Searching for diet advice online can be exhaustive and may lead to unreliable sources. However, by better understanding the most common types of diets, you can decide which one works best for your lifestyle and overall goals. Nutritionist Anthony O’Reilly from BarBend has revealed to Digital Journal a guide to the most popular diets online and their pros and cons.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting involves consuming all your calories within a set time period and then fasting for the rest of the day. There are different approaches to intermittent fasting, with the most popular being an 8:16 split – meaning you consume your calories in an eight-hour eating window and fast for the other 16 hours of the day. You can also do a 10:16, 16:10, or even a 6:20 eating: fasting split. The concept is that you will be eating fewer calories since you are squeezing them into a narrower timeframe, instead of consuming them throughout the day.
Advantages of Intermittent Fasting:
Leads to weight loss, helps improve insulin resistance, reduce oxidative stress on your cells, stabilise blood sugar levels, and reduce the risk of strokes.
Disadvantages of Intermittent Fasting
The diet can be difficult to stick with long-term due to low energy, cravings, habits, and the discipline required to stick to the specific time frames. Plus, studies investigating intermittent fasting also point to certain side effects that may occur during the fasting stage, for example, mood swings, constipation, dehydration, or diminished sleep quality.
Mediterranean Diet
As the name suggests, the Mediterranean diet is inspired by the eating habits of people who live near the Mediterranean Sea, for instance, Greece, Italy, Spain etc., who have some of the longest life expectancies in the world. The diet is rich in heart-healthy foods such as vegetables, grains, fish, fruit, olive oil, and nuts. Consumption of red meat is kept to a minimum, and dairy intake is moderate and consists of high-quality sources such as yoghurt and cheeses.
Advantages of the Mediterranean diet
- It leads to weight loss.
- An easy diet for people to adhere to when compared to intermittent fasting and the paleo diet.
- When adhered to, the diet has also been found to reverse symptoms of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Disadvantages of the Mediterranean diet:
- The diet does not have clear calorie guidelines.
- Some foods are costly.
Paleo Diet
The Paleo diet, sometimes called “the Caveman diet,” involves only eating meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds. Any grains, dairy, processed foods, beans, legumes, and sugars must be avoided while adhering to this diet.
Advantages of the Paleo diet:
Studies have shown that it is effective in helping people lose weight, drop their blood pressure, and improve other blood markers.
Disadvantages of the Paleo diet:
Many researchers highlight the lack of evidence of the diet’s effects on health and that more research needs to be done. Researchers also warn against the diet’s exclusion of whole grains, which have been shown to ward off heart disease and diabetes.
Carnivore Diet
The carnivore diet is the exact opposite of veganism. Carnivore devotees only eat animal-based products, such as meat, cheese, milk, animal-based fats, and eggs. There are no grains, no vegetables, and no fruits.
Disadvantages of the Carnivore diet:
The lack of fruits and vegetables may lead to an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and overall risk of death.
Sirtfood Diet
The diet focuses on foods high in sirtuins, a group of proteins found in the body that regulate metabolism. Foods high in sirtuins include red wine, dark chocolate, walnuts, arugula, coffee, and extra-virgin olive oil.
Advantages of the Sirtfood diet:
Many of the foods recommended on the Sirtfood Diet are full of beneficial micronutrients and antioxidants.
Disadvantages of the Sirtfood diet:
There is little proof that the Sirtfood diet leads to weight loss or better health.
The Ketogenic Diet
In recent years, the Ketogenic diet has arguably been one of the most discussed and debated diets. Keto, as it is called for short, prioritises fat (65-75 per cent of your daily calories), with moderate protein consumption (20-30 per cent) and very few carbs (only about five per cent, though some versions prohibit carbs altogether). The Keto diet was designed to keep the body in a near-constant state of ketosis, a metabolic state where the body creates ketones from fat to use as energy instead of sugar from carbs (the body’s primary and preferred energy source).
Disadvantages of the Keto diet:
Several studies point out Keto is no more effective for weight loss when calories are matched with other diets.
So, which diet to choose?
According to O’Reilly: “It is important to note that none of these options are the be-all, end-all for your health needs. You can lose weight on about any diet, so long as you are in a calorie deficit (that is, you burn more calories than you consume). Prioritise calories first, and then choose a diet style based on your preference.”
He further states: “Studies have also shown that the quality of food is just as if not more important than the number of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats) you take in. In other words: if you’re following a low-carb diet, you need to make sure you’re eating quality fats and protein, too. On the flip, opt for whole grains over refined starches if eating a diet lower in fat.”
