Topic 5. Magical or popular diets
5. 1 Classifying
Throughout the years, different types of popular diets have been developed (or even invented) to achieve a quick and effective weight loss, disregarding a healthy and balanced diet which guarantees an optimal health state. These diets (or food combinations), which promise a guaranteed weight loss, are based on groundless scientific principles or, in the best of cases, unproven scientific results. The therapeutic use of these so-called "magical diets" lack of scientific validity against obesity. In the majority of cases, obese patients who have followed these "in fashion" diets need to recover from their acquired new weight, and in the worst case scenario, nutritional detriment and metabolic alterations, which can lead to severe illnesses, and even to death.
Common aspects
The majority of these "magical diets" have some traits in common:
– They are prescribed by people who are not familiar with nutritional facts.
– They usually have an inaccurate description.
– They guarantee an irrefutable promise of weight loss to motivate the patient.
– The lack of proven effectiveness.
The difference between following a "magical diet" and a balanced hypocaloric diet backed up by a nutritional expert is quite clear: Magical diets pose a threat to ones health. Thus, it is important for you to be able to recognize this type of diet and be aware of the risks involved.
The classifying of "magical diets" can be made from different points of view: according to the characteristics of its components, achieved result, origin, composition, or the background of its attributed effectiveness. Among them, we have:
Unbalanced hypocaloric diets: which due to a lack of food, provoke a rebound which translates into an increased fat mass and a loss of muscle mass. Since there is a metabolic change resulting from the drastic decrease of energy ingestion, there is a consequent decrease in energy expense. These regimes are usually monotonous, besides presenting several nutrient deficits, especially if followed for long periods of time.
A well-known consequence of these diets is a noticeable rebound: an excessive gain in weight after stopping them.
Dissociating diets: These are based in the fact food doesn't contribute to weight gain by itself, but through specific combinations. These diets don't limit the ingestion of energetic food, but attempt to limit food as an energetic source through dissociation.
One of the most noticeable inconveniences of this type of diets is that they lack of proper feeding habits. Moreover, they are hard to follow and there usually is an excessive consumption of certain nutrients, such as proteins, overloading the metabolic function of some internal organs, such as the kidneys.
Excluding diets: These diets are based in eliminating a specific nutrient from the diet.
These diets can be:
i) rich in carbohydrates but lack of lipids and proteins,
ii) rich in proteins but lack of carbohydrates. These provoke a severe renal and hepatic overload;
iii) rich in fat: These are known as ketogenic diets. They can be very dangerous for ones health, provoking severe metabolic alterations (acidosis, ketosis, an increase in cholesterol, etc.).
5. 2 conclusions
"Magical diets" are generally feeding patterns which lack of a proven scientific fundament, even if in some degree patients obtain the desired results. However, we mustn't forget that the weight loss obtained is the result of ingesting less calories. Eating becomes boring, there is a loss in appetite, and above all, there is a high risk of recovering all the lost weight once we quit the diet treatment. This in turn comes with unbalance and nutritional deficiencies.
We need to be conscious that treating obesity is a long-term commitment. We need to know that just by changing the way we eat is not the answer. We need to adopt other (complementary) healthy habits. Thus, proper diets must be created by certified both in nutrition as well as in health.
Recipe book
Chicken roulade
6 servings
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Nutritional facts
1 helping
calories: 358
carbohydrates: 4 gr.
proteins: 27 grams
fats: 26 grams.
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procedure
Season the chicken (boneless) with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Let it rest for a few minutes while we make the stuffing.
We cut el ham into julienne strips and we add the chopped olives, the sweet red pepper, the partially beaten raw eggs, the grated parmesan cheese and we season with salt and pepper to your taste. We fill the chicken spreading the filling all over its surface. We place the hard boiled eggs (cut in half) along the middle.
We roll the chicken (like a cigar) and we sew to stop it from coming apart. We tie it with cooking thread. We puncture it and we spread the top with mustard.
We pour the orange juice on top and we place it in the oven (hot) over a greased pan to bake it on every side. Then, we lower the temperature of the oven and we pour white wine.
To cut it, we need to wait for it to cool down. It can be served hot or cold with mashed potatoes, apples or slightly fried potatoes. If served cold, we can use a russian salad, stuffed eggs or stuffed tomatoes.
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Ingredients
1 large chicken (boneless) of 2 Kg. approximately
350 grams of ham
150 grams of green olives (pitted and chopped)
3 hard boiled eggs
1 sweet red pepper (cut into strips)
200 grams of grated parmesan cheese
mustard
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to your taste
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