Nations like USA and Australia are steadily growing bigger, fatter, larger which all equals to more health problems for everyone, so it’s virtually no surprise at all that many people publish diet books as a way to earn money. However be aware that very few diet plans and books fail to deliver when it comes to helping you lose weight and keeping you healthy. Yet we don’t seem to blame the plan, but ourselves and we just move on to the next plan, hoping that this time things will change and we will lose the weight we desire. So to help you, here is a guide to some of the most popular diet plans and whether they work or not.
The Low GI Diet – GOOD The Low GI diet is based on something called the glycemic index (GI), a rating on how carbohydrates in food affect blood sugar levels. To keep it short, Low-GI foods are usually considered good for our health, and help with our weight because the lower the GI Rating, the more satisfied we are and the longer it takes for us to become hungry again.
The Pros: There is great scientific data backing up the Low GI Diet, and the authors of the Low GI Diet book are internationally renowned nutrition experts, so they know what they are talking about. The recommended eating plans are balanced as well as nutritious. Low GI Foods come in all kinds of variety and forms, and is an very easy diet to follow.
The Cons: Not many foods are labeled with their GI Rating, so you either need to be an expert or have a book handy when going shopping.
Total Wellbeing Diet – GOOD This diet is all about controlling your kilojoules intake. It is also based on having a lot of protein, eating low amounts of fat and has lower amounts of carbohydrates that some of the higher carbohydrates diets from the past. For more information click here.
The Pros: This diet was designed by nutritional experts and has been scientifically proven to help and benefit weight loss. It also helps improve your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. The best thing about it is that it is nutritionally correct in the amounts it gives, the total well being diet is easy to follow and it includes everyday healthy foods.
The Cons: The Total Wellbeing Diet is not for everyone. If you find it hard to cut down on carbohydrates such as rice, bread or pasta, or if you’re a vegetarian and don’t like meat, then sadly this diet is not for you. The Low GI Diet is a good alternative.
The Zone – Bad Click here to find out more!
The Zone diet is quickly becoming more and more popular. It is designed to provide consistent amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fat in proportions of 40:30:30 of the total kilojoules/calorie intake for the day. Staying in this so called ‘zone’ is claimed to help boost your weight lost, athletic performance, fitness and mental clarity.
The Pros: It promotes low-GI Foods, which are scientifically backed up to help with weight loss.
The Cons: There is no scientific research to back up the 40:30:30 ratios. Anyway eating protein with everything is unnecessary and useless. It’s also pretty hard to translate the proportions given into what you should eat day to day.
South Beach – Bad Another diet that is actually pretty similar to the zone, because it also promotes more protein and moderate amounts of carbohydrates eaten with low GI foods. The South Beach diet has three rules, the first one is very low carbs resulting in no fruit, no bread, pasta and eggs for breakfast!
The Pros: Overall, the South Beach diet is actually a quite healthy balanced diet and recommends good carbohydrates, good fats and plenty of vegetables. The author of the South Beach diet is actually a cardiologist who understands all about healthy eating and provides good advice about improving eating behavior. The diet is also easy to follow, which is another plus.
The Cons: There are some factual errors in the South Beach diet. Snacks are advised whether you are hungry or not, and rule one which is all about taking in very low carbohydrates is very hard to follow.
Fit for Life – Ugly This diet is all based on food combining, for example not eating proteins and carbohydrates foods together. Another rule is to eat only fruit until midday (as if our body can tell the time).
The Pros: Vegetables and fruits are promotes vigorously. People taking the Fit for Life diet are encouraged not to overeat, but I guess most diets encourage that too. If you follow the Fit for Life diet, you will lose weight, only because you will be eating less, and it has absolutely 100% nothing to do with food combining.
The Cons: There is no scientific data to back up food combining. There isn’t even a basis. The human body is designed to digest all foods in all combination’s at any time of the day. Take breast milk for example, our first complete food which is rich in carbohydrates, fats and protein.
This diet also has a silly rule that you always eat fruit alone, because if you eat fruit with any meal it will ferment in your stomach. This is completely ridiculous and misleading. Another, if that’s not bad enough, the author inaccurately claims that vegetables and fruit contain all the nutrients and minerals you need, and then later recommends supplements anyway!
The Liver-Cleansing Diet – Ugly Based on the theory that a liver that doesn’t function well will result in weight gain, this is a diet that promises to help you lose the weight while curing multiple common health problems.
The Pros: The Liver Cleansing Diet is adequately healthy enough. It is low in fat, and encourages nutrition enriched foods such as vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. It advises not to go calorie counting.
The cons: There is no scientific research to back up this diet, and no published studies have shown that this diet is effective. Some food advice this diet gives is also incorrect, such has honey is better than sugar. It promotes low intakes of very important nutrients such as iron and calcium because it advises to avoid dairy products and red meat.
Atkins Diet – Ugly The Atkins Diet is a very low carbohydrates, high protein, high fat diet that starts off with almost no carbohydrates foods at all, then gradually increase carbohydrate intake as you lose the weight.
The Pros: The Atkins diet makes you eat less resulting in short term weight loss.
The Cons: Not really a healthy diet. It lacks vital nutrients for example calcium. The Atkins diets also lacks in foods such as foods rich in fibre, whole grains, fruit and vegetables. The Atkins Diet is very high in saturated fat. Some short term effects that have been reported include constipation, low energy levels, raised cholesterol and bad breath. And once again, there is no scientific basis for this diet.
Blood type Diet – Ugly This is a diet that is based on the theory that your blood type determines the kinds of food you are allowed to eat.
The Pros: By making some types of food forbidden to eat, you are most likely going to eat less and therefore result in short term weight loss.
The Cons: This diet is theory based rather than scientifically based. Your blood type does not have any effect on your ability to digest different foots. The diet cuts out important nutrients such as calcium. And not only is it hard to follow, it makes eating out a nightmare. Can you imagine cooking a different meal for each person in your family just because you different blood types? It is absolutely ridiculous!
Michael Cardiosk is an upbeat author on many issues of diet and health. To find out more about the dangers of signing up for famous diet programs checkout Diet Program Woes. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
