New Delhi | Updated: October 8, 2020 11:40:17 am

Written by Harleen Gulati

It is common to hear about the different types of diets, through recommendations or via social media as people are always discussing new ways of losing weight or keeping fit. But every time we hear about a new diet, we get even more confused about which one to follow. But its not as confusing as it may seem. The real question is, which is the most sustainable and healthy diet to lose weight?

Below are five popular types of diets with their pros and cons.

Vegan diet

A vegan diet involves eating only plant-based foods. Those who follow this diet avoid all animal products, including meat, dairy, and eggs. Some people also avoid honey. A vegan diet helps in losing weight as many animal foods are high in fat and calories, so replacing these with low-calorie plant-based foods can help in managing weight. Vegan food is high in fibre, promotes eating whole foods and has low saturated fats. The diet helps promote heart health and is believed to lower the risk of cancer. Vegan diet is healthy and beneficial as long as its followed correctly, which means loading up on the whole grains and legumes every day for protein, as one may not intake sufficient protein otherwise. One may follow another diet to lose weight as this diet is very restrictive.

Keto diet

A keto diet is well-known for being a low carb diet, where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. The diet promotes rapid weight loss as compared to other diets, boosting metabolism and reducing appetite. Keto diet lowers blood sugar levels and improves insulin sensitivity, triglycerides and HDL Cholesterol levels. The diet also helps to treat PCOS. However, following the keto diet for long is not advisable without seeking medical guidance as it can lead to various health problems like kidney stones, vitamin and mineral deficiency, fatty liver and constipation. The diet also backfires with extra weight gain, if left without following the right steps.

Gluten-free diet

Gluten is a protein which is found commonly in grains like rye, barley and wheat. Gluten consumption can be harmful to people with celiac disease. Nowadays, a gluten-free diet is popular among people as it helps them lose weight. Gluten-free diets claim to improve energy, health and weight loss efforts. However, such a diet changes your dietary nutritional intake and for this reason, it is not advisable to start a gluten-free diet without consulting a health professional first. This diet encourages people to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables and eliminates processed unhealthy food products. Following a gluten-free diet needs a lot of commitment as the person has to eliminate basic foods like bread, a few desserts and even sauces. Also, once they stop following the diet, it harms the body by causing inflammation and weight gain.

Detox diet

Detoxification is a process where you get rid of toxins from your body. There are many types of detox diets, some include not eating at all and being on a liquid diet for some time, while some encourage you to have only raw fruits and vegetables. What most people dont know is the fact that during the detox process, the reason you instantly lose weight is that what you lose is water weight and this is the reason why it is harmful to the body as your fat weight remains unchanged and once you stop the detox diet your weight is back to square one. Whereas on the other hand, one may consider a detox day per week which will help promote healthy skin and hair, increase antioxidants in the body and helps in resetting the body weight.

Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles through periods of eating and fasting. The intermittent fasting plan doesnt specify exact foods that you need to eat, but when you ought to eat them. In this method, fasting occurs for either 16 hours or 24 hours a day, two times per week. While it helps in losing weight, it promotes other health benefits like reducing insulin resistance, helps boost brain health and heart health and reduction of inflammation. While fasting, one must keep themselves hydrated and stop if feeling weak, having acute headache or having blood sugar drop, also one must remember to have a healthy diet in the eating period. This diet is recommended as a lifestyle change to improve the lifespan of an individual.

ALSO READ | Include these in your diet for a healthy weight loss journey

It is important to know that no diet is perfect for weight loss as different diets work for different body types. A healthy, well-balanced diet is what our ancestors have been following for years. A diet should be sustainable and healthy with long-term benefits. It is always advisable to have a healthy diet consisting of all the five food groups a mix of the best vitamins and minerals, adequate water intake, exercise, portion control, and a stress-free sleep cycle. All in all, intuitive, clean and mindful eating is the way to go. Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dinner like a pauper works best.

The author is a nutritionist and health coach and founder, Selfpledge

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From keto to intermittent diets: All you need to know - The Indian Express

Shaun LucasOpinion Editor

On Oct. 1, the Supreme Court of Ireland ruled that bread used in Subway restaurant sandwiches is too sugary to be considered bread. The ruling came about due to tax reasons, as Irelands Value-Added Tax Act says bread with over 2 percent of its weight made up with added substances such as sugar will not receive tax exemption, according to NPR. Unfortunately for Subway, its bread contains 10 percent sugar in the recipes total weight, also according to NPR. Only in 2020 would a staple healthy fast food restaurant have its bread more akin to a pastry than actual bread.

The ruling brings about an interesting discussion within American diets: how does one entirely know if their healthy diet consists of truly healthy foods? Balancing a diet is surely a challenge that many, myself included, cannot find time to accomplish. With crucial responsibilities, such as school, work, family life, how can one ensure all and/or a heavy majority of meals contain the proper ratio of food groups?

Only a quarter of Americans are eating high levels of fruits, dairy, and oils, according to health.gov. In the same data from health.gov, a majority of Americans consume more than the recommended portion of saturated fats, sugars, and sodium. The over-consumed substances likely relate to fast food restaurants, with many popular chains dripping with these unhealthy substances. In a busy schedule, its easier to consume a few happy meals than for a family to create a nutritious set of meals.

People seem to forget, despite its branding, that Subway is still fast food. Even before hearing about the breads sugar contents, I never understood Subway being considered healthy while people pile on toppings and sauces. Also, a soft drink is a sugary nightmare, especially when 30 ounces of, say, Coca-Cola contains 101 grams of sugar, according to the nutrition website Eat This Much. Even the veggie delight 6-inch sub at 230 calories is more calories than an 140 calorie 8-count grilled chicken nugget meal served at Chick Fil A, according to the restaurants online menu supplement/newsletter The Chicken Wire.

Above all, people still need to burn any amount of calories and other macromolecules consumed. Similar to healthy meal planning, its difficult to maintain exercise regimens alongside other responsibilities. During the summer, I remember in having ample time for jogging sessions, along with sweating off water weight at work. Currently, a week with a constant flow of online school work, Im fortunate to have a weekly, couple-mile run.

So how does one combat these dietary issues? Without delving into exact balance ratios, simply limiting unhealthy consumption does a lot. Relating back to the sugary drinks, simply drinking water instead immediately eliminates calories from beverages. Even flavored waters, while obviously having more calories than regular water, still provide healthier drinking alternatives. As for exercise: walk around your neighborhood at even comfortable lengths just to burn a few calories.

Indeed, not everyone can and/or has to be a fitness marvel; yet, its important to maintain decent physical care to avoid problems later in life. Poor care can become the difference between being able to exercise in your late 80s and requiring drastic medical procedures before you hit your 40s. Im not going to judge any individuals choices, but only you can take the steps towards a relatively healthy and pain-free life.

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Bread from Subway isn't bread? The issue with American diets - The Snapper - The Snapper

When news hit that up-and-coming Bollywood actress Mishti Mukherjee died this week at 27 due to complications from a keto diet, according to her family, the world erupted in sadness and shock, as headlines circled the globe from India to England and in the US. Her fans shuddered at the news. Two things struck anyone readingthe story: How young and healthyMishti appeared, and the fact that a keto diet could cause extreme kidney failure, leading to such a tragic loss.

Keto diets are known to work in the short term to help dieters shed weight by cutting out virtually all carbsallowing carbs to be just 5 percent ofyourtotal intakeand fueling up on fat and protein, which make up 70 percent and 25 percent of totalintake. The diet forces the body into ketosis, which is when cells burn fat for fuel, but an overwhelming amount of ketones released in the body can put a strain on the kidneys, which work to filter these byproducts of fat burning, causing kidney stones, loss of function and ultimately kidney failure. Doctors reacting to the news were quick to issue warnings in the wake of Mukherjee's death.

Three specific warnings about keto were issued: One is thatwhile keto appears to be extremely effective in helping overweight or obese people lose weight, it could be dangerous for thin people to do it, since they run the risk of complications fromputting their body intoketosis; that the diet must be accompanied by drinking copious amounts of water, to help the kidneys flush out the toxins; and the third is that you should not stay on a keto diet for longer than 45 days, and perhaps not even that long. There are healthy ways to follow a keto diet, that involve eating mostly plant-based foods, experts say, but most keto fans prefer to eat processed meat such as bacon to help push up their fat and protein intake to the levels required.

Keto diets are not unhealthy, it's the way people do them that is, according to Dr. Andrew Freeman, the cardiologist at National Jewish in Denver, recently released a study that keto dieting can lead to heart disease because of the foods people eat while on the diet: People often load up on red meat, processed meat like bacon, and stay away from healthy plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grainswhich are all nutrient-rich and full of antioxidantsbecause they happen to contain carbs. And while someone on a keto diet will likely drop pounds in the short term, it is difficult to sustainby eating a diet high in meat, butter, and animal fat, which has been scientifically shown to increase your lifetime risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and premature death from all causes. Meanwhile, a plant-based dietlowers your risk of death from all causes, recent studies have found.

In therare case of death related to keto dieting itself,thekidneys are forced to work hard to filter and process out all the ketones, by-products of burning fat, and at times the kidneys can't keep up and go into failure.Studies show that keto diet side effects includekidney stones and other complications when thebody gets overloaded with protein. (The current recommended intake for protein averages 46 grams per day for women, and 56 grams for men, according to theHarvard Medical School Newsletter.) Meanwhile too much fat in the diet can lead to fatty liver since your liver is unable to process the amount of fat being consumed. A study of a "Very Low-Calorie Keto Diet " where overweight or obese patients were given a strict diet of 500 to 800 calories a day showed little renal side effects, but the authors stressed that the subjects were put on regulated meal replacements and their food was monitored,so since their intake was kept to a low-calorie level,there was no possibility of them eating too much protein or too much fat, which can happen in real life.

The Best Way to Go Keto is On a Mostly Plant-Based Diet.

The safest way to try to achieve weight loss is on a plant-based diet, and there is a small Venn diagram of overlap between keto foods and plant-based foods. For how to achieve this, you have to look at the fat, protein and carb ratio of legumes, fruits and vegetables, such as avocados and beans, nuts and plant-based oils, explains vegan chef SuzieGerber, who lost50 poundson a plant-based diet and now helps others to be healthy and learn to eat a plant-based diet too.

"You are prioritizing plant-based fats from nuts, plant-oils, and whole foods like avocados. It may take a few days of eating this way to get into ketosis, explains Gerber, since there is a "fat adaptive" period in all keto diets, where you train the body to burn fat for fuel, but you can speed this up by practicing intermittent fasting, which is not eating for up to 14 or 16 hours and then eating keto-friendly plant-based foods during the 8 to 10 on-hours, focusing on eating a plant-based diet. She suggests that you have to leave off bread, alcohol and other carbs that will put you over the limit of 5 percent of your calories a day from carbs.Dr. Jason Fung,author ofLife in the Fasting Lane, told The Beet that his patients often combine Intermittent Fasting and keto diet choices for the fastest weight loss results.

Practically speaking, Gerber explains, you have to add as many vegetables as possible to your plate to lose weight. "There are some vegetables that are high in carbs and some not so high and it's about understanding the fiber content." She explains that broccoli rabe is high in fiber and low in carbs, while broccoli is the other way around. So while it seems random, there is a list of foods that are both keto and plant-based. These are the ones you eat on repeat, she told us. Once you get the hang of it, Gerber adds, it's easyto fill up on fiber andnot feel hungry.

One of the obstacles is that it can take 2 weeks on a vegan keto diet to become fat adaptive, she added. So be patient, and add in exercise, or try combining keto and plant-based eating with intermittent fasting, she recommends. And know this: "Avocado is your new best friend."

If you approach the plant-based keto diet as a finite or "micro" diet, which lasts for a month or so, and you know it's restrictive, Gerber explains, you can losea healthy percent of your body weight and most of it as fat, and stay plant-based. When you get to the end of the time that you spend doing it,you will likely not have put the weight back onandyou'll still have better muscle tone and a new baseline. She suggests cycling through shorts stints on keto rather than staying on it.

By the end ofyour months of cycling through keto and plant-based, then maintaining your healthy approach, you will be eating a more diverse array of foods, "with some sanity," she adds. So when you go keto on a plant-based diet, she says, only try it in short bursts. It's still effective, but this way it's also healthy.

Gerber adds that aplant-based keto diet is easier than keto on a meat-based diet since you stay energized. "I never had 'keto flu' where you feel awful and tired all day. I never had the weird body odorsor felt sick the way some people report having.Lots of water helps. Keeping really hydrated helps a lot." Drinking plenty of water is always a good idea. Before you start a strict diet of any kind, it's best to check with your doctor. Being thin is not the goal Being healthy is!

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How to Go Keto the Healthy Way, and Avoid the Risky Side Effects - The Beet

Orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an obsession with the perceived "purity" of food. People with orthorexia might restrict themselves to eating only unprocessed or organic foods, cut out whole food groups from their diet or restrict themselves to eating raw foods only.

The condition goes beyond a general concern with maintaining a healthy diet. For people with orthorexia, the pursuit of a "perfect" diet takes up a significant amount of time and energy, and interferes with work, school and relationships. In some cases, it can even lead to malnutrition.

Related: Experts answer: How do you tell if someone has an eating disorder?

There's disagreement over whether orthorexia is a valid diagnosis, said Jennifer Mills, a clinical psychologist at York University in Toronto, Ontario. The condition isn't listed in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the American Psychological Association's official diagnostic guide, which was last updated in 2013 and contains criteria for various psychological conditions. Some experts say orthorexia falls under the umbrella of other mental health diagnoses, while others say recognition of the condition makes good eating habits seem abnormal or unhealthy, Mills said. But in recent years, the condition has received an increasing amount of attention from researchers and clinicians.

"There is a consensus that [orthorexia] deviates from what we would consider to be normal or 'healthy' eating," Mills said. "Research has really highlighted how individuals who have this pattern of eating can suffer quite significantly."

Orthorexia differs from a healthy preoccupation with diet in that it's an obsession that damages the well-being of the person suffering from the condition, said Thomas Dunn, a psychologist at the University of Northern Colorado. Symptoms of orthorexia may be psychological in nature, and may eventually manifest as nutritional deficiencies that can cause a host of health issues, he said.

People with orthorexia might compulsively check ingredient lists and nutritional labels, spend hours per day meal-planning and cut out an increasing number of food groups from their diet (for example: all carbs, all dairy or all sugar), according to the National Eating Disorders Association. This obsession can lead to anxiety and make it difficult to participate in social activities, either due to concerns about accommodating dietary restrictions or because of the time-consuming nature of orthorexia.

Related: A woman consumed only juice and water for weeks. Now, she may have brain damage.

People with orthorexia often struggle with social anxiety and isolation because their restricted diets make it difficult to connect with others in social settings where food is served. These types of social events can cause distress when an individual's "allowed" foods aren't served. And lapsing or breaking self-imposed food rules may cause intense anxiety or feelings of guilt for someone with orthorexia, according to a 2015 article published in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, which may cause the person to avoid social gatherings altogether.

"In its extreme form, orthorexia nervosa can lead to an individual eating only a handful of foods that they feel comfortable eating," Mills said. Such a diet can lack essential macronutrients (like fat or carbohydrates) or micronutrients (like iron or zinc). In extreme cases, malnutrition can lead to the same life-threatening consequences as anorexia nervosa: anemia, osteoporosis, hormone imbalances, and an abnormally slow heart-rate, according to the article published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.

While food restriction isn't a new phenomenon, orthorexia is largely a product of modern cultural trends, Dunn said. "We've known about restrictive eating for a long time," he said, but "the reasons people restrict have changed."

An increasing cultural focus on health and well-being may contribute to orthorexia's prevalence, Dunn said. There's some evidence that people with careers focusing on nutrition and health (such as dieticians) or with careers in entertainment (such as actors) are at greater risk of developing orthorexia than the general population, possibly because of the careers' focus on diet or pressure to model healthy eating behaviors for others.

Social media also appears to contribute to the disorder. A 2017 study published in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders found a high prevalence of orthorexia symptoms among the "healthy-eating" community on Instagram a mix of health-professionals, non-professionals and influencers who create posts about their diets. The more often an individual used the app (judged by the number of posts), the more symptoms of orthorexia they had.

Related: These 5 social media habits are linked with depression

It's common for people with orthorexia to struggle with other mental health disorders. Having anxiety or depression is an important risk factor for the condition, according to a 2019 review published in the journal Appetite. An Australian study, published in 2017 in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders, found prior history of an eating disorder to be a strong predictor of developing orthorexia stronger even than perfectionism and body image.

t's not clear how common orthorexia is, but studies suggest that it doesn't discriminate based on age or gender it's distributed across age groups and is equally common among men and women, Dunn said.

The problem with attempting to measure prevalence, Dunn said, is that some of the most common assessments for orthorexia tend to only measure how much participants care about healthy eating, but not whether their diets actually impair their ability to function. That can lead to numbers that are inconsistent, or too high.

These studies come up with a wide range of numbers ranging from 6.9% among a general population in Italy, to 86% among Ashtanga Yoga practitioners in Spain. A 2016 study, published in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders, considered whether diet was actually interfering with the physical health and quality of life of participants from the general population. Based on this stricter criteria, the study authors estimated that fewer than 1% of participants had orthorexia.

Symptoms of orthorexia can look similar to those of another eating disorder called anorexia nervosa, Mills said. People with anorexia and orthorexia both exert strict control over their diets, and view deviation from their food rules as a mark of failure. Orthorexia, like anorexia, can involve extreme weight loss and malnutrition, according to the 2015 article published in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.

However, these two disorders differ in an important way: People with anorexia are generally unhappy with their body, while those with orthorexia aren't driven by body dissatisfaction, Mills said. "In many cases, they're quite happy with the way their body looks," she said.

Related: Eating disorders are deadly, but who's to blame? (Op-Ed)

There's also a strong overlap in symptoms between orthorexia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a disorder in which a person compulsively repeats certain routines or has recurring unwanted thoughts, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. For example, a person with OCD might fear germs, and obsessively clean to avoid contamination. Similarly, orthorexia involves compulsive behaviors to try and make food as "clean" as possible, Mills said. "It's an obsessive way of thinking about the feared consequences of one's behavior," she explained.

There isn't one agreed upon method of treatment for orthorexia nervosa, Mills said. Instead, treatment is usually tailored to the individual. "In some cases, it might make sense to treat it like an eating disorder," Mills said. Such an approach might involve cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps the patient identify and replace distorted or harmful thoughts and beliefs about food. If an individual is underweight or malnourished, treatment might also involve re-establishing a healthy weight and eating patterns.

In other cases, it makes more sense to treat orthorexia like OCD, Mills said. In this method of treatment, patients are gradually exposed to feared foods and situations, while a treatment team helps them manage their anxiety in a healthy way.

Ideally, treatment for orthorexia is about identifying goals for life post-recovery. "It should be collaborative," Mills said. "It should be customized to what the person wants to be able to do, that their anxiety is currently holding them back from" whether that's enjoying birthday cake at a friend's party, going out to eat at a restaurant or walking to get ice cream on a summer night.

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Orthorexia: Causes, symptoms and treatment - Livescience.com