Fad diets are any dieting programs that are aimed at promoting fast weight loss. They have become famous due to 3 reasons: their promise of weight loss within a short period of time (some claiming overnight), desperation of most overweight people (who want a quick fix to their problem), and because of their ease in implementation.
I will review some of the main fad diet categories and give the advantages and disadvantages of each.
High-Fat, Low-Carbohydrate Diets
These are diets that contain high amounts of fat but small amounts of carbohydrates.Their exact proportions are: 60% fat, 10% carbohydrates and 30% protein. Examples of low carb diets are zone and artkin diets. These diets say that you can consume high amounts of fat and protein, and then get small amounts of carbohydrates from vegetables such as spinach.
The advantages of these diets are that there is fast weight loss during the initial stages hence encouraging the dieter to stick to the program. Also, due to the high amounts of fat and protein, the dieter feels satiated therefore not tempted to take unhealthy snacks. Furthermore, according to research, with healthy fat levels, the diet results to decrease in cholesterol and can lead to long term weight loss.
The setbacks of the diet is that the diet results to loss of precious muscle tissue instead of burning fat. Also, due to the high levels of proteins, ketosis can ensue; leading to coma and sometimes death. Furthermore, the high fat in the diet can lead to colon cancer.
Finally, researchers believe that the diet cannot be used as a long term weight loss program. This is because; restricting carbohydrates for a long time has no profound benefits. In fact, people taking a balanced diet lose weight much faster than those taking a low carb diet.
Low and Very Low-Fat Diets
Just as the name says, these are diets with small amounts of fat. They include Pritkin Plan, Dr. Dean Ornish's Diet, among many others. These diets are characterized by presence of 13% fat, 70% carbohydrates, and 16% protein. They are known as the vegetarian diet since they don't recommend meat.
The advantage of these diets is that you will lose weight over a short term due to the restricted fat intake.
However, the low fat diet has Monosodium glutamate (MSG) which lowers your blood sugar hence leaving you hungry an hour after eating. Therefore, you end up taking more empty calories which are stored as fat resulting to weight gain in the long run.
Also, due to the restriction of fat in the diet, the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) are not absorbed hence are not beneficial to the body. Furthermore, since the diet doesn't recommend meat intake, there is deficiency of zinc, vitamin B12 and other essential fatty acids. This in-turn results to malnutrition.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. I have analysed the main fad diets. One thing that stands out in both is that they work only for short term basis and have differing advantages and disadvantages, however, I'm in no position to advice you on the right program. The choice is yours.
Mutura Ng'ang'a is a Kenyan who is keen on making money online. He likes writing articles online with exceptional lean on Health and Online money-Making articles.
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