DIET AND DIETS
We are all on a diet of some sort or other. Maybe it is a healthy diet, a diet to lose weight, a detox diet or the latest craze diet, low everything (low calorie, low carb, low sugar, low fat) et all. Just eating is dieting in many ways.
What is important is that we eat the right foods whatever our diet. A healthy whole food diet of nutrient rich foods should be the aim. Given time that is all that is needed for health and weightloss.
The other important point to remember is to know what you are doing with dieting. If you are going to change your diet to one you have seen on TV or read about in a magazine, whether for health or weightloss, make sure you find out what the diet involves, how it works and its effects, especially long term. Is this explained and if not get more information before you start cutting this or that food type. Make sure you understand what the diet does for your health. Cutting down or cutting out foods will generally mean less nutrients available. Though that also depends on your diet in the first place. It makes more sense to first look at your existing diet and cut out the bad foods, the junk foods etc and replace them with more nutritious healthy foods.
That may be all that is needed to improve your health and lose weight and you would probably be getting more valuable nutrients in the diet. Low carbohydrate diets are popular but cutting carbohydrates altogether and increasing protein can cause health problems if carried out without knowing what you are doing. The type of carbohydrate and protein used are important. using nutrient dense carbs (whole grains, vegetables, fruit) and a variety of small portions of protein plus plenty of vegetables and fruit will work just as well as restricting carbohydrates is a more balanced approach.
Low calories diets are also popular and there is also a school of thought that calorie restricted diets are a healthy option for a long term diet. Again this is another example where you could just think that you eat less and at the same time eat less nutrients that the body needs. If you want to change your diet for the better think about what you eat. Change any poor quality or processed and junk food to more healthy, nutritious foods; add variety to your meals with more fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. Avoid large portions especially of meat and carbohydrates and avoid snacking between meals. If you want to follow a particular diet get the information – there is plenty around and ask questions if necessary. Above all remember that nutrient rich foods are what the body needs. Your body needs food – the right food!
