A LOW FAT DIET WORKS BEST.

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Several recent studies have shown that a low fat diet works best. The calorie restriction diet works in the short term but the results are not sustained. But are all low fat foods the same?

Many people trying to loose weight try all sorts of diets: "grape fruit", " liver cleansing", " rabbit food", "carbohydrate addicts" etc. But find that nothing works. In theory losing weight should be easy, just reduce what you take in and increase your energy expenditure. The problem with this is that it does not work for most people. This is most likely due to the fact that it’ really difficult to restrict your calories to the level that is required to loose weight as this will inevitably lead to cravings and hunger. Unfortunately hunger is a very strong signal in humans and animals and really difficult to resist. Once you get hungry you must get some food and often this leads to eating too much. The guilt after overeating leads to more restriction but as always the body’s signals always win and you enter a vicious cycle with no escape. The end result is that you will ultimately gain weight and not loose it. So calorie restriction only works in the short term.

What about fat restriction. Restricting the amount of fat that you take in seems to work. But this has to be qualified. Just because food is labelled low fat does not mean that you can eat it until your stomach hurts. Using common sense is important. Foods such as chips, cookies and candy may be labelled low fat, but they would still contain a lot of sugars and carbohydrates and would be high in energy. These foods should be avoided. Why does a low fat diet work. There are several explanations. Fat is high in energy containing 3 time as much energy as carbohydrates. Fat also stimulates your appetite so that you feel hungrier as opposed to other food groups. As fat can not be converted into glucose it gets stored to a much higher extent then for example carbohydrates. These are the reasons why a low fat diet may work better then a simple calorie restricted diet. If you eat more than your body needs you will get fat, not withstanding being on a low fat diet.

Which diet is the best for your health? Researchers have found that the Lyon diet produces the best cardiovascular result, lowers cholesterol and reduces weight. What is the Lyon diet you may ask. The Lyon diet is the so-called Mediterranean diet. This diet has 6 components; eating more bread, more vegetables and legumes, more fish, less meat (beef, lamb, pork) replace by poultry, no day without fruit, no more butter or cream (this is replaced by olive oil).

So what is the final conclusion to all these diets. Forget all the fancy diets that you read about in the weight loss magazines and see on TV. There is a simple yet hard way to loose weight. Reduce the fat that you eat, look carefully on labels in the store, use common sense don't buy junk food even if it's labelled low fat, diet food etc. Increase the amount of fibre in you diet, including more vegetables, salads, green leafy vegetables. Eat fruit in your diet. Avoid butter and margarine. Eat in moderation. If you eat too much you will get fat. Do not snack through the day, eat only the main meals and nothing in between, this will keep you less hungry and you will not overeat. You can loose weight with self motivation, exercise and the correct diet.

Dr. Bernard Beldholm

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