Checking the list of diets on the internet, you will find more than a hundred, varying from medically developed down to way-out fad diets.
Some of the more popular diets in the last few years are the ketogenic diet, the Mediterranean diet, the Paleo diet, intermittent fasting and the blood group diet.
ALSO READ : Turning the Tide: Lifestyle Medicine Eating more to lose weight
There are obvious advantages to any diet – otherwise no one would adopt them. The problem is sustainability. Compliance may be short-lived, resulting in ever-increasing weight gain.
A few questions one should ask before adopting a new diet:
· Has this diet been medically vetted as being healthful in the long term?
· Does it incorporate all the recognised food groups?
· Is it affordable for the ‘man in the street’ or is it only available to the affluent?
· Does it incorporate readily available local ingredients?
· Do you have to buy special shakes/powders/tablets?
· Does it support basic principles of normal physiology?
· Is it ethical and environmentally friendly?
The study of human anatomy and physiology reveals an exquisitely designed organism.
Homeostasis is big word that describes the ability of the body to maintain multiple parameters in equilibrium.
For instance, our body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate are kept within a normal range; our respiratory rate controls the oxygenation of our tissues; our blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels are maintained for optimal function.
Stores of glycogen and body fat are established to provide continuous energy sources between meals.
These normal ranges of parameters for all physiological processes provide for optimum function and health.
When we are eating a healthy diet and getting adequate sleep and exercise, and are emotionally stable, our physiology will be in equilibrium, and we will have no difficulty keeping our weight within a normal range.
This is where food processing, and especially ultra-processing, conspire against our normal homeostatic mechanisms.
The Nova system of classification describes four groups of foods.
1. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Like what you would obtain at a greengrocer.
2. Processed culinary ingredients that are extracted from natural substances: Like olive oil, or cane sugar.
3. Processed foods: Such as canned foods, smoked meats, cheese.
4. Ultra-processed foods: Multi-ingredient industrial formulations like sugar sweetened beverages, savoury snacks, ice-cream, and any foods that have ingredients not normally used in a home kitchen.
There is a strong correlation between the obesity pandemic and the consumption of these latter ‘foods’.
These foods do not send the normal satiety signals to the brain to tell us we have had enough to eat and thus lead us to ingest excessive kilojoules.
Our next article will discuss simple ways to control our intake for natural weight control.
Dr David Glass, MBChB, FCOG(SA), DipIBLM.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
