What Supplements are REALLY destroying FAT?
What is the best diet to start in 2021 on the right foot? It is one of the first doubts that arise at the beginning of the year after deciding that we want to adopt a healthier lifestyle. According to the ranking produced by the US News & World Report, the one that accumulates the best score is the Mediterranean diet, followed by the Dash diet and the Flexitarian diet.
This report, which has been published for ten years, scores 35 different diets through the opinion of a panel of health experts. To be highly rated, the diet in question must be easy to follow, nutritious, safe, effective for weight loss, and protective against diabetes and heart disease. Below we explain which ones occupy the top positions and what score they have obtained.
Good news. According to this influential Washington magazine, the Mediterranean diet is the best option to follow a healthy diet without difficulties and gives it a score of 4.2 out of 5. The report states that the majority of inhabitants of Mediterranean countries tend to live longer than Americans and suffer fewer diseases such as cancer or heart problems. The secret, they reveal, is an active lifestyle, weight control, and a diet low in red meat, sugar, and saturated fat and high in vegetables, nuts, and other healthy foods. They also ensure that this diet offers many health benefits, including weight loss, good heart and brain health and the prevention of cancer and diabetes, among others.
How does it work?
The Mediterranean diet pyramid emphasizes the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, olive oil, and herbs and spices; fish and shellfish at least a couple of times a week; and poultry, eggs, cheese, and yogurt in moderation. Limit the consumption of sweets and red meat for special occasions and combine it with daily physical activity.
Factors such as lack of time, the ease of having food that contribute to sedentary lifestyle and advertising, have made us put aside this way of life that is so much ours, which is negatively impacting our health and physique. But specialists insist: “the Mediterranean diet is synonymous with quality of life.”
In second place we find the DASH diet, which obtains a score of 4.1 out of 5. This diet, which is promoted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, is often adopted to stop hypertension and focuses on consumption from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy, nutrient-dense foods that lower blood pressure.
The DASH diet advises against consuming foods that are high in saturated fat , such as fatty meats, fatty dairy products, and tropical oils, as well as sugary drinks and sweets. It is based on a balanced diet and can be followed in the long term, one of the key reasons why nutrition experts rank it as one of the best in the world.
How does it work?
Starting this diet does not force us to make drastic changes in our diet. US News & World Report advises that we start with small actions like:
> Add a serving of vegetables or fruits to each meal.
> Introduce two or more meatless meals each week.
> Use herbs and spices to make food tastier without the salt.
> Eat almonds or walnuts instead of a bag of potato chips.
> Swap white flour for whole wheat flour when possible.
> Walk 15 minutes after lunch or dinner (or both).
For more information, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has published several free guides on this plan.
The Flexitarian diet shares second place with the DASH diet for its emphasis on consuming whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and plant-based proteins. Basically, it can be defined as a vegetarian diet that occasionally allows you to consume meat or fish, hence its name comes from the word “flexible”.
The report explains that you don’t have to give up meat entirely to experience the benefits associated with vegetarianism. Among other qualities, the flexitarian diet helps us lose weight, enjoy better health, reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and increase our life expectancy.
How does it work?
To become flexitarians, we must add five food groups to our diet: non-meat proteins, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and spices. In the report they advise us to adapt the diet to our rhythm of life to achieve better results and to discover little by little all the recipes that make it up.
Today’s popular term for “keto diet” is the adaptation of the ketogenic diet, that is, ketogenic diet. The name refers to the fact that it is a food model whose objective is the creation of ketone bodies. These ketone bodies are metabolic compounds generated in the body in response to the lack of energy reserves.
We already know that food provides us with the nutrients and energy necessary for our body to function properly; the “gasoline” of the machinery of our organism. Carbohydrates are the main source of that energy: the muscles turn first to the concentration of glucose in the blood.
When the necessary glucose is lacking, that is, if we have low blood glucose levels, the muscles will look for energy in the glycogen stores, which are the carbohydrates accumulated in the body. What if those reservations run out? That’s when ketosis occurs.
In ketosis, the body turns to fat for energy
Broadly speaking, when you enter a state of ketosis, fatty acids are transformed in the liver in a metabolic process that seeks to obtain energy quickly. It is when ketone bodies are released, molecules that the body will now use as an energy source as if it were glucose.
In short, ketosis is a state in which the body has run out of energy reserves and has to turn to fats for immediate fuel, especially for muscle function.
The scientific evidence confirms that a keto diet can help in slimming diets based mainly on three premises:
The body has to turn to fat for energy. But the ketosis process is not as efficient as when you use glucose; we need more fatty acids for less energy . The higher energy expenditure also contributes to greater weight loss.
By limiting or eliminating carbohydrates, they do not accumulate, thus preventing them from concentrating as fat . One of the main causes of obesity or overweight is precisely the excess of carbohydrates or sugars in the diet, consuming much more than the body needs and which end up accumulating in the form of fat.
Increases satiety and decreases appetite. According to various studies, a diet based on the parameters of the ketogenic diet -fats and proteins- helps control hunger since it helps us feel more satiated for longer.
Ketosis is a state in which we are forcing the body to act in an exceptional emergency situation. If a healthy diet consists of consuming a good variety of foods in a balanced way, prioritizing vegetables, fruits and legumes, it seems obvious that the keto diet has its risks and that it is not valid for everyone.
The keto diet is not recommended for people with metabolic diseases, thyroid, kidney, liver or pancreas problems, diabetics or patients with TCAs. Likewise, it is not advisable to follow this diet in the long term, since it is very unbalanced. Since it is not possible to achieve adherence, it would not be an adequate diet to maintain weight, and it can cause a rebound effect.
To avoid falling into monotony when looking to enter ketosis, it is best to vary the source of protein and its presentation, taking advantage of the versatility of eggs above all. Many common recipes in our diet are suitable for a keto diet, with small variations.
For example, when making a tuna omelette or scrambled eggs with ham, we can eliminate the typical onion from the sauce, or fill a roast chicken with nuts and cheese instead of potatoes and vegetables. Dried or dried fruits, such as dates, dried apricots and raisins, must also be eliminated, as they also concentrate much more sugar than the fresh version, and are not comparable to nuts.