The doctor of the
future will give no medicines, but will interest his patients in the care of
the human frame, in diet, and in the causes and prevention of disease.
-Thomas Edison
In olden times our predecessors
proficiently battled epidemics of plague and yellow fever and today we need to
rally against the endemic of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cholesterol and
heart attacks, intestinal and stomach disorders, cancers, arthritis and
osteoporosis , and many more to continue the list. These diseases or ailments
are on the rise, running in a vicious circle, hindering our lives. Sadly, it’s
our own doing which we must now rectify by making needful amends. These
lifestyle related diseases mock at our way of living and is nothing less than a
warning alarm to wake up and get going.
The stress that governs our life, the sedentary all work no play
lifestyles and the unwholesome foods and eating patterns are to be blamed.
Health
is well being of mind, body an social self I intend to tackle each of them
individually, in this post I have focused on many a diets in talks for the
benefits it has to offer for our well being. Diet as by the definition is the
food consumed by an individual and dietary habits are the habitual decisions
affecting the dietary practices.
There
are many diets and myriads of variation devised for better results like the
blood group diet. I do want to do a post on this particular diet, sounds
interesting right? However, in this post
I have shortlisted five diets which I suppose you all ought to know. As for the
other I plan to undertake them later.
1.
A vegetarian diet
The term “vegetarian” was first coined in 1847, with the
foundation of ‘The Vegetarian Society’
of UK in Ramsgate, Kent. It is an oldest vegetarian group in the world and had
respected dignitaries like George Bernard Shaw and Mahatma Gandhi as its
members. The word “vegetarian” is a derivative of a Latin word “vegetus” meaning “lively” or “vigorous” and also because it suggests the English
word vegetable.
A vegetarian diet is more of a lifestyle than a dietary
practice and mostly influenced by philosophical, religious and ecological
reasons. There are different types of vegetarians and are classified as follows-
·
A Lactovegetarian bars from consuming
animal meat (beef, pork, fish, and mutton) as well as eggs but includes milk
and its products in his diet.
·
A Lactoovovegetarian refrains from animal
meat but consumes eggs, milk and its products.
·
An ovovegetarian on the other hand consumes
eggs but not milk and its products.
·
A vegan excludes all food derived from
animal, even milk in their diets.
A vegetarian diet is quite a healthy one and is said to lower
the risk of disease like-type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, cardiovascular
complications and gall bladder diseases. (A study by Seventh-Day
Adventists). Another study conducted by
Austria and Germany in 2006 suggested that a vegetarian diet is also effective
in and against bone disorder like- rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. This diet has also found to be helpful in
treating obesity and managing healthful weight.
On the flip-side, Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in
certain nutrients like iron compared to an omnivorous diet (animal sources
contain good quantities of iron) and also may be compromised on calcium and
vitamin D content. Vegetarian especially
vegans, are at risk of developing megaloblastic anemia, due to a deficiency of
vitamin B12 found only in animal sources. However a small amount
of vitamin B 12 is produced in our bodies and can protect from this grave
condition.
Overall, the diet is low in fat which is advantageous but is
also low in proteins. Soy proteins and tofu can very make up for the protein
need. Below is a food pyramid on a vegetarian diet depicting foods that form
the crux of the diet and the frequency of their consumption for good results.
2. the dash diet (dietary approaches to stop
hypertension)
As the name suggests, this diet is successfully used to
control and manage blood pressure. This
diet was first published in 1997. It is very efficient in preventing
hypertension in high risk patients like obese, overweight, type 2 diabetics,
and cholesterol problems. I too have used this diet for many of my patients and
work well all the time.
To follow this diet one needs to make aggressive changes to
ones diet like –
·
Almost
twice the amount of fruits, vegetables and dairy products in the diet. Dairy
products allowed are low fat of fat free.
·
The
beef, pork and ham to be items of monthly rejoice.
·
Totally
get down to half of oils and fats used earlier.
·
Almost
negligible quantities of sweets and sugary products.
·
Whole
wheat products replace all refined flour products. In short, no breads, bakes
and cookies etc.,
·
No
packaged and processed foods for the added salt and sugar in it and also the
hydrogenated fat used.
Chronic Hypertension is one of the leading causes of many
severe complications involving the heart, kidneys, liver and other organs in
the body. Hypertension is said to be a “silent killer” and no one would
disagree in the face of doom it brings lurking stealthy in the background. I
included DASH diet in my post, for this reason mainly. Hypertension is spread
all over the world affecting millions of people like an epidemic and DASH diet
brings a lot of relief in terms of prevention as well as control.
3. Atkins diet
In 1972, Dr Robert Atkins
started quite a revolution in the diet world by proposing his low carbohydrate
diet as technique to lose weight. This diet was based on lowering carbohydrates
from ones meals to the least minimum possible and compensating those calories
by proteins and fats. Dr. Robert believed that the carbohydrates dominating our
diets, spiked our blood sugar levels, taxed our pancreases for increased
insulin secretion and eventually lead to insulin sensitivity. The high
carbohydrate contents of our diet prevented the fat stores to be burnt for
energy and as a consequence lead to weight gain, diabetes and other related
problems.
A low carbohydrate, high fat diet leads to a state of ketoacidosis
in the body which can be fatal leading to coma and death. Ketoacidosis is
accumulation of ketone bodies which are by-products of fat metabolism. The
American dietetic association raised red flags for any diet which severely
limits any one food group and this diet was labeled as a FAD diet.
This diet worked for innumerable and still continues to
influence many. Atkins diet can bring about desirable changes and holds a
chance to work but one needs to be cautious and take help from experts in
planning and executing such a diet.
4.
The Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet also known as the med diet is more of
an eating pattern of people in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The
first description of Mediterranean diet
was in the research study funded by the Rockefeller foundation and published in
1953 but became popular by 1980s. A lot of expectation and high hopes are
affixed to this diet as it reduces the rate of strokes, heart attacks and
appropriates and rectifies lipid profiles.
Further it also helps maintain and lose weight and highly regarded by
the weight watcher communities.
As you can see from the food pyramid below, the diet mainly
focuses on the use of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts and oils
largely the olive oil. It totally discourages junk food, fast foods, fatty
meats and sweets, refined products in this diet regime. In addition the wide
array of herbs and spices used in cooking also offer profound healthiness besides
delightful flavors.
5.
THE ASIAN
DIET
The Asian diet’s geographical base is very broad and includes
countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North and South Korea, China, Singapore, Philippines
etc. the Asian diet can vary largely but its basic feature remains more or less
the same.
The focus shifted to the Asian diet when it was observed that
the chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, heart disorders
and many more which affected the western world didn't seem to trouble the Asians
much. With this realization, the dietary patterns of the Asian were evaluated
and the benefits of the traditional Asian diets came to surface. I intentionally
used the word ‘traditional’ because
with globalization, the eating practice of the western world has made quite an
impact on the Asian countries as well. This can be easily perceived with the
increase in the chains of fast food joints, cafe's and parlors.
The Asian diet is mainly based on foods of plant origin like
the whole grains, fruits vegetables, herbs and spices unlike the western diet
which is largely based on animal fats and proteins. Similar to Mediterranean
diet the Asian diet is also makes use of varied spices and herbs that offer wholesome
effects. The added advantage is the consumption of green and black teas instead
of sugary sodas and soft drinks. The
food pyramid below will assist you properly understanding its dynamics.
Conclusion – All the above diets, despite of their variations teach the same things
that we all need to understand and implement. I will sum up them for ease of
understanding.
·
A
big NO
for refined flours and foods like breads, baked goods and related products.
·
A
big YES
for foods and products made from whole grains like wheat, oats, ragi, millets
etc.
·
A
big NO
for processed foods and ready to eat products for they contain added salt,
sugar and preservatives and additives.
·
A
big YES
for fresh fruits and vegetables of different types and different colors, as
they say more the merrier.
·
A
big NO for juices, sodas, soft drinks and alcoholic
beverages which offer nothing but empty calories and loads of surplus sugar.
·
A
big YES
for fish, poultry and eggs and dairy products but not daily probably once or
twice a week.
·
A
big NO
for red meat, pork and ham.
·
A
big YES
for vegetables oils high in MUFA and containing a good mixture of omega 3 and
omega 6, like olive oil, canola oil, rice bran oil. (Refer post NOT THAT FAT!).
·
A
big NO
for sweets, ice creams, desserts, saturated fats like butter, margarine and
hydrogenated fats.
·
A
big YES
for nuts, soy, legumes, beans, seeds, and herbs.
·
A
big YES
for exercise and sports daily.
·
A
big YES
on water, teas and coffee.
As a last aide
I have summarized a healthy eating chart (which I have named it as SMB-healthy
healthy chart) to help you follow a well balanced and well portioned diet for a
healthy disease free life. For any queries and help, I am here to help.
TO HEALTHY
LIVING!!
No comments:
Post a Comment