Diet always starts tomorrow.
I think most of us have tried, or at least heard of, one of the diets that have become famous in recent years. Keto or Paleo are just a few diet names that have popped up on the internet, but what are their implications on the body? I cannot deny that some of them give results if they are carefully followed, when the only purpose is that of losing weight.
From my point of view, diets are nothing more than short-term weight loss solutions that do nothing but stress the body, break its balance and make it sick.
Keto diet
I have heard lots of people talking about the Keto diet, called like that because it is meant to put the body in a state of ketosis, in order to burn more fat. What is ketosis? It happens when your body does not have enough glucose to give you energy, so it starts burning fat instead.
What do you usually eat? Lots of red meat, fatty fish, chicken and eggs . Other foods you can include: cheese, butter, yogurt, nuts, oils and avocado. Vegetables may be included, but only those very low in carbohydrates: green leaves, tomatoes, onions or peppers.
What aren't you allowed to eat? All kind of sweets, alcohol, pastas, bread, but also fruits and vegetables high in carbohydrates, legumes or whole grains will be removed from the diet too. Thus, there is no barrier between simple and complex carbohydrates, all of which are excluded from your diet.
Paleo diet
This diet is a bit more "user friendly" because, unlike Keto, allows a moderate fruit consumption, but bans the consumption of dairy products and processed oils. In other words, it is a diet based exclusively on the consumption of foods that could constitute the meals of our ancestors from the Paleolithic era, hence its name. Fortunately, we don't live anymore in the Paleolithic era, so why should we eat like then?...
As in the case of Keto diet, cereals, legumes, and starchy vegetables are consumed in moderation. Paleo is also a low carbohydrate diet, but it is more flexible, depending on the needs of each person.
All good and beautiful, but ...
What are the implications of these diets on our health?
Among the most important and quick effects are... fatigue, headaches, lack of energy and of power. As if these are not enough, we are faced with large cravings for sweets, the body being hungry for its fastest and most efficient source of energy: glucose.
What we don't feel immediately, but over time, is that a very high consumption of animal foods, rich in proteins and fat, deprives us of the intake of many vitamins and minerals found in vegetables, other than those allowed, and... especially in fruits, legumes and whole grains.
Moreover, the lack of fiber in food (also known as prebiotics, which are the source of food for good bacteria in the intestines) - which can be taken only from plant foods, leads to gastrointestinal diseases and constipation problems. Too little fiber kills the microbiome, the bacteria that help us digest food and maintain a good intestinal balance, which can otherwise over-acidify the body with long held toxins in the colon. This is a strong pro-inflammatory factor, so pro-sickness.
In these kind of diets we also face an increase in cholesterol and the appearance of kidney diseases due to the consumption of foods rich in saturated fatty acids, which increase LDL (bad cholesterol), and uric acid in the blood. It should come as no surprise that during these diets we get tired faster during physical activity.
People with heart, diabetes or kidney disease are not recommended to follow these diets. Also, pregnant women are not allowed either, because they are poor in some micro-nutrients, so necessary for the development of the fetus.
And we probably all know what happens after we give up such diets...
Another reason why I do not recommend weight loss diets, or diets like these, is because they break the balance in our body and mind. We start the diet excited, but because of the drastic restrictions we end up giving up and overeating, or getting back to the old habits: which is known as the famous yo-yo effect .
Moreover, they are psychologically hurting us because we are convinced that "we are not able to do it", that we are not good enough to give up bad habits, and we easily fall in depression.
My recommendation
In other words, when keeping these diets we focus more on input (what we eat), and less on output (the benefits we offer to the body through what we eat). As an example, the ketogenic diet helps us lose weight in the short term, but it brings great stress to the body, like other well-known diets (Paleo, Dukan). What would be the other option? Simply choose a healthy lifestyle, with regular, balanced and slightly reduced meals, plus including exercising in your daily routine.
Sources:
- https://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-keto-diets-safe/
- https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-weight-loss-on-ketosis-sustainable/
- https://scoaladeslabit.ro/fibrele-gardienii-siluetei-tale
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-1fnqkot3k
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeyuQvhaoWo
Lavinia Dinca
Nutritionist
English 
Română