nashville entertainment calendar: Popular Diets Review

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Good day readers!

You may have seen me on the Morning Show chatting with the lovely hosts about some of the most popular diets trending today. Some of them may surprise you, while others have been around for decades, like the cabbage soup diet.

You can watch the video below for a very brief summary.

I want you to know that I do NOT recommend ?dieting?. I DO recommend you eat food that makes you thrive, feel joyous and fabulous. Focus on how you feel and eat foods that energize you, not weigh you down. When you focus on health as opposed to a number on the scale, you will achieve your wellness goals. Focusing on the scale is not a measurement of health at all. Two people, the same age could weigh the exact same amount yet one is very healthy and the other is not plagued with problem after problem.

This list is based on the most searched diets on the internet. Every diet has it?s pros and cons. Keep in mind that you are your own best nutritionist. You know what makes you thrive more than anyone else, that is, if you listen to what your body is telling you.

Please note: These are very BRIEF reviews, so please feel free to comment below

1.??? Paleo Diet

From thepaleodiet.com: the paleo diet ?is based upon eating wholesome, contemporary foods from the food groups our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era, the time period from about 2.6 million years ago to the beginning of the agricultural revolution, about 10,000 years ago. These foods include fresh meats (preferably grass-produced or free-ranging beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and game meat, if you can get it), fish, seafood, fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and healthful oils (olive, coconut, avocado, macadamia, walnut and flaxseed). Dairy products, cereal grains, legumes, refined sugars and processed foods were not part of our ancestral menu.?

The Paleo diet is a very healthy diet, says Loren Cordain, PhD, Colorado State University professor and author of The Paleo Diet.

?Clinical trials have shown that the Paleo Diet is the optimum diet that can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, markers of inflammation, help with weight loss, reduce acne, promote optimum health and athletic performance,? Cordain says.

PROS: Emphasizes ?whole? foods, clean foods, no sugar, no food additives. Clean eating in a nutshell. Not for vegetarians or vegans (obviously). It?s not just a diet, it?s also a lifestyle.

CONS: Quite restrictive. You can forget eating quinoa or any grain as our ancestors millions of years ago did not eat grains of any kind. However, many people feel so much better when they remove grains from their diet. Grains have really only been part of our diet for the last 10,000 years and it actually takes longer than that for our body to adapt to a new-ish food. If you suspect you have a problem with grains, (even the gluten-free kind), remove for 2 weeks and evaluate how you feel.

2.??? Cabbage Soup Diet

There are many versions of the cabbage soup diet and it?s been around a long time, since the 1980?s. The most popular version as quoted by WebMD is the? ?seven-day Cabbage Soup Diet plan which includes two daily bowls of fat-free cabbage soup and a short list of fruit, vegetables, skim milk, and meat. The plan encourages drinking plenty of water and avoiding alcohol.?

I remember my friend?s mom doing it all the time and she was a yo-yo dieter. She?d lose weight only to gain it all back again. It is very low calorie which explains the drastic weight loss but of course it?s not sustainable.

PROS: None.

CONS: See above. I do not recommend it at all ? unless you want to develop nutritional deficiencies and starve yourself (which I?m sure you do not!).

3.??? Atkins Diet

Low-carb diet promoted by Robert Atkins, first popularized in the 70s, experienced a revival in early 2000s. The idea is that limiting carb consumption will force the body into ketosis (similar to the Bernstein Diet), burning fat for energy instead of glucose.? At least the Atkins Diet acknowledges that drastically cutting carbs in the early phase of the program can result in some side effects, including:

Headache
Dizziness
Weakness
Fatigue
Constipation

PROS: None.

CONS: It does not emphasize healthy foods. You could eat all the cottage cheese (casein is a very common food intolerance) and bacon you like! Some in the medical community worry that the diet may actually promote heart disease, some cancers, liver and kidney problems ? avoid!

4.??? HCG Diet

VERY LOW CALORIE (500-800 calories/day) while receiving injections or taking drops of growth hormone associated with pregnancy hCG
Using hCG as a weight loss supplement can cause painful cysts and overproduction of the ovaries.
hCG only approved in Canada as a treatment for infertility and only in its injectable form; it is considered a prescription-only drug.
CONS: I don?t know where to start. I do not recommend.

5.??? Gluten-Free (Wheat Belly)

Diet that specifically eliminates the protein gluten found in many grains, including wheat, barley, rye etc.
Originally used primarily to treat celiac disease, an autoimmune condition resulting in an intolerance to gluten that causes damage to the intestinal villi
Gluten intolerance now being linked by some to an increasing list of medical conditions, and being suggested as a way to control body weight (esp, Dr. William Davis, author of Wheat Belly).

PROS: Removing gluten from the diet can be extremely beneficial as the large majority of the population is sensitive to gluten which can cause a whole array of unpleasant symptoms from weight gain, to constipation, brain fog and acne.

CONS: This diet can be restrictive. If you do not have a gluten sensitivity and you eat wheat in moderation, preferably sprouted and organic, it?s fine occasionally.

The book is worth reading, however there are many points I do not agree with. For a full review of the book, check the Cole?s Notes version.There are 5 more popular diets that I will discuss in another post.

The bottom line here is that health is NOT a time-limited endeavour. Health is a journey and it starts with you ? you have the choice of what food you put into your body, what thoughts you keep, how often you move your booty and how you spend your free time.? It?s more than achieving a number on a scale or fitting into your skinny jeans.

My definition of health is this: Feeling whole, healthy, joyous? having energy for exercise, getting a good night?s sleep, feeling positive and loving towards myself and others, having good quality bowel movements and the list goes on!

What is your definition of health?

Share below and you are entered to WIN our Eat Clean Body Lean program! Winner will be selected by end of day Monday April 22nd!!

Tomorrow marks the first day of our Eat Clean Body Lean Program, but you can join anytime until May 31st. There over 50 pages of joyous-packed information including recipes and workout videos, webinars and support on the facebook page. Join us!

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