Last updated on September 20th, 2018 at 06:01 am
Finding a right diet might be extremely challenging, especially as we seem to have an incredible variety to choose from. You can see how it's easy to get lost.
At the moment there are as many different opinions as there are diets. Every week a new fact finds its way through the media packed with all the the pros and cons of that particular diet.
Yes, you end up very confused and not knowing what's good and what's bad for you.
Today I'm going to discuss the latest scientific research around the most popular diets. At the same time I'll try to give you the best solution in terms of your diet.
Let's look at the following diets: paleo, ketogenic and vegan.
By Ragesoss - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
(Wikipedia on paleo diet) This diet is one of the diet fads which promotes eating only food which was available Paleolothic era.
This diet include foods like:
And typically excludes:
Like most modern diet-fads Paleo diet promises to improve your overall health and help with body composition compared to typical western diet or national nutritional guidelines (check this link for the UK's government 'eating well guide').
I have found 3 very interesting studies regarding Paleo diet and body composition and bone health.
Here's a link discussing long term studies.
- 105 obese individuals
- 2 years
Conclusion: Average weight loss -5kg / ~ 5.6% body fat reduction.
Note: these studies wasn't strictly supervised, so additional proves might be required.
(Check the link for the study here)
32 type 2 diabetes obese individuals divided in two groups:
a) supervised exercises
b) unsupervised exercises
12 weeks
Paleo diet + exercise
Conclusion: both groups lost ~7kg of total weight, group a lost 6.4 kg of fat, group b ~5.6kg fat loss, both groups: liver fat reduction, improved insulin sensitivity.
Find the link for the study here.
- 17 individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
- Modified paleo diet + exercise
Paleo diet may be useful in treatment or management of MS by reducing fatigue, improving quality of life, increasing exercise capacity.
By Colin - Own work, Public Domain, Link
(Wikipedia link here) The keto diet is high far, adequate protein low carb diet. Primarily use to treat epilepsy in children. The diet is forcing the body to burn fat for energy rather than carbohydrates.
What latest research are saying about ketogenic diet impact on your body composition and health:
Click on this link to find out more about the study.
- 24 weeks
- 83 obese patients (39 man 44 woman)
Results:
During the 24 weeks of studies it has been proven that for obese people it is safe stay on the ketogenic diet for much longer than previous short term studies have shown, and have no side effects.
Check this link and this link.
- Short term (3 days)
- Clinical mice
Results: Decreased glucose tolerance, further leading to increased lipid oxidation and lower respiratory exchange ratio.
This is latest studies on Ketogenic diet. But it has been conducted with animals in a laboratory. Scientist stated that further research is needed to confirm findings. So I'm going to leave it for you to decide if you should take it into account 🙂
By Heinrich Boell Foundation, Friends of the Earth Europe - Meat Atlas, 2014, p. 57., CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
(Wikipedia link on vegan diet here) This diet consists of vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits.
What latest research are saying about vegan diet impact on your body composition and health:
More info here.
- 2 years and 14 weeks
- 64 postmenopausal woman
Results: Individuals in the vegan group lost more weight than those in the moderate low-fat diet.
Women on a plant based diet lost more weight than those on a low fat diet. It is important to note that these studies do not state percentage of body fat, which is a very important factor indeed. This is because merging to a plant based diet can cause significant muscle mass loss rather than fat loss. So be very aware of this fact and make sure you get the right amount of protein.
More info here.
- short term 7 days
- males
Results: The vegan diet failed to provide 90% of recommended amounts for B12, B₃, D, E, calcium, selenium and zinc.
Some extra supplementation might be needed for a balanced diet.
After researching about plant based diets I found a significant amount of information about the vegan diet to be very useful for diabetics. It is proven to lower the cholesterol levels and helps to prevent cancer. It also helps to reduce inflammation as well as reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Finding right diet is not easy. And it's not straight forward process. If you are going to decide to follow one of the fad diets you must understand that it's not necessary going to work for you. Even though it might have worked for your colleague or neighbour, we are all extremely different; our bodies handle diets in different ways.
You're not going to know if one of the diets will work for you until you try it. You must listen to your body, which is going to send you positive or negative signals informing you if the way you're doing it is suitable for you.
Negative signals:
Positive signals:
If you have find yourself ticking 3 or more negative signals, stop your current diet immediately and start experimenting with different food.
From my experience extreme diets never had positive long term impact on my clients or on myself. Balance is the key. See it like a puzzle. Take a few pieces from paleo diet, a few pieces from keto diet, a few pieces from vegetarians. Experiment and don't settle until you will receive only positive signals from your body.
Creating and applying new habits is not an easy task. The best way to do it is to asses and and understand where are you at now.
Follow these simple 5-steps system to understand how to make easy changes to your diet and find a suitable nutritional path for you:
No matter what diet you are going to choose - choose it wisely and do not put your body under the stress of hunger.
I'm always available for a consultation and would be more than happy to assess your food journal and give you an advice on where to start.
