The 10 Worst Presidents Not all U.S. The experts rated the diets for short-term and long-term weight loss, how easy they are to follow, and safety and nutrition. Just cut out fats and. The second largest city in New York leaps into the top 10 from No. Super-high pollen scores and above-average use of allergy meds. The 1. 0 Worst Foods You Can Buy. In a study published in the British Journal of Cancer in September 2. August McLaughlin is a health and sexuality writer with more than 10 years of experience as a nutritionist. Her work is featured in the Huffington Post, DAME Magazine. NEWS RELEASES FROM RECENT YEARS RELEASED DEC. Weight loss schemes are more lucrative than ever! The Worst Diets of 2011. HETTINGER, ND, Dec 30 Fill in the Blank: Do you constantly have headaches or feel tired? Sometimes, you may develop an allergy to a food and not even know it. These 10 low-fat and fat-free vending machine offerings are the best of the bunch They found a significant link between the intake of processed meats and cancers of the mouth, breast, prostate, bladder, colon, stomach, esophagus and throat. Hot dogs, salami and salted meats were among the processed foods most closely associated with cancer risk. Proven Health Benefits of Low- Carb and Ketogenic Diets. Low- carb diets have been controversial for decades. They were originally demonized by fat- phobic health professionals and the media. People believed that these diets would raise cholesterol and cause heart disease because of the high fat content. However. Low- Carb Diets Kill Your Appetite (in a Good Way)Hunger is the single worst side effect of dieting. It is one of the main reasons why many people feel miserable and eventually give up on their diets. One of the best things about eating low- carb is that it leads to an automatic reduction in appetite (1). The studies consistently show that when people cut carbs and eat more protein and fat, they end up eating much fewer calories. In fact. Bottom Line: When people cut carbs, their appetite tends to go down and they often end up eating much fewer calories without trying. Low- Carb Diets Lead to More Weight Loss. Cutting carbs is one of the simplest and most effective ways to lose weight. Studies show that people on low- carb diets lose more weight, faster, than people on low- fat diets. Because they lower insulin levels, the kidneys start shedding excess sodium, leading to rapid weight loss in the first week or two (3, 4). In studies comparing low- carb and low- fat diets, the low- carbers sometimes lose 2- 3 times as much weight, without being hungry (5, 6). Low- carb diets appear to be particularly effective for up to 6 months, but after that the weight starts creeping back up because people give up on the diet and start eating the same old stuff (7). It is much more appropriate to think of low- carb as a lifestyle, NOT a diet. The only way to succeed in the long- term is to stick to it. However, some people may be able to add in healthier carbs after they have reached their goal weight. Bottom Line: Almost without exception, low- carb diets lead to more weight loss than the diets they are compared to, especially in the first 6 months. A Greater Proportion of The Fat Lost Comes From The Abdominal Cavity. Not all fat in the body is the same. It’s where that fat is stored that determines how it will affect our health and risk of disease. Most importantly, we have subcutaneous fat (under the skin) and then we have visceral fat (in the abdominal cavity). Visceral fat is fat that tends to lodge around the organs. Having a lot of fat in that area can drive inflammation, insulin resistance and is believed to be a leading driver of the metabolic dysfunction that is so common in Western countries today (8). Low- carb diets are very effective at reducing the harmful abdominal fat. Not only do they cause more fat loss than low- fat diets, an even greater proportion of that fat is coming from the abdominal cavity (9). Over time, this should lead to a drastically reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Bottom Line: A large percentage of the fat lost on low- carb diets tends to come from the harmful fat in the abdominal cavity that is known to cause serious metabolic problems. Triglycerides Tend to go Way Down. Triglycerides are fat molecules. It is well known that fasting triglycerides, how much we have of them in the blood after an overnight fast, are a strong heart disease risk factor (1. Perhaps counter intuitively, the main driver of elevated triglycerides is carbohydrate consumption, especially the simple sugar fructose (1. When people cut carbs, they tend to have a very dramatic reduction in blood triglycerides (1. Compare this to low- fat diets, which can cause triglycerides to go up in many cases (1. Bottom Line: Low- carb diets are very effective at lowering blood triglycerides, which are fat molecules in the blood and a well known risk factor for heart disease. Increased Levels of HDL (the “good”) Cholesterol. High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is often called the “good” cholesterol. It’s actually wrong to call it “cholesterol”. The higher it is, the greater your risk of heart disease is (2. By lowering triglycerides and raising HDL levels, low- carb diets lead to a major improvement in this ratio. Bottom Line: Low- carb diets tend to be high in fat, which leads to an impressive increase in blood levels of HDL, often referred to as the “good” cholesterol. Reduced Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels, With a Major Improvement in Type 2 Diabetes. When we eat carbs, they are broken down into simple sugars (mostly glucose) in the digestive tract. From there, they enter the bloodstream and elevate blood sugar levels. Because high blood sugars are toxic, the body responds with a hormone called insulin, which tells the cells to bring the glucose into the cells and to start burning or storing it. For people who are healthy, the quick insulin response tends to minimize the blood sugar “spike” in order to prevent it from harming us. However. They have what is called insulin resistance, which means that the cells don’t “see” the insulin and therefore it is harder for the body to bring the blood sugar into the cells (2. This can lead to a disease called type 2 diabetes, when the body fails to secrete enough insulin to lower the blood sugar after meals. This disease is very common today, afflicting about 3. There is actually a very simple solution to this problem. Both blood sugars and insulin go way down (3. According to Dr. Eric Westman, who has treated many diabetics using a low- carb approach, he needs to reduce their insulin dosage by 5. In one study in type 2 diabetics, 9. If you are currently on blood sugar lowering medication, then talk to your doctor before making changes to your carbohydrate intake, because your dosage may need to be adjusted in order to prevent hypoglycemia. Bottom Line: The best way to lower blood sugar and insulin levels is to reduce carbohydrate consumption. This is also a very effective way to treat and possibly even reverse type II diabetes. Blood Pressure Tends to go Down. Having elevated blood pressure (hypertension) is an important risk factor for many diseases. This includes heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and many others. Low- carb diets are an effective way to reduce blood pressure, which should lead to a reduced risk of these diseases and help you live longer (3. Bottom Line: Studies show that reducing carbs leads to a significant reduction in blood pressure, which should lead to a reduced risk of many common diseases. Low- Carb Diets Are The Most Effective Treatment Known Against Metabolic Syndrome. The metabolic syndrome is a medical condition that is highly associated with the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It is actually a collection of symptoms: Abdominal obesity. Elevated blood pressure. Elevated fasting blood sugar levels. High triglycerides. Low HDL levels. The good news is. Low- Carb Diets Improve The Pattern of LDL Cholesterol. Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) is often referred to as the “bad” cholesterol (again, it is actually a protein). It is known that people who have high LDL are much more likely to have heart attacks (3. However. Not all of them are equal. In this regard, the size of the particles is important. People who have mostly small particles have a high risk of heart disease, while people who have mostly large particles have a low risk (4. It turns out that low- carb diets actually turn the LDL particles from small to large, while reducing the number of LDL particles floating around in the bloodstream (4. Bottom Line: When you eat a low- carb diet, your LDL particles change from small (bad) LDL to large LDL – which is benign. Cutting carbs may also reduce the number of LDL particles floating around in the bloodstream. Low- Carb Diets Are Therapeutic For Several Brain Disorders. It is often claimed that glucose is necessary for the brain. That’s why the liver produces glucose out of protein if we don’t eat any carbs. But a large part of the brain can also burn ketones, which are formed during starvation or when carbohydrate intake is very low. This is the mechanism behind the ketogenic diet, which has been used for decades to treat epilepsy in children who don’t respond to drug treatment (4. In many cases, this diet can cure children of epilepsy. In one study, over half of children on a ketogenic diet had a greater than 5. Very low- carb/ketogenic diets are now being studied for other brain disorders as well, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (4. Take Home Message. Few things are as well established in nutrition science as the immense health benefits of low- carb and ketogenic diets. Andy Leeks did 1. The final straw for me was when people at work started calling me 'Big Man' - I had to do something about my weight. I'm sure it was meant affectionately, but I was mortified as I'd never considered myself as 'big'. But the truth was last year, I tipped the scales at 1. I'm 5 ft 1. 1in). I'd tried and failed to shift the pounds that had crept on in the last three years. I desperately wanted to lose the weight for good, so why was I unable to see a diet through to the finish? Scroll down for video Andy Leeks, at 1. I'd start a new diet with loads of enthusiasm, only to abandon my best- laid plans when the novelty wore off - usually once I'd learned all there was to learn about the plan and any weight loss started to slow. Which is why I came up with the idea of trying out ten different diets in 5. Would it be possible to lose weight by changing diets regularly - without losing interest? I've always had a short attention span and this seemed an interesting challenge. Fifty days seemed like a nice round number, and would mean I had to stick to each diet for only five days. My first step was a full health screening with my GP. I explained my plans and that I wanted to see the before and after health results - to my surprise she agreed and said she'd be interested to see what happened, not just for my weight but for my overall health. My starting blood pressure was 1. The GP did warn me that if I did lose weight, I might not be able to keep it off because people who lose weight rapidly - typical of more extreme diets - tend to put it straight back on. Nonetheless, I wanted to see if it was possible - and whether it would get round the tedium of dieting. Andy wondered if it be possible to lose weight by changing diet regularly - without losing interest. I picked diets I hadn't previously tried. The ten diets in order were: the 5: 2 diet; the Special K diet, where two out of three meals are replaced by Special K cereal or snack bars; following NHS guidance for a healthy diet; a juice fast; the high- fat, low- carb Atkins diet; a raw food diet; the baby food diet (replacing two out of three meals a day with tiny jars of baby food, in order to cut calories); calorie counting using a mobile phone app; the grapefruit diet, which involves having either grapefruit or grapefruit juice before or after each meal, supposedly to boost fat- burning; and the cabbage soup diet. I started with the 5: 2. The idea is to restrict calories drastically for two days and eat normally for the rest of the week - three days in my case. On both fasting days, I ate tomato soup for lunch, one slice of toast (with crusts cut off to shave off some calories) with a small helping of beans for dinner and an apple. By day three of the raw food plan, my throat was worse and I couldn't taste anything (no bad thing when nothing can be cooked)I was worried I'd overdo it on the non- fasting days, as you can eat whatever you like. But, surprisingly, I found myself craving things like nuts and fruits rather than bacon sandwiches. I lost 5 lb in the five days - though I realised afterwards I'd been following the female version of the diet and eating 5. I could have had those crusts after all.. I also lost 5 lb on diet two - the Special K diet, but it was much more boring. I couldn't wait to move on to the next diet and there's no way I could have stuck to it for more than five days. But at least swapping meals for low- calorie cereal was easy. The juice diet - diet four - by comparison, was a nightmare to follow. All the juices had to be made fresh and took ages to prepare. There would have been no way I could have lugged the required 3kg of fruit and veg into the office every day - fortunately my very understanding boss let me work from home that week. Some looked like swamp water and my five- year- old daughter Charlotte asked me to stop helping her with her homework because my 'voice was smelly'. I bailed out a day early. Nothing was as bad as diet six - raw food. I did lose 4 lb on it, but I lost the same amount following the guidance for a balanced diet on the NHS website (diet three), and it was much more enjoyable, with plenty of wholegrains, lots of vegetables and fruit, some meat and fish and not too much fat or sugar. Nothing was technically off limits, and there was no calorie counting. I was surprised that this worked as it didn't feel like a diet. Counting calories using a tracker app on my phone (diet eight), the grapefruit diet (diet nine) and the baby food diet (diet seven) only shifted 1lb each. I hated the constant reminder that I was on a diet from logging everything I ate on my phone, the baby food was bland mush and I now like grapefruit a lot less than before. I lost a little more - 1. With no starchy foods or sugar, your body is supposed to use body fat for fuel. The downside was that I was almost instantly bored and miserable. But nothing was as bad as diet six - the raw food diet. I was feeling really run down by this point and my throat was sore. But I persevered with the incredibly strict plan of food in its uncooked, unprocessed state - so raw fruit and veg, nuts and seeds, and not much else. Fans claim food in this unadulterated state allows the body to function at its best, helping shed excess weight. Of course, it helps that this sort of food tends to have few calories. By day three of the raw food plan, my throat was worse and I couldn't taste anything (no bad thing when nothing can be cooked). I woke in the middle of the night struggling to breathe, resulting in a 5 am trip to A& E. I was diagnosed with an infection, requiring antibiotics and rest. It seems foolish now, but I didn't mention my diet challenge. I spent the next two days in bed eating almost nothing - I lost 3 lb, although how much of this was down to illness rather than the diet is hard to say. I left the diet I'd been dreading most till last - the Cabbage Soup diet. Every meal was low calorie cabbage soup. It was awful. No amount of herbs and spices could mask the fact it was yet another bowl of soup made from cabbage, onions and water. And as many other cabbage soup dieters have reported, it gives you bad breath and terrible wind. I felt sorry for my poor wife, who had already put up with 4. But for the first time in years, I'd managed to stick to my plan to diet for more than a couple of weeks - and in total I lost 3. I could see my feet for the first time in years and my waist had gone from 3. There was only one way of eating out of the ten that I could stick to long- term - and that's the diet by the NHSI felt happy and healthy - although my doctor had news for me on that front. For while my blood pressure was a tiny bit lower, at 1. LDL cholesterol. My GP explained that extreme diets essentially shock the body; and in its confused state subtle changes can happen - not all helpful - which might explain why my LDL was slightly up. She said people's exact reactions will vary, and added that if I keep the weight off, she would expect an improvement in my readings. There were other lessons too. Around the four- week mark, I stopped weighing myself every day - something I always used to do when I was on a diet, and then not at all when I fell off the wagon. Weighing myself daily meant I would often see no change or even a slight increase and it was demotivating. This time, perhaps because of the variety of the diets, I could stick it out long enough to see other changes that are more important than the number on the scale - my double chin was receding, my skin was better, I was finding my weekly run easier. There was only one way of eating out of the ten that I could stick to long- term - and that's the diet set out by the NHS. And now I know it can really work just as well as a plan with stricter, faddier rules. It's nearly two months since I finished my ten- diet whirl, and unlike any other time I've dieted, I still feel determined to stick to healthy eating. While I wouldn't recommend my methods to anyone, this was the first January in ages where I haven't been tempted by the latest New Year diet - in fact, I truly believe I will never do another diet again, thank goodness! Andy's book Minimize Me - 1. Diets To Lose 2. 5 lb In 5. Days is available to download on Amazon at the special offer price of 9.
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