If anyone knows anything about fitness, it's that a low fat diet is the healthiest way to avoid serious diseases, right? Maybe wrong.
In many instances quality research has shown just the opposite?that a low fat diet, sometimes even a vegetarian diet, can be harmful to your health. Although vegetarian and low-fat diets have been proven to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, they have not demonstrated significant reductions in deaths from any disease.
The Low-Fat Approach
Popular diets of today encouraging low-fat approaches, such as the diets of Dr. Pritkin, Dr. Ornish, Macrobiotics, and Weight Watchers, are generally effective with weight-loss and reduction in blood fats. The low-fat approach has even been proven to overcome serious illness successfully.
But the majority of dieters find these plans difficult to stick with. And most research trials have not shown these diets effective in decreasing death rates from diseases in general, long-term.
Fats in a meal make you feel more 'full'. They slow the time it takes for your stomach to empty, thus ensuring you will not feel hungry too soon.
Generally, high-carb, low-fat meals have the opposite effect. The stomach empties quicker and insulin levels increase following the meal. This means you may be hungry sooner than you'd like.
Research shows the higher insulin levels of a low-fat, high-carb diet may predispose you to adult onset diabetes, hypoglycemia, and even heart disease.
The Low-Carb Approach
These diets claim that limiting carbs, like sugars, grains, fruits, and some vegetables, is the solution. The Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, and even the Zone Diet all suggest if you cut out the carbs or have a balance of fat/carbs/protein in every meal, you will experience weight loss and better health. Many dedicated dieters find this to be true.
Although a low-carb diet can cause weight loss, the goal of any program should be life long radiant health. It is still up for debate if this approach leads to any significant health advantages. It is possible to hasten heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and aging with a diet too high in the wrong fats and too low in essential nutrients from various fruits and veggies.
Many health care professionals find it difficult to prescribe to either of the above theories. If there is no definitive answer in either direction that is indisputable, then there must be a middle ground.
A Healthy Solution for Everyone
It is difficult to imagine that reducing intake of the wonderful fruits and vegetables that keep people well is the way to a healthy future. Research will back this up. The average American already ingests too little fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other factors present in whole, unprocessed fruits and vegetables.
In much of our history, it was rare to have many of the diseases we live with today. Most people in native cultures eating diets dictated by availability experienced vibrant health. Their death was caused by accidents, bacterial or viral diseases, or by old age. Very few died of our number one killers: cardiovascular disease and cancer.
People did not begin to experience heart disease and cancer in such great numbers until the advent of our more modern diet and lifestyle customs.
These "advances" included:
With the human tampering of food overall health took an undeniable turn for the worse.
Almost exclusively we now eat, even in so called 'healthy' or 'organic' foods, the following: refined products, products with added sugar, preservatives, additives, petroleum products, animal products laden with antibiotics and hormones, and animals that are fed diets that they would never eat in the wild (wild cattle do not eat other cattle, poultry by-products, or even grains; cattle eat grass).
Native cultures worldwide, before being indoctrinated with more westernized food choices, eat remarkably similar diets.
Since many food products spoil without refrigeration or freezing, most people fermented their foods. This supplies necessary probiotic bacteria, which many people supplement with today since we eat natural fermented foods so infrequently.
Whether or not they inhabited the same regions, most people ate a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and animal products in season. Very few societies tip the scales by eating mostly animal products (Inuit cultures) or mostly vegetarian (a few tribes in Africa and South America).
The similarities that bind the historical human diet together are:
Wisdom passed down through the ages says that a varied diet with foods found abundant in nature is best. In almost all cultures this means a diet, as available, of fresh or dried wild meats and fish, fermented cheeses, fresh whole or fermented milk, butter, eggs, fresh, dried, or fermented fruits, fresh or fermented vegetables, whole grains (these were fermented normally, even if dried), some beans, and water or fermented beverages to drink.
It is interesting to note that instead of eating fresh foods or those naturally fermented, we chose to cook or destroy what could spoil in our foods then add additives and preservatives. Are these 'foods' as digestible? Do they supply the same nutrients? Does the magic number of carbohydrates versus fats or proteins really matter? What if the answer lies in ancient wisdom and thousands of years of knowledge?
Something to think about.
About The Author
For more information or questions on related topics, please visit www.mywebnd.com. Get all your health questions answered from a licensed Naturopathic physician without the wait for an office visit. Well-researched, reliable information is now available and easy to find.
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..Many of us have tried losing weight in the past... Read More
Many women want to be slim. Maybe you're one of... Read More
What is a calorie? The definition of a calorie is... Read More
I remember back in my senior year of high school... Read More
Finding Mad Cow in Oregon puts a new wrinkle in... Read More
Acupuncture for weight loss is a modern application of this... Read More
Many physical problems are related to obese condition, like difficulties... Read More
Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) is often viewed as a quick... Read More
To say that dieting rarely leads to sustainable weight loss... Read More
Repeat a lie often enough and people take it as... Read More
Weight loss information is often confusing and misleading. The more... Read More
The huge companies stealing your money by promising impossible results... Read More
Low carb diets can be classified as food plans that... Read More
The humble soybean boasts some extraordinary benefits. This nutritional powerhouse... Read More
You need to reset your weight-o-stat. No matter how much... Read More
Obesity, once seen as akin to laziness and overeating, is... Read More
Franchised Business Models and American Diets could be at odds.... Read More
Are you Telling Yourself It's Too Hard to Lose Weight?Telling... Read More
Lose Weight - Get A Break ---------------------------------------- The American Obesity... Read More
The Sour Truth -------------------------- Question: I had a baby 6... Read More
Which diet pill are you currently taking for your weight... Read More
How to Break Your PlateauToday is a typical morning like... Read More
You may have read the old stories about how much... Read More
Have you ever wondered where destiny would lead you? Have... Read More
The term 'thermogenic' refers to a group of drugs or... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..Weight Loss ? Basic Lessons for Sustained SuccessWeight loss is... Read More
Among the most popular forms of dieting is the South... Read More
When embarking on a weight loss program people will almost... Read More
Have you ever just felt like you were doing everything... Read More
Yes, you read it right?no diets!The first step in this... Read More
An Interview with Success Story, Caitlin JohnsonIf you don't know... Read More
Barriers to healthy diets are placed into four broad categories:... Read More
Yesterday evening my computer hard drive crashed. Resulting in the... Read More
Weight loss is an issue that affects men and women... Read More
With millions of people aiming for successful weight loss, many... Read More
Now this is the real American Dream! I'm here to... Read More
Phentermine, like many other prescription drugs, works with chemicals called... Read More
According to a recent survey by the National Health Institute,... Read More
Some of you will not like what I'm going to... Read More
In the last 12 months or so, low carbohydrate diets... Read More
If you are traveling on the path towards wellness you... Read More
A really easy, fast way to weight loss is walking... Read More
According to the American Obesity Association, an astounding 64.5 percent... Read More
Include in your diet things that contain more water like... Read More
When you're taking Phentermine, you should go to the emergency... Read More
Like millions of men and women, I started resolving to... Read More
It's really difficult for a person to socialise if he... Read More
Serious diet pills are intended for people who are overweight... Read More
In health clubs, they run classes that call themselves "aerobics".... Read More
Do you know that while you work out the muscles... Read More
Weight Loss |