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The Final Word on Diets

Diets. Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them!

A recent (and quite amusing) article in the New York Magazine entitled “The Last Conversation You’ll Ever Need to Have About Eating Right”, presented answers to all your dietary questions.

The aim? To demonstrate how simple it is to eat well.

The interviewer spoke to David L. Katz M.D – founding director (1998) of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and Past-President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Basically: “…Ethical concerns aside, which diet is the best: vegan, vegetarian, or omnivorous?
We don’t know, because the study to prove that any one diet is “best” for human health hasn’t been done, and probably can’t be. So, for our health, the “best” diet is a theme: an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and plain water for thirst. That can be with or without seafood; with or without dairy; with or without eggs; with or without some meat; high or low in total fat”.

Some of the dietary fads mentioned:

Ketogenic diets: lack evidence

Paleo – is a good diet but there were no Paleolithic burgers and it’s not a blanket license to eat bacon.

No-carb diets: is a pop-culture myth. All plants have carbs. All foods have carbs. You can’t have a healthful diet without carbs. It’s about avoiding processed foods.

Gluten free diets: unless you are gluten intolerant (and 90% of the population isn’t), then whole grain bread isn’t bad for you. It’s not necessary in a diet but it’s delicious so why deprive yourself?

Juice cleanses – aren’t harmful, but neither are they useful, as the body detoxifies itself daily anyway. The best way to detoxify is to take care of your detoxifying organs through eating well, not smoking, exercising, sleeping enough and managing your stress.

The article did however point to evidence of the benefits of plant -predominant diets for health outcomes and disease reversal.

 
 
This is our considered but light and brief introduction to the topic. For more information please check out:

https://medium.com/new-york-magazine/the-last-conversation-youll-ever-need-to-have-about-eating-right-10096bd1901