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.
executive chauffeured services Bradford .. Madison to Airport car1. Carrying around excess body fat will decrease your energy... Read More
Eighteen or twenty years ago, I was into high protein,... Read More
A common claim from gastric bypass detractors is that after... Read More
Visualizing and Declarations are today's topics.Visualize what you want as... Read More
More than any other time in history, people are all... Read More
Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle... Read More
I get asked all the time, "what do you think... Read More
Just one more day I can do this, I told... Read More
A Little Help With Some Difficult terms ------------------------------------------ Aerobic... Read More
Include in your diet things that contain more water like... Read More
Building a Perfect Body for Body Perfect Fitness and Health... Read More
Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) is often viewed as a quick... Read More
Weight Loss and Water: A Way to Make Your Body... Read More
Dieting is not easy. If it were, we would probably... Read More
We have such good weight loss intentions. We emotionally beat... Read More
It's one thing to stick with your diet regimen when... Read More
Carnitine is simply the safest and healthiest supplement you can... Read More
Fat Loss Tip #4) Eat More ProteinYes, it's important to... Read More
When women talk about their biggest obstacles to successful weight... Read More
Most Americans do not get enough calcium in their diets;... Read More
You have been on diets before. You probably have lost... Read More
According to Veronica Atkins, the widow of Dr. Robert Atkins,... Read More
The most common and popular diet fad over the past... Read More
In the last 12 months or so, low carbohydrate diets... Read More
We all encounter those hosts and hostesses who feel it... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..Humanity is always in search of a wonder drug that... Read More
No doubt about it, when we feel stressed we want... Read More
Your blood cholesterol level is affected not only by what... Read More
Losing weight is a struggle that many of us face... Read More
If you want to find a way to lose weight... Read More
One of the biggest scams ever successfully pulled on the... Read More
Weight Loss tipsAll throughout my childhood and teenage years I... Read More
To achieve your goals you need a diet that takes... Read More
Even if you're not overweight, you still could have a... Read More
First of all we need to find out a reason... Read More
How's this for a diet: Take in fewer calories than... Read More
We all eat. But how mindful are we of every... Read More
What is the best form of physical activity?The best form... Read More
Did you know that being successful with losing weight starts... Read More
If you are into herbs and natural cures, you've undoubtedly... Read More
At around ?350 pounds a treatment, Lipo-Dissolve the so called... Read More
If you're like most people who tried losing weight on... Read More
One may think that on a website called "LivingAfterWLS" you... Read More
As of the writing of this article, May 16, 2005,... Read More
America is getting more obese every year. Even our children... Read More
Dieting presents many complications if you are not fully committed... Read More
Plan to eat two to three hours and pack health... Read More
It's been called the world's oldest medicine, the miracle fat... Read More
As a woman, your body is very complex. Throughout every... Read More
Hot dang! If a few hundred other folks can peddle... Read More
Weight Loss |