Answers (17)
4
While I will fail to provide you with a specific answer, I have a common sense test! Any diet must answer yes to all the following questions to pass:
1) Is it balanced?
A diet that recommends too high (or low) of any one macro-nutrient (fat, carbohydrate, protein, etc) doesn't pass this test.
2) Does it allow moderation of all foods?
A glass of wine? Sure. A bottle every day? No. Ice cream as an occasional treat? Why not. Ice cream as a daily meal replacement? No.
3) Is it something you could sustain long term and remain in good health?
The best diet is a healthy one you can maintain for your entire life, not a restrictive fad you follow only temporarily.
1) Is it balanced?
A diet that recommends too high (or low) of any one macro-nutrient (fat, carbohydrate, protein, etc) doesn't pass this test.
2) Does it allow moderation of all foods?
A glass of wine? Sure. A bottle every day? No. Ice cream as an occasional treat? Why not. Ice cream as a daily meal replacement? No.
3) Is it something you could sustain long term and remain in good health?
The best diet is a healthy one you can maintain for your entire life, not a restrictive fad you follow only temporarily.
2
Since 95% of diets fail and produce weight gain within five years, I am a fan of Intuitive Eating. Which means teaching clients to listen to their subtle hunger and fullness, eat a wide variety of colorful foods (without avoiding types of foods) and coping with emotions and stress without eating.
I have seen this to be the only thing that works overtime.
Make sure that you also check out this article. This is the Nurses Health Study. It shows that over 10 years of following thousands of nurses who lowered their fat intake, they had really no health improvement or decreased risk of diseases and they ended up weighing the same as the control group.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/nutrition-news/low-fat/
I have seen this to be the only thing that works overtime.
Make sure that you also check out this article. This is the Nurses Health Study. It shows that over 10 years of following thousands of nurses who lowered their fat intake, they had really no health improvement or decreased risk of diseases and they ended up weighing the same as the control group.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/nutrition-news/low-fat/
2
I found Michael Pollan's book in "Defense of Food" very insightful. He suggest a few rules about eating which I am paraphrasing here:
1. If there is something on the food label that you cannot pronounce, don't eat it.
2. Would your grandmother recognize the item as food?
3. Does it have more than 5 ingredients listed on the label?
4. Eat food as close to the earth as possible and avoid as best you can processed food.
I also find that the new "My Plate" description is a vast improvement over the food pyramid and I anticipate that it will make the communication about food easier.
1. If there is something on the food label that you cannot pronounce, don't eat it.
2. Would your grandmother recognize the item as food?
3. Does it have more than 5 ingredients listed on the label?
4. Eat food as close to the earth as possible and avoid as best you can processed food.
I also find that the new "My Plate" description is a vast improvement over the food pyramid and I anticipate that it will make the communication about food easier.
2
I'm not a nutritionist or RD, but I do have an opinion on all of this. I believe in eating a diet that has VARIETY, that is BALANCED, and that I can ENJOY. By eating a variety of foods, I will get most if not all of the vitamins and nutrients I need. By trying to eat a balanced diet consisting of the major food groups, I help ensure that I am not depriving my body of necessary nutrients. And by eating foods that I enjoy, I help ensure that I will EAT and not avoid foods that might be helpful to me.
I hope this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
lecfitness@yahoo.com
I hope this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
lecfitness@yahoo.com
2
While I am not an RD, I do believe fad diets have overwhelmed people to the point they are a little afraid to commit to a basic food plan. Several answers are great above and offer great options.
Before you embark on experimentig with what food plan to try that you feel is best for your life, think first what do you think of food.
That sounds little odd I bet, most people don't think about food or why you are making choices to consume them. But why not?
Food is not the enemy, food is to be enjoyed in it's most natural state as possible, but complete deprivation is a setup for binging.
One possible option is to discover what kinds of foods evoke positive reactions not just by vitamins and minerals but also by taste.
If you consider a food "bad" and eat it anyway maybe it is more about why you eat certain things and less about what you eat.
If you are finding it difficult to find a food plan, professionals who can assist you with this. It can be overwhelming and don't feel bad if you do need help, at least you may get closer to a food plan that can fit you.
Before you embark on experimentig with what food plan to try that you feel is best for your life, think first what do you think of food.
That sounds little odd I bet, most people don't think about food or why you are making choices to consume them. But why not?
Food is not the enemy, food is to be enjoyed in it's most natural state as possible, but complete deprivation is a setup for binging.
One possible option is to discover what kinds of foods evoke positive reactions not just by vitamins and minerals but also by taste.
If you consider a food "bad" and eat it anyway maybe it is more about why you eat certain things and less about what you eat.
If you are finding it difficult to find a food plan, professionals who can assist you with this. It can be overwhelming and don't feel bad if you do need help, at least you may get closer to a food plan that can fit you.
1
You need to look at food as fuel for your body and base your diet on that. What, when and how much you eat depends on your particular body composition, your daily activity and your exercise habits. For example, if you are active all day at your job, then go to the gym on your way home for a spinning class, your body requires more fuel than someone sitting at a desk for eight hours and going home to watch tv for three hours before bed. Obviously, the quality of food is critical, but I agree with Karin that the new "My Plate" is very user friendly. And come on, we all know that french fries don't count as a vegetable!!!
0
I think this article from Harvard Public Healthwould help: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/
0
I think it depends on the individual. Some people feel great on a raw food diet, whereas others don't. The same holds true for a vegan, caveman and "standard" MyPyramid diet. Nutrition research is always evolving and can be dialectic in nature. Many people have allergies to certain food or are intolerant, e.g. lactose intolerance. It is good to get tested by a doctor for deficiencies and if you have any, see a nutritionist or dietician to work with you to get a diet with adequate nutrients.
0
The best eating plan is the one that works for YOU. I do best when I reduce/eliminate sugar and processed foods and stick with whole grains. Its taken many years for me to find the right eating plan for me and I still struggle at times.
0
I've done a ridiculous amount of research, reading, testing, experimentation, for years. I eat a paleo diet myself, use it with my clients, have friends and family that do it, and stick behind it. It's worked the best over everything else, but hey don't just take my word for it, give it a shot and see what happens.
heres a good link that has some research listed in it.
http://robbwolf.com/2011/06/11/us-news-best-diets-rebuttal-2/
heres a good link that has some research listed in it.
http://robbwolf.com/2011/06/11/us-news-best-diets-rebuttal-2/
0
The best (right) way to eat is based on what each individual requires to be healthy and energized to perform their daily activities. A better question to ask is: how do we create an eating plan and assess the quality of that eating plan to know we are eating for our individual needs.
0
It's very individual, but back to basics in general as in "Clean Eating" is an excellent and true mode of creating a healthier lifestyle with a solid nutrition plan.
0
I will echo what others have said. The best diet is the one that works for you in achieving your goals and that you can stick with.
I used to believe in the "better living through science" idea of food manipulation that gave us unnatural things like trans-fat laden margarines. But now I have reverted to the basic idea that we are natural creatures built to eat natural foods. Eat whole foods in moderation and variety. I occasionally (ok, often) indulge in processed foods, but I try to limit them.
I don't agree with the "if you can't pronounce it, then don't eat it" idea because that just fosters ignorance. Do we want people scared off by alpha-tocopherol or ascorbic acid (Vit E and C) because its sounds "chemical"? Better to educate than give pithy little slogans. I would agree that anything with long list of ingredients is likely to be far from natural and healthy.
I think any diet that counsels excluding (or emphasizing) any broad category of food or macronutrient is suboptimal. Often, that kind of advice is pushing a product or pushing an agenda, not nutriton.
I used to believe in the "better living through science" idea of food manipulation that gave us unnatural things like trans-fat laden margarines. But now I have reverted to the basic idea that we are natural creatures built to eat natural foods. Eat whole foods in moderation and variety. I occasionally (ok, often) indulge in processed foods, but I try to limit them.
I don't agree with the "if you can't pronounce it, then don't eat it" idea because that just fosters ignorance. Do we want people scared off by alpha-tocopherol or ascorbic acid (Vit E and C) because its sounds "chemical"? Better to educate than give pithy little slogans. I would agree that anything with long list of ingredients is likely to be far from natural and healthy.
I think any diet that counsels excluding (or emphasizing) any broad category of food or macronutrient is suboptimal. Often, that kind of advice is pushing a product or pushing an agenda, not nutriton.
0
I am a NTP, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
The NTA org. uses the 40/30/30 rule. I'm not targeting athletes here this is just a general. Though they're about to change it to increase fat intake as the American public is so afraid of fat.
More on that later....
Yes, Michael Pollan's omnivore's dilemma is also a good book on 4 types of meals. Obama has appointed him to his cabinet and is now our leader of USDA. Score 1 for us.!!
When you shop in the stores only go in the aisles that are on the outside!! Everything else in the middle is packaged, processed, and mostly a corn derivative of some disguise or another.
Check out the Weston A. Price Foundation for whole food recommendations.
Weston A. Price was a nutritionist pioneer and a dentist in the 1900s who sailed the globe and studied indigenous cultures, tribes, from all corners of the world, their diets and their jaw structures for bone health, dental caries, and lean body mass.
He found that the cultures that ate traditional diets of animal and insect proteins, animal and natural plant fats, and local vegetation had no dental cavaties, their jawline was large and full, they were tall and had muscular physiques as though they worked out. They had no history of degenerative disease, no heart attacks, no diabetes, no obesity.
He found 3 vegetarian cultures who were thriving but not as fit as the traditional diet cultures, and he found 1 vegan culture that were small as a whole, had many dental caries, and were not a thriving culture.
Eat clean, eat the way our grandparents, grandparents ate. A recipe book called Nourishing Traditions, Politics and The Food Giant Dictocrats by Sally Fallon (pres. of the wapf) co-authored with Mary Enig Phd and lead researcher of the 50 year Framingham Heart Study.
This book teaches all about how our American culture and our food industry is controlled by the Food Giant corporations, The Chemical Co.s and the Medical Association or the Diet Dictocrats as she calls them. This book is chock full of diet truths.
A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT TO EAT!!
Holly St.Lawrence BSc, NASM CPT, NTP
Being In Balance, Eugene OR
beingNbalance@yahoo.com
The NTA org. uses the 40/30/30 rule. I'm not targeting athletes here this is just a general. Though they're about to change it to increase fat intake as the American public is so afraid of fat.
More on that later....
Yes, Michael Pollan's omnivore's dilemma is also a good book on 4 types of meals. Obama has appointed him to his cabinet and is now our leader of USDA. Score 1 for us.!!
When you shop in the stores only go in the aisles that are on the outside!! Everything else in the middle is packaged, processed, and mostly a corn derivative of some disguise or another.
Check out the Weston A. Price Foundation for whole food recommendations.
Weston A. Price was a nutritionist pioneer and a dentist in the 1900s who sailed the globe and studied indigenous cultures, tribes, from all corners of the world, their diets and their jaw structures for bone health, dental caries, and lean body mass.
He found that the cultures that ate traditional diets of animal and insect proteins, animal and natural plant fats, and local vegetation had no dental cavaties, their jawline was large and full, they were tall and had muscular physiques as though they worked out. They had no history of degenerative disease, no heart attacks, no diabetes, no obesity.
He found 3 vegetarian cultures who were thriving but not as fit as the traditional diet cultures, and he found 1 vegan culture that were small as a whole, had many dental caries, and were not a thriving culture.
Eat clean, eat the way our grandparents, grandparents ate. A recipe book called Nourishing Traditions, Politics and The Food Giant Dictocrats by Sally Fallon (pres. of the wapf) co-authored with Mary Enig Phd and lead researcher of the 50 year Framingham Heart Study.
This book teaches all about how our American culture and our food industry is controlled by the Food Giant corporations, The Chemical Co.s and the Medical Association or the Diet Dictocrats as she calls them. This book is chock full of diet truths.
A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT TO EAT!!
Holly St.Lawrence BSc, NASM CPT, NTP
Being In Balance, Eugene OR
beingNbalance@yahoo.com
0
Is there really one diet that fits the majority of the population? I don't think so. This is why there are so many fad diets because no two people respond the same way to anything. Keep it simple, keep it unprocessed, don't cut out macro nutrients, get lots of veggies, fruit isn't the devil, and eat wild meat or grass fed.
0
Ilike Jonathans answer. I'm gonna go with that.
Eliminate nothing; Moderate everything.
Eliminate nothing; Moderate everything.
0
I prefer clean eating whenever possible and including all macro nutrients. I simply encourage people to eat foods as close to natural form as possible- so if it looks like its out of the garden and off the organic farm go for it! However, nothing has to be perfect.
A quick trick I tell people is that when grocery shopping in the average grocery store, they should only hit the perimeter of the store and then check out. All the processed junk is in the middle!
A quick trick I tell people is that when grocery shopping in the average grocery store, they should only hit the perimeter of the store and then check out. All the processed junk is in the middle!
