lost 50 pounds andbecame an expert on the joys of eating a healthy, wholesome plant-based diet that allows for weight loss, the nutritious way.She is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge and can help others learneverything they need to knowabout eating this way, for health and feeling better in your own body, and yes if weight loss is the goal she can help with that as well. One thing Suzi believes: You don't have to sacrifice taste and enjoyment of food to be healthy, but you do need to be clear about your intentions. She has a new book out, Plant-Based Gourmet, that will help anyone who wants to make the switch to a healthy, plant-based diet full of delicious, nutritious foods, cook themselves amazing meals. She lost 50 pounds eating this way and is happy to share her secrets to healthy weight loss success. Her 3 tips to making habits stick are here.

Today is the perfect day to re-ignite your healthy resolutions and stoke the flames of an energetic, active, healthy body, fueled by plant-based foods.

The Beet: Changing Habits is hard!I tried to give up sugar and wine and pasta and bread and all the usual junky snack foods, and I am not succeeding. How can I stick to it?

Chef Suzi: To make those changes, which are ambitious, you can do it, but you need to plan ahead, get rid of all the junk in the house, and assemble your team or community. Then tell people who you need so they can help you succeed. Here are the three tips to change your habits for good.

You may think that craving came out of nowhere, but chances are you had a sneaky sugar today and didn't know it. And that makes you want more. So you need to either eat whole foods or look at the label.

So often there are hidden sugars in the food we eat. You pick up salad dressing, turn it to look at a label, and think,Well! What do you know? There is sugar in everything, even so-called healthy foods. How well do you know what is in your food? You may be getting sneaky sugar in your food. This is more damaging than just the added extra calories. It tells your tastebuds that sugar is normal, so you need to reset your tastebuds to stop seeking sweet.

This comes back to what I call Nutrition Literacy.When you go plant-based, suddenly you are looking at every nutrition label. So it is like a college education in what's in your food.

In the store read every ingredient. You'll ask yourself: Why does this have milk protein (casein) in it or high fructose corn syrup? What you discover is, you are eating sugar all the time. And when you are eating sugar all the time your baseline of what is sweet goes up. So you crave it. Don'tget your sugar unintentionally which is generally what happens, since it's in everything. If you decide to have sugar (as a treat) do it when it's time for a sweet treat.

When you learn to avoid sugar, your baseline for sweets is going down. And your overall sugar needs and intake are going to go down. So you avoid the sugar rollercoaster.

I may or may not be working on this in my next book! People the world over eat savory breakfasts. It's only Americans who think breakfast has to be sweet. Instead try eating Shakshuka, savory waffles. Savory oatmeal. I like to make it with vegetable broth, so you get rich nice flavors and vitamins and minerals off the bat. (You may think this sounds gross but it's really delicious and you get used to not having the sweet taste, which is the whole point. I add in some turmeric, and even green peppers, sweet potatoes, and oats or daring chicken or Gardein chicken. It's like a big bowl of savory comfort. And when you eat it it's like a rice dish and has savory fiber. This is also perfect when you are trying to hold off on breakfast and have it as a brunch-time meal.

(One side note about rice. Dr. Greger just posted an article warning about the arsenic content in rice... so I want to make 2021the year of the oat.)

Another way to go with savory breakfast is to use JUST egg and make yourself a plant-based scramble or omelet with peppers, or if you like tofu, create a new fun dish, like chili rellenos for breakfast. The point is you can play around it. For the classic eggs and bacon crowd, there are premade JUST Egg folded eggs and plant-based bacon, all of which you can buy in the store. Or make your own plant-based bacon with carrots orshitake mushrooms, sliced thin and spiced up. The secret to bacon is the spices. Marinade and spices, rich smokey flavors. If that is what you're going for you want to fill yourself up and stave off hunger and sweet cravings until your next break. Try things, as long as you're eating food that is savory. Skip anything sweet. You will find whattastes good to you.

Who are you on this journey with? Who are you going to beeating with? Ask them to support you, or better yet to come along with you. Can you get your partner to think this is an adventure? If they have no interest in going plant-based or they are not interested in any type of diet then how can you encourage them to look for new fun things to eat?

This is also where social networks can be helpful. Find your favorite influencers or bloggers and follow them. People should find a community, of like-minded healthy people, like on Facebook join a group of plant-based people to share their struggles and triumphs with. Nothing gets more likes than a post that says "1-month plant-based!" And Instagram, especially, has a lot of inspiration from other influencers who make beautiful vegan or plant-based foods and share them.

There is research that tells us: Vegans and vegetarians are much more likely to know other vegans and vegetarians. Healthy people tend to know other healthy people. Athletes know other athletes. The benefit of a healthy network is you feel like you belong to something bigger than yourself. Your family might not get it, or even resist what you're doing. But you can feel totally within your "new normal" when you join other plant-based people and share food pictures or recipes. Also, your family is watching, and if you feel better or look and act like your best version of yourself, they will take note of that. You can be the agent of change and lead by example. You can be the one who can help others get healthier. Think about a time when everyone smoked. Someone woke up one day and said: "I'm quitting, and you should too." You can do that now with your dietary choices. You can say: I think we should give up meat and dairy and see how we feel.

This is what happened to me, someone who lost 50 pounds! I am now someone that people know who made a diet change and it produced results. So now you know someone who changed and got healthier. That would be me.

Sometimes you get resistance. Try this. Sit down with your loved one and say: "Can you support me on this? Can you try this with me? You can help me be healthier? I want to make this change. Can you support me in this, or even join me in this?"

Landmark research shows support helps people achieve their goals. Tell your loved ones that too. Among dieters, they looked at those eating plant-based and animal-based diets. those that were in the supported groups, vs. the unsupported groups did better, no matter what diet they were on. Behavioral science is really critical there. Understanding where your battles are is really important. Understanding where we have barriers is important. Then figuring out how to work around them.

Find your advisor, someone who knows more than you do. You call someone for tech advice and for investment advice. We do that in our lives. Find your pack leader and ask for advice. Or once you get further along and understand what works, you can be the pack leader. You may take the flack. But you can be the one who is influencing everyone else in your circle.

My sister is 10 years older, she was the first vegan I know. She went vegan in the early 90s and I followed suit. And she is one of the most vocal people about what she eats. Eventually, I did my own version of plant-based. You have to stay in your own lane and think that it works for everyone in different ways.

We think of changing our diet as being super strict for one month of the year, and then January is over and we have a slow backslide until bathing suit season when we get serious about losing weight again. But generally, we go back to our old unhealthy habits in between. I want to take the guilt out of it and I want to put the yoyo back in the closet. This kind of all or nothing thinking is a trap. We should be as healthy as we can be and forgive ourselves for those times when we may eat sweets or drink or do whatever it is we resolved to give up.

Most diets fail, and resolutions especially, because people on them say: I won't eat sweets for a month and it's an awesome challenge. But the reality is that is difficult to sustain. What works is trying to be healthy most of the time, but keeping everything in balance. You can ask yourself, "Am I going to have a cake today? "If it's your birthday or your sibling's birthday, maybe yes. But tell yourself,I can have it today and not tomorrow. If I have cake today it doesn't mean I am hopping on the cake train and my diet is smashed and over. Everything about food is not absolute. If you consistently eat healthier, eat a whole food plant-based diet, full of healthy fiber, your satiety cues are going to adjust and you will feel full with less food.

You have to work out an in-between state of all or nothing. Tell yourself I am going to be 85 percent healthy. Once you find what works for you, then you can stay healthy. Most of the important lifestyle changes are not talked about in absolutesyet diets usually are. Think of it: Whole 30 or keto or vegan, none of them leave room for life to be imperfect. But it doesn't work that way. If you allow yourself a small bit of somethingit works ouot better. Instead of I am not drinking! Then if you do decide to open a bottle of wineyou'll probably want to drink the whole bottle of wine. If you tell yourself I don't eat potato chips and you have a bag in the cupboard, you'll eat the whole bag. But if you tell yourself you can have a little wine it's fine (not talking about alcoholics here but casual drinkers), and if you just have a few chips you can stay on track. Be consistently healthy and consistently active, and you will be able to keep it up.

I tell myself this: I want to stay on track and be healthy and lose weight. But if I want a small treat or piece of cake,I am going to allow myself that and then check back in and say, that was enough. Now I want to be healthy again. I can have Chinese food and order my favorite dishes, and then tomorrow go back to salads again. That's how you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, or keep the weight off.

Fiber is probably one of the most important signs of a healthy diet. People put a lot of emphasis on protein but it's almost impossible to get all your daily fiber unless you are eating vegetables and fruits. The recommendation is 25 grams to 35 grams a day, but more is even better. Fiber is found in foods like leafy greens, vegetables, fruit, and nuts or whole grains are essential to a healthy diet. Fiber binds to fats and carries them out of the body. In your gut, think of fiber as the container that literally binds with fat and carries that fat out of the body. It can also coat the lining of the small intestine and helps the body not absorb calories. So it slows the burn, which is a good thing.

Fiber improves the body's metabolism because it slows down the rate your body absorbs glucose and fat from your food. Think of it this way: As you eat a whole meal with fiber, instead of the stomach emptying fast, and all those calories being stored because you can't use them all at once, instead, with fiber you are only absorbing a bit at a time. It is like logs on a fire, it keeps you burning longer than paper or a match (carbs burn fast). So fiber creates that outcome you want: burn steadily and never have your insulin spike. With fiber foods, you burn a little bit now and a little more later, and so on. It keeps your blood sugar level. So after a salad for lunch, you will feel energized, satisfied, and fueled up and not experience that sugar crash at 3:30 p.m. that leads you to seek out carbs or sweets. You feel great for hours.

Fiber helps you build abetter relationship with the body. Because you are not on this rollercoaster and you feel calm and steady. Half of what you eat you absorb and half you don't and it changes the way your body absorbs food.

Lemon water does a similar thing: It slows down the rate that carbohydrates are absorbed. Everyone knows the way carbs are absorbed. You get this sugar spike followed by a crash, so you feel low and tired, Fiber, and lemon water, starts to break down food slower, so you feel less spiking, less crashing and more time to steadily absorb what you eat.

It means that you have a battery, instead of a lightning bolt, and you are drawing energy from it a little bit at a time. This allows you to stick with your healthy diet and feel great. And ultimately that's the point.

Excerpt from:
5 Tips to Stick With a Healthy Diet by Chef Suzi, Who Lost 50 Lbs - The Beet

The coronavirus pandemic dominated the headlines and our daily lives for most of the past year. Medical News Today have covered this fast-moving, complex story with live updates on the latest news, interviews with experts, and an ongoing investigation into the deep racial disparities that COVID-19 has helped unmask.

However, this hasnt stopped us from publishing hundreds of fascinating stories on a myriad of other topics.

This week saw the launch of MNTs latest evidence-backed information hub, all about womens health, and thats where we begin this edition of the Recovery Room. Its a comprehensive resource with dozens of articles covering every aspect of the topic, with fresh content added continually.

Next, a hugely popular article on exercise, which will be useful for beginners as well as people looking to take their weight loss and muscle gains to the next level. We also cover cerebral pursuits, thanks to our evidence-backed guide to exercising your brain.

Along the way, we look at research into the phenomenon of clairaudience, how to follow a nutritionally-complete vegan diet, and why frying food is particularly bad for the heart.

We also have exciting news of possible treatments for two neurodegenerative diseases that could treat millions of people. Scientists say further research and development are needed, but identifying a protein linked to Parkinsons disease looks promising.

We highlight this research below, along with other recent stories that you may have missed amid all the COVID-19 fervor.

This week saw the launch of MNTs latest collection of evidence-backed resources, this time focusing on womens health.

Youll find over 70 articles on topics as diverse as nutrition, exercise, mental health, menopause, cancer, hormones, and sexual health. They include eight features that unravel the myths and misconceptions around womens health, as well as our recommendations for products and programs.

Click below for science-backed information and advice to help you live your strongest, healthiest life.

Learn more here.

This weeks most popular new article is all about losing weight and gaining muscle through exercise. Starting with pointers on choosing a workout, we explore the evidence for how often we should work out to lose weight or gain muscle.

Personal fitness goals determine which workouts to follow, so this article includes a range of beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercises that target all the bodys major muscle groups.

This article has attracted over 137,000 sessions since Monday, making it this years most popular so far.

Learn more here.

Some people claim to hear the voices of the dead, an experience called clairaudience. This week, MNT reported new research into this type of religious and spiritual experience and how it relates to auditory hallucinations in people with mental health conditions.

The United Kingdom study involved more than 200 people with varying spiritual beliefs. The researchers asked them to complete a survey measuring how absorbed they become in music, movies, or their own thoughts, as well as questionnaires relating to hallucinations, paranormal beliefs, and identity.

What did the researchers find? And how do people who experience clairaudience differ from the general population? Click below to discover more.

Learn more here.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is known to play a vital role in learning, memory, and maintaining brain flexibility, or plasticity.

A low-level form of BDNF, called mature BDNF (mBDNF), is linked with depression, while a high level of its precursor, proBDNF, is associated with inflammation and nerve degeneration, and may even trigger depressive symptoms. Existing blood tests have been unable to differentiate levels of these two forms.

However, MNT reported this week on a new test that can distinguish between the two forms more accurately. Researchers have since found that people with depression or bipolar disorder have significantly lower levels of mBDNF in their blood than control group participants without these conditions.

Learn more here.

A recent Recovery Room featured an article on myths about vegetarian and vegan diets. This week, we followed up with advice on avoiding nutrient deficiencies that may occur when following a vegan diet.

The article looks at which nutrients and minerals, such as vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, are most likely to be lacking in these diets. It includes tips on how to boost levels of these nutrients through specific foods and supplements.

For a detailed explanation of the nutrients to target on a vegan diet, click below.

Learn more here.

Regardless of whether your diet is plant-based or includes meat and dairy, a new meta-analysis, reported in MNT this week, serves as a reminder of the danger of frying foods. Researchers analyzed 19 studies and found that people who ate the most fried foods had a 37% increased risk of heart failure.

Studies have already established correlations between consuming fried food and developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and hypertension, but this research marks the first definitive evidence of a link with heart failure.

The article also looks at why frying food is so harmful compared to other cooking methods.

Learn more here.

We could be one step closer to developing a new treatment for Parkinsons disease. Scientists have identified a protein that can slow or even halt the progression of the condition in mice.

The protein is a neurotrophic factor a type of molecule that supports the survival and development of nerve cells that may protect the dopamine-producing neurons that become damaged in Parkinsons disease. It may even restore their function.

The researchers are now seeking an industry partner to assist in the development of this discovery. They hope their findings will pave the way for new treatments for some of the estimated 1 million people in the United States with Parkinsons disease.

Learn more here.

We also reported on a discovery relating to another chronic neurological condition, multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers have found that people with this condition have low levels of oleic acid in their fatty tissues, which may lead to autoimmune reactions and inflammation that causes damage to the central nervous system. Symptoms of MS include fatigue, vision loss, and muscle weakness.

This article explores the role of oleic acid in the behavior of regulatory T cells that may have links with the progression of MS and other autoimmune conditions. However, further research is now needed to determine whether a diet rich in oleic acid can help treat MS.

Learn more here.

According to estimates, up to 22% of people gained weight over the past year of lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19.

But how has the pandemic led to such widespread weight gain? This article looks at the possible causes, as well as recommending strategies for losing weight during lockdown. And while exercise and nutrition are important, its also a good idea to consider your mental health and well-being.

Learn more here.

This weeks Recovery Room features articles that focus on keeping the body in shape, but what about giving the brain a workout too?

Our editors have compiled a list of exercises that could boost brain function and protect against age-related deterioration. Theres a varied selection to choose from, including meditation, playing games, learning a language, dancing, and of course, sleeping.

We also delve into the evidence of each activitys benefits, with an abundance of links to related MNT articles offering more in-depth analysis. Plenty to keep your brain busy into the weekend and beyond.

Learn more here.

We hope this article offers a taste of the stories that we cover at MNT. Well be back with a new selection next week.

We publish hundreds of new stories and features every month. Here are some upcoming articles that may pique our readers interests:

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The Recovery Room: News beyond the pandemic January 29 - Medical News Today

When you're following a weight loss diet, the humble spud is usually the first carb to be cut from the shopping list which makes the rise of the potato diet all the more remarkable. This extreme way of eating involves consuming nothing other than cooked potatoes for a set period of time with the goal of achieving rapid weight loss.

The potato diet can last anywhere from three tough days to several gruelling months, and while many claim to have lost significant weight following it, no scientific studies have been done to support these claims. Away from the deep fat fryer, this versatile root vegetable has a host of health benefits but is the potato diet safe, and should you try it for weight loss?

We explain how the potato diet works, examine the nutritional profile of the spud and put our health concerns to Pixie Turner, a registered nutritionist for Discover Great Veg:

The potato diet essentially involves eating nothing but potatoes for days, weeks or months. There are several ways to do it, the most popular being a crash diet popularised by Tim Steele, author of The Potato Hack: Weight Loss Simplified. Commit to eating plain, cooked white potatoes for three to five days, and you could lose up to one pound (0.45 kg) per day, the book claims. All condiments and toppings are vetoed except salt, which is allowed but advised against.

Other, longer-term versions of the potato diet have cropped up in recent years, such as Spud Fit Challenge. It was created by Aussie dieter Andrew Taylor, who ate nothing but tatties for an entire year, shedding 117 pounds (53.07 kg). In his version of the drastic diet, sweet potatoes, herbs and spices, and even certain fat-free condiments are allowed, like sweet chilli, tomato sauce or barbecue sauce.

Generally, the rules for the potato diet vary in three ways:

You'll notice that it isn't called the French fry diet. High-fat, high-salt potato foods such as crisps and chips are off the menu, no matter what. As for washing those spuds down with a drink usually only water, coffee, and tea (without milk or sugar) are recommended.

The potato diet will initially help you lose weight, because it's very low in calories. One medium-sized skin-on potato contains 110 calories, so even if you ate 10 whole potatoes over the course of a day, you'd only consume 1,100 calories far below the recommended daily calorie intake of 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men.

'There's nothing special about the potato in terms of weight loss,' says Turner. 'It simply does whatever any diet tries to do: limits foods in order to limit total energy consumption. Most likely someone would get bored of eating nothing but potatoes pretty quickly and therefore end up eating less food overall compared to usual.'

The potato diet simply does whatever any diet tries to do: limits foods in order to limit total energy consumption.

Flavourful foods set off the reward system in your brain, and unsurprisingly, plain cooked potatoes don't quite have the same effect so it's almost impossible to overeat them. This means you're only likely to eat when you're hungry, and only enough to curb your hunger.

Potatoes also contain proteinase inhibitor 2, a compound that may help to reduce appetite and food intake and stimulate satiety hormones, though more research is needed on that.

While the potato diet has a great deal of worrying downsides and health risks, there are a few potential benefits worth examining:

One potato (around 180g) contains more than a quarter of your daily potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium intake, plus a substantial helping of folate, niacin, phosphorus, and manganese. They're a rich source of antioxidants specifically lutein and zeaxanthin in white potatoes, and anthocyanins in purple and red potatoes.

Each potato contains around 3.7g fibre, about the same as an apple. Not only is fibre essential for a healthy digestive system, it makes you feel fuller for longer and keeps your blood sugar levels stable. Potatoes are also full of resistant starch, which resists digestion and feeds good bacteria in the gut.

Potatoes are cheap, readily-available, and less perishable than other vegetables. They also offer bang-for-buck in terms of fullness, topping the satiety index, which ranks foods according to their ability to satisfy hunger. You'd need to eat seven croissants to feel as full as you would from one tatty.

The potato diet is straightforward, we'll give it that. Some people claim the simplicity of the rules alters their relationship with food that they become more aware of when they are eating out of boredom or tiredness and gain a greater understanding of when they are hungry and full. However, there are far healthier ways to reach this understanding. For example, adopting mindful eating practices or intuitive eating.

There's no question that potatoes deserve a place on every dinner place, but following the potato diet for any period of time can have drastic health consequences, such as:

Strict dieting is a form of disordered eating that can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. 'Eating only potatoes flies in the face of everything we know about a healthy pattern of eating,' says Turner. 'It's restrictive, hugely limiting, boring, anti-social, and it's impossible to obtain all the micronutrients the body needs from just potatoes.'

Potatoes don't contain all the vitamins and minerals you need for optimal health including vitamin B12, vitamin A, calcium and zinc. They're also incredibly low in protein and fat, containing 4.3g and 0.2g respectively per potato. You need protein to help build muscles and bones and make hormones, while fats help the body absorb certain vitamins.

Even though you may lose weight rapidly, it doesn't mean you're losing fat. Muscle loss is extremely common when dieting, particularly on low-calorie, low-protein diets. In one small study, 18 per cent of the weight lost by participants on a 500-calorie diet was lean muscle.

Eating fewer calories that your body needs interferes with your metabolism. One of the ways this happens is through muscle loss, since muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat. Following a low-calorie diet can decrease your daily calorie burn by as much as 23 per cent, and this effect can persist long after the diet ends.

When your metabolism slows and your body burns fewer calories in response to eating very few calories, it's called adaptive thermogenesis. This makes it difficult to maintain your new weight once you return to your normal way of eating. Long-term studies have shown that as many as 90 per cent of dieters return to their previous weight.

Acrylamide is a toxic chemical substance that forms when starchy foods like potatoes are cooked at high temperatures. High doses are known to damage the human nervous system and cause cancer in animals. If you intend to follow the potato diet long-term, don't keep raw potatoes in the fridge and soak them in water before baking.

While it may help you lose weight, the safety of the potato diet hasn't been tested in a scientific setting. However, it's extremely restrictive, lacks important nutrients, and may interfere with your metabolism. 'Just don't do it,' says Turner. 'It's not worth it. Food is a wonderful thing, but eating nothing but potatoes is dull and unnecessary.'

For healthy, sustainable weight loss, balance complex carbohydrates with 'plenty of fruit and vegetables, including leafy greens like kale, cavolo nero, and spinach; protein sources like meat, fish, beans and tofu; sources of fat like oily fish, avocados and cheese; and some foods you enjoy just for the fun of them,' she says.

Last updated: 28-01-2021

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Potato diet: is it safe, and does it work for weight loss? - Netdoctor

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

What are your favorite foods? Pizza? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Potato chips? Ice cream? Are any fruits or vegetables on your list?

Would you say that you have a healthy diet? Do you make an effort to eat healthy foods and avoid or limit unhealthy ones? Has the pandemic made it harder for you to eat healthy?

In 5 Ways Teens Can Get More Fruits and Vegetables Into Their Diets, Christina Caron writes about how parents can help their children to improve their eating habits:

If youve been watching your teenager devour processed foods like potato chips, chicken nuggets or sugary cereals and drinks, you are not alone. Comfort food has been especially alluring during the pandemic, for parents and kids alike.

But according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this has been a problem for teens long before the pandemic: Most teenagers in the United States have not been eating enough fruits and vegetables.

Dietary guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend that girls 14 to 18 years old should eat at least 1.5 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables each day and boys in the same age range should eat at least 2 cups of fruit and 3 cups of vegetables. But the new report, which presented survey data from more than 13,000 high school students across the country, found that in 2017, only about 7 percent of the students met the daily recommendations for fruit, and just 2 percent met the recommendations for vegetables.

Its really insufficient across all groups, said Samantha J. Lange, a research fellow at the C.D.C. and the lead author of the study.

Those percentages might even be lower, the researchers added, because the students may have overestimated the amount of fruits and vegetables that they actually ate. And of course the findings do not account for the ways eating habits may have changed in the pandemic, when many people have reported weight gain.

Ms. Caron shares five tips from nutrition experts for parents, such as find fruits and veggies that fit your budget and make meal planning a family affair.

The article concludes with a recommendation to teach your teen about the many benefits of healthy eating. Among other tips, she points out that:

Remote learning, the isolation of quarantine and the uncertainty of the pandemic have been especially challenging for teenagers. Research suggests that consuming healthy foods, including fruits and vegetables, can help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Emphasizing this to your teenagers might provide a compelling reason for them to switch up their diet.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

Do you have a healthy diet? Tell us about your eating habits and preferences. How has the pandemic affected your eating? Do you agree with the author that comfort foods have been especially alluring this year?

How health conscious are you about the foods you eat? Do you pay attention to the fat, salt and sugar content in the foods that you eat? Do you consider the nutrition value of food when choosing a snack or meal?

A new report by the C.D.C. says that only about 7 percent of the students met the daily recommendations for fruit, and just 2 percent met the recommendations for vegetables. Do these findings ring true for your own eating habits? How many fruits and vegetables do you eat on average each day? Did the article persuade you to start eating more produce?

Ms. Caron writes that research suggests that consuming healthy foods, including fruits and vegetables, can help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Does this resonate with your own experiences? Have you ever noticed how different foods affect your moods or behavior?

The article notes several barriers to eating healthy, such as the abundance of inexpensive and unhealthy food options in certain areas. What factors get in the way of you having healthier eating habits? What questions do you still have about healthy diets?

What do you think of Ms. Carons tips for parents? For example, she writes that when teenagers feel like they have some ownership over the process, they might be more likely to choose healthier options when deciding what to eat. Would that work for you? Do you help choose, shop for, or even prepare meals and snacks for you and your family? If not, do you want to start taking on that role? What other kinds of advice would you give to parents to help them improve their childrens healthy eating habits?

Would it be challenging for you to shift to eating more healthy foods? Why or why not? What is one way you can improve your diet?

About Student Opinion

Find all of our Student Opinion questions in this column. Have an idea for a Student Opinion question? Tell us about it. Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Read more:
Do You Have a Healthy Diet? - The New York Times

The South Beach Diet and Nutrisystem are two popular programs often used by those looking to lose weight.

While both programs have several things in common, many key differences set them apart.

This article takes a closer look at the South Beach Diet and Nutrisystem to determine which is better for weight loss.

Heres a brief overview of how each program works.

The South Beach Diet is a low carb diet designed to promote weight loss and improve heart health. Its based on a book by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist.

The diet promotes lean sources of protein, non-starchy vegetables, and heart-healthy fats while limiting added sugars and high carb ingredients.

Although you can follow the diet using the principles described in the book, the South Beach Diet also offers plans that provide fully prepared meals and snacks delivered to your door.

The company has three plans, including:

The program also has a 1-week reboot kit. According to the companys website, this contains an array of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks specifically selected to help you lose up to 7 pounds (3 kg) in 1 week.

Nutrisystem is a commercial weight loss program that offers an assortment of fully prepared fresh and frozen meals each week.

The company offers several plans with varying meals, prices, and customization options.

Here are some of the plans offered by Nutrisystem:

The program is designed to be followed for 24 weeks but can be repeated as many times as necessary to help you reach your goals.

In addition to the meals and snacks provided by Nutrisystem, dieters are encouraged to enjoy two additional healthy snacks per day to round out their diet.

Heres what kind of foods you can find on the menu of each program.

The South Beach Diet features a large menu with a variety of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks.

When placing your order, you can mix and match items to create your own meal plan.

You can also filter items to view meals that are vegetarian or diabetes-friendly, as well as those that contain specific allergens and ingredients.

Additionally, you can sort items by their carb content, storage needs, and preparation required.

The nutrition facts and ingredients are also listed for all meals and snacks on the menu, along with customer reviews and details on the preparation method.

Nutrisystem offers an extensive menu with over 150 fresh and frozen meals and snacks to choose from.

The menu also includes a selection of diabetes-friendly, high fiber, high protein, low sodium, and vegetarian options.

Each menu item is accompanied by a list of ingredients and its nutrition facts. You can also filter the menu to exclude items that contain certain ingredients, including pork, wheat, or milk.

With the Basic Plan, you can choose from 100 items on the menu to create a custom meal plan. All other plans allow you to select from the full menu.

Heres how the two programs vary in terms of cost.

The South Beach Diet offers several plans, each of which varies in price and its selection of meals and snacks.

Heres how much 1 months worth of meals costs on each plan:

All plans include free shipping, and additional discounts are available if you prepay for multiple months or sign up for auto-delivery.

You can also add other items to your order for an extra fee, such as meal bundles, protein bars, and shaker bottles.

The prices for Nutrisystem differ depending on which plan you select.

Heres how much each plan costs:

All plans include free shipping, as well as a discount if you preorder multiple shipments.

You can also add an assortment of protein shakes to your order for an additional fee.

Both programs have been shown to increase weight loss and fat loss.

While theres very little research on the South Beach Diet specifically, several studies have found that high protein, low carb diets may aid weight loss.

One study in 331 people with obesity noted that those who followed a low carb, low calorie, high protein diet lost significantly more body weight and fat mass over 9 months than those following a standard low calorie diet (1).

Another study in 164 people showed that reducing your carb intake may help you burn more calories throughout the day, thus promoting weight loss (2).

One older study found that people with metabolic syndrome who followed the South Beach Diet for 12 weeks lost an average of 11.5 pounds (5.2 kg) (3).

Plus, they experienced significant reductions in total percent body fat, belly fat, and body mass index (BMI), an estimate of body fat thats calculated using your height and weight (3).

Increasing your protein intake may also enhance feelings of fullness and affect certain hormones that control hunger and appetite, such as ghrelin (4, 5).

Although theres limited research on the effectiveness of Nutrisystem for long-term, sustainable weight loss, several studies show that it may be beneficial for increasing short-term weight loss.

For example, one small study in 69 people with type 2 diabetes indicated that following the Nutrisystem program for 3 months was more effective for weight loss than attending a diabetes support and education group (6).

Similarly, a review of 39 studies reported that participants who used Nutrisystem for 3 months achieved an average of 3.8% more weight loss than those who received behavioral counseling or education (7).

Whats more, another study found that people who used Nutrisystem for 12 weeks lost an average of 17.8 pounds (8 kg) and more belly fat than those who followed the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet (8).

However, keep in mind that this study was directly sponsored by Nutrisystem.

Finally, any low calorie diet is likely to result in rapid weight loss. The Nutrisystem diet that resulted in the 17.8-pound (8-kg) weight loss mentioned above contained only 1,0001,500 calories per day, which is much too low for the energy needs of most adults.

Both the South Beach Diet and Nutrisystem may also offer additional benefits.

The prepared meals offered by the South Beach Diet make it easy to follow a low carb diet and can help save you time and energy throughout the week.

Unlike many other prepared meal services, the South Beach Diet book also offers clear guidelines on healthy eating and physical activity, which may help transition off the service.

In addition to increasing weight loss, the South Beach Diet may improve several other aspects of your health.

For instance, one older study in 20 people showed that following the South Beach Diet decreased levels of fasting insulin, which may help support healthy blood sugar levels (3, 9).

Another study found that participants who followed a diet pattern similar to the South Beach Diet for 24 weeks experienced greater improvements in blood sugar control and triglyceride levels than those following a high carb, low fat diet (10).

With a variety of fully prepared meals and snacks on the menu, Nutrisystem offers a quick, convenient, and simple solution for weight loss.

It may be a particularly good option for people looking to save time during the week, without having to worry about monitoring their portion sizes and counting carbs or calories.

Plus, it may help support healthy blood sugar levels.

In fact, most Nutrisystem meals have a low glycemic index (GI), which means that the meals are less likely to significantly affect your blood sugar levels (11).

In addition to improving blood sugar control among people with type 2 diabetes, some research suggests that low GI diets may be beneficial for weight loss (12).

Both diet programs also have a few downsides to consider.

Although its possible to follow the South Beach Diet by employing the guidelines in the book and preparing your own food at home, the meal plans offered by the company use highly processed and prepackaged foods like cookies, snack bars, and nacho puffs.

While some may enjoy the ease and convenience of these meals and snacks, regularly consuming processed food has been linked to chronic conditions like obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes (13, 14).

Plus, easing back into a regular diet may be more difficult if youre relying solely on these prepared meals, and it could potentially increase your risk of weight regain.

Additionally, the meal plans offered by the South Beach Diet only provide 1,2001,500 calories per day. While the diet may result in short-term weight loss, this calorie range is far too low for most adults, unsustainable, and may result in weight regain.

Furthermore, the South Beach Diet is expensive and more costly than many similar services, including Nutrisystem, with prices starting at $12.50 per day.

Options to accommodate specific dietary restrictions are also limited. This may not be ideal if you have any food preferences, allergies, or intolerances.

Unlike other programs that promote healthy dietary and lifestyle changes, Nutrisystem relies on premade, preportioned meals and snacks to encourage weight loss.

While this may be effective for short-term weight loss, its likely to lead to weight regain once you resume your typical diet.

It can also be expensive to follow long term, with plans starting at almost $9 per day.

Nutrisystem may not be a good option for those with certain dietary restrictions, including people following vegan or gluten-free diets.

It can also be somewhat restrictive and may not provide enough calories for many adults.

In the long run, decreasing your calorie intake too much can slow your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight (15).

There are several factors to consider when determining which program is right for you.

With a large menu of meals and snacks that require little to no preparation, Nutrisystem is a simple and convenient option for weight loss.

Its also more affordable than similar services, including the South Beach Diet.

On the other hand, while the meals provided by the South Beach Diet are a bit more expensive, you can also follow the diet using the guidelines described in the book instead of purchasing the premade meals.

Doing so can not only make it easier to incorporate other foods into your diet but also ease your transition back to a regular diet to maintain weight loss long term.

Nutrisystem is a weight loss program that offers fully prepared meals and snacks to support weight loss and save you time during the week.

Meanwhile, the South Beach Diet is a low carb, high protein diet based on a book that also offers a variety of prepared meals.

Although the premade meals from the South Beach Diet may be more expensive, the book offers additional guidelines on healthy eating and physical activity, which may ease your transition back to a typical diet once youve reached your goals.

Read more here:
The South Beach Diet vs. Nutrisystem: Comparison and Review - Healthline

Throughout 2021, Good Housekeeping will be exploring how we think about weight, the way we eat, and how we try to control or change our bodies in our quest to be happier and healthier. While GH also publishes weight loss content and endeavors to do so in a responsible, science-backed way, we think its important to present a broad perspective that allows for a fuller understanding of the complex thinking about health and body weight. Our goal here is not to tell you how to think, eat, or live nor is to to pass judgment on how you choose to nourish your body but rather to start a conversation about diet culture, its impact, and how we might challenge the messages we are given about what makes us attractive, successful, and healthy.

The dawn of a new year is when many scramble to make resolutions, and in the U.S., these are often earnest pledges to shrink, tone, chisel or otherwise alter our bodies. Like years before, in the first weeks of 2021, new signups for virtual workout subscriptions and searches for diet on Google are spiking, because after all, every January were flooded with urgent broadcasts from every societal megaphone reminding us that its time to detox our poor, puffy bodies of the bad food choices we made over the holidays

Wait. Stop. Just there.

...detox our bodies of the bad food choices we made...

This language and the entire concept implies that our bodies have been poisoned by peppermint bark, cookies, latkes, and eggnog, and that an antidote must be administered urgently, or else. It assumes that certain foods are bad and whats more, we are bad for eating them, when in reality, this moralization of food and our collective desire to fix any perceived wrongdoings is a prime example of diet culture and just how easily it can sneak in under the radar. We can even fall into that trap here at Good Housekeeping, despite our best efforts, when we describe desserts as "sinful" or "no-guilt. (Editors note: Now that the brand is becoming more aware of diet culture and its effects, we are actively looking for ways to be more careful with our language choices.)

There's a whole lexicon, says Claire Mysko, CEO of National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). When we say we need to burn off or make up for the cheeseboard we shared with friends; when we skip the dessert we want and ponder if even snagging a bite of our partners dessert is worth it; whenever we ascribe virtue to our food choices, giggling that its naughty when we choose to eat what we crave or what comforts us, or good when we opt for low-calorie, low-carb, or other foods diet culture has deemed healthy. All of that talk is part of diet culture, says Mysko. And it is so inextricably woven into the fabric of our culture that many people arent even consciously aware of the daily inundation.

So what is "diet culture"?

Diet culture has many definitions and facets but, in a nutshell, its a set of beliefs that worships thinness and equates it with health and moral virtue, according to anti-diet dietitian, Christy Harrison, M.P.H., R.D., C.D.N., author of Anti-Diet and host of the Food Psych podcast. And it has become our dominant culture often in ways we don't even notice since it's the water in which we swim.

Think of diet culture as the lens through which most of us in this country view beauty, health, and our own bodies; a lens that colors your judgments and decisions about how you feel about and treat yourself. Diet culture places thinness as the pinnacle of success and beauty, and in diet culture, there is a conferred status to people who are thinner, and it assumes that eating in a certain way will result in the right body size the correct body size and good health, and that it's attainable for anybody who has the 'right' willpower, the 'right' determination, says therapist Judith Matz, L.C.S.W., author of The Body Positivity Card Deck and Diet Survivor's Handbook.

In actual fact, there is no right body size, and even if there were, its not attainable to whomever does the right thing (or whatever weight loss trend may be viewed as right at the moment), as evidenced by the 98% failure rate of diets. This stat alone is proof of the no-win norm that we, as a society, have been groomed to abide by. In one fell swoop, diet culture sets us up to feel bad about ourselves and judge other people, too while also suggesting that losing weight will help us feel better.

Urging people to examine, question, and ultimately reject diet culture is at the heart of the anti-diet movement, whose prominent voices include Harrison, NEDA, a crowd of activists in the Health at Any Size movement, the body positivity movement, and many others. The anti-diet movement is, in part, working to debunk the diet culture myth that thinness equals health and raising awareness of and helping to end fat phobia and discrimination against people in larger bodies. And because a tenet of diet culture is, well, endlessly dieting to be thinner no matter the mental and physical cost, the anti-diet movement rejects diets for the purposes of weight loss.

Anti-diet does not mean anti-health.

And heres the thing: We are all products of diet culture, so its understandable why roughly half of adults have been on a weight loss diet in the last year alone. Dieters are just doing what weve always been told is the best thing for our health and appearance, and by implication, will bring us the perceived shiny futures of the people in the after photos. To be clear, the anti-diet movement [is not] anti-dieter, says Harrison. Rather, the anti-diet movement challenges diet culture and, as result, takes issue with the many restrictive diets that are scientifically proven to have a negative impact on cognitive function, heart health, and mortality, while contributing to social injustice and weight prejudice.

Anti-diet aims to free people from spending every waking moment policing their bodies, wasting precious time and energy obsessing over food choices, calories, macros, and the like. It aims to help people fill their bellies with the food they want and need, and without the distraction of constant hunger, allow their minds to see issues that are much bigger and more important than the way we look and how we eat. It helps us realize that the secret to happiness and freedom is not, in fact, locked within a smaller body requiring a "willpower" key, as diet culture has long made us believe.

Even if youre not consciously trying to lose weight per se, diet culture often crops up in choices we think were making for health, to feel or look good, fit in, or even just make conversation amongst friends over dinner (oh, I know, I feel this cake making my hips bigger as I eat it, or, ugh, we need to go to the gym after this). But subconsciously, diet culture creates this idea and reinforces it at every turn that you have to be thin in order to be successful, accepted, loved, healthy: All of these things that we want for ourselves that are just understandable human desire, says Harrison. It tells us that weight loss is the secret to that. It tells us that weight loss is a way to attain those things. And it's a house of cards, because it's not.

Diet culture can be found in Barbies thigh gap and 18-inch waist, which influences perceptions of what an ideal body should look like. Its Lululemons founder saying publicly that it's a problem when women's thighs touch. Its Kim Kardashian explaining how necessary it is to squeeze into shapewear beneath a dress, saying, without shapewear, youd see cellulite and I just wouldnt feel as confident. (Also, that her shapewear brand, SKIMS, allegedly sold $2 million of product in minutes when it launched.) Its the fact that you may have been told (or recited!) that at the first sign of hunger, instead of giving your body the food its asking for, you should delay and drink a glass of no-calorie water first in case youre actually just thirsty. Even Good Housekeeping's own article on 1,200-calorie diets is a tricky juxtaposition: The article aims to serve the approximately 40,500 people who search for 1,200-calorie meal plans on Google every month despite a 2015 study that shows this number of calories falls within the realm of clinical starvation. Although GH strives to provide safe, nutritionist-backed advice, we also realize how this can contribute to the bigger problem.

As anyone whos ever looked into the mirror and wished for a flatter this or a bigger that can likely attest, theres an unattainable and rigidly narrow Western, white beauty ideal to which many of us often compare ourselves, and to which many of us are held by other people. Nobody ever wakes up in the morning and says, Gosh, I look terrific. I feel so healthy, I'm so attractive: I think I'll go on a diet, Matz points out. It always starts with negative thoughts.

Instagram influencer culture, movies, runways, fashion ads, and media outlets including magazines are rife with one type of person: A normatively feminine, usually white woman who is slim and tall and seemingly living fabulously. Could their charmed lives be because of those perfect bodies? The sample size for many designers is 0-2, while a 2018 study by National Health Statistics Reports published by the CDC places the average American adult woman in a size 18-20, and teen girls in a size 12.

While what is truly average varies greatly on genetics, family history, race, ethnicity, age, and much more, size and weight are actually not good indicators of health in the first place you can be smaller-bodied and unhealthy, or larger-bodied and fit. Even so, we're exposed to the steady stream of images and messages that reinforce diet culture and reinforce the idea that to be happy and successful and well-liked you have to look a certain way, have a certain body, and follow a certain fitness or meal plan or diet, says Mysko, which keeps people unhappy in their bodies, chasing something they can't ever catch, and spending loads of money to do so.

Anti-diet advocates argue that diet culture harms everyone with a body, particularly (but certainly not limited to) people who are in larger bodies. Though healthy bodies come at every size and shape, our societal experiences vary greatly depending on a given persons size weight stigma and thin privilege are both very real and no one is safe from feeling othered by diet culture. Even those in "average" or slender bodies can feel that they're not thin enough in the exact right places. This all leads to people feeling a lot of shame about their body and feeling that being thinner is worth pursuing at all costs, says Matz.

The result: People choose from hundreds, if not thousands, of diet plans or restrictive food plans. In November 2020, the CDC reported that more people are actually dieting now compared to 10 years ago. Part of the problem is that the term wellness is often now used as a euphemism for diet. But understanding diet culture and how it impacts us isnt only about how any given individual responds to it: Its about recognizing that diet culture is baked directly into American culture and is intrinsically linked with racism and patriarchy. What constitutes good behavior is going to be far more accessible to white persons, to men, to wealthy persons, than people who do not fit into those categories, says Sabrina Strings, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at the University of California at Irvine and the author of Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia. This includes conventional thinness.

When you have been told that you should only have [a certain number of] calories or that you must keep your BMI here, you will always feel like you are doing either good or bad, right or wrong by sticking to these dictates, Strings adds. Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths, [including the concept that] if you just restrict your food, then you'll be able to attain that weight, says Matz. Whats more, says Strings, Whenever we create standards about how we all should live, these norms always benefit those individuals who are already in power. Here are some key issues with diet culture:

And according to a 2010 study, stigma and discrimination toward obese persons are pervasive which threatens their psychological and physical health, creates health disparities, and contributes to a looming social injustice issue that goes widely ignored. Then, in an attempt to gain equal access, fat people are led to diets that further harm them physically and mentally: Consider that one study showed the calorie intake for many popular diets is "comparable to that of the most undernourished global regions, where severe hunger interferes with individuals ability to thrive and make meaningful contributions to society.

Matz agrees: Our weight regulation system is beyond our conscious control. This is evidenced by a 2010 F1000 Medicine Report that shows there is an active, biological control of body weight at a given set point in a 10-20 pound range. The message this culture gets is that you can decide what weight you want to be with enough willpower, but its just not true, says Matz. So, Harrison wonders, Why do 100% of dieters think they're going to be in the 2%? Perhaps the larger problem is that because of diet culture, when we do gain weight back post-diet, we have learned to internalize it as a failure of self instead of accepting that it is ultimately a success for evolution and our bodies way of protecting us from starvation.

98% of diets fail Why do 100% of dieters think they'll be in the 2%?

If we lived in a society where neighborhoods were walkable and people could get access to clean drinking water and plenty of sleep, people would already be far healthier than they are now," says Strings. But, she continues, diet culture gives a permission structure for the finger to be pointed elsewhere. Rather than focusing on these larger structural issues that could have a global impact on a population, we want to target individuals and tell them to change their bodies in ways that are unrealistic and unproductive.

A 2008 survey sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill showed that a whopping 75% of women reported disordered eating behaviors that cut across racial and ethnic lines, and occurred in women in their 30s and 40s ... at the same rate as women in their 20s. That means disordered eating is the norm in the U.S. for women of all ages and race. Its a staggering statistic, and one that goes under reported since a lot of these behaviors support the very underpinnings of diet culture itself.

How can I resist diet culture?

Diet culture can foster a toxic way of living for many people, but because of its pervasiveness, it can feel intimidating and deeply personal to pick it apart. Anti-diet culture aims to dismantle this oppressive system of beliefs ... so that people have the chance and the choice to be able to be free of those stigmatizing and body shaming beliefs, says Harrison.

Being resistant to diet culture is also not anti-health or anti-nutrition: Its quite the opposite. With this movement, It's absolutely possible that we can encourage and also give people the resources to eat healthy and to move their bodies in a healthy way without having to be the disciplinarians that tell people they must weigh a certain amount, says Strings. The anti-diet movement advocates for evidence-backed measures of health that are not about body weight, and there are even anti-diet dietitians and health professionals, like Harrison, who help guide patients out of diet culture and into decisions that are healthy for body and mind and that dont aim to modify the bodys appearance.

Here are some aspects of anti-diet culture that can actionably put an end to the restriction and guilt cycle of diet culture:

With intuitive eating, instead of eating from the outside in, instead of following rules from a diet, people learn to use their internal physical cues to decide when, what, and how much to eat, says Matz. By destigmatizing food choices, intuitive eating steers you back into your own body. Most people have gotten so used to eating what they should and shouldnt eat, whats good and bad, theyve really lost touch with What do I want? What would satisfy me?, says Matz. There are a host of professionals trained and certified in intuitive eating standards, from counselors to psychotherapists to registered dietitians, who can help guide you through the process too.

Getting reacquainted with your bodys natural hunger cues, cravings, and needs can take time, but can ultimately free you from the learned shoulds of diet culture. The irony: Most find that once you grant yourself permission to eat the things you want when you want, your "fear foods" (you know, the things you declare you cannot have in the house or Ill eat the whole bag!) have less of a siren song. When the scarcity mindset drops, so does the need to overeat out of fear of never having it again. Remember that we come into this world born knowing how to do this, says Matz. Babies, when they're hungry, cry. So really, we're going back to the way we were born: Eating.

HAES is built on pillars of weight inclusivity, health enhancement, respectful care, eating for well-being, and life-enhancing movement, all with the ultimate goal of tuning into your bodys innate guidance to make food and movement choices that help you feel confident, nourished, fulfilled, and healthy inside your body without trying to change its appearance. It looks at people's health status, separate from weight, says Matz, and its really doing a great job of giving people information that you can be healthy regardless of your size, says Strings.

Strings adds that HAES is built upon the belief that you are worthy of love and respect, regardless of your size. In a society that demonizes fatness, its a simple but novel concept. As Strings says: Just to love yourself and to know that you can be healthy regardless of your weight is really a revelation to probably most Americans.

Anyone feeling like they are suffering from disordered eating or an eating disorder can and should reach out for help immediately. The NEDA helpline at (800) 931-2237 is available daily via call or text, and officials also are on standby in digital chats, ready to help you find resources in your area. If you are concerned about a loved one, learn more about how you can help.

Note: This article was originally published on January 23, 2021, and edited on January 29, 2021 to offer clarification on the anti-diet movement.

Originally posted here:
What Is Diet Culture? The Reasons Why Diet Culture Is Toxic - GoodHousekeeping.com