The skinny on diet fads

It's well past the new year. But swimsuit season is rounding the corner, so many millions of folks are reforming their American craptastic diets for a...heathy one? In 3 decades I've seen many a nutritional fad surface. Vegetarian, Slim-fast, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, Paleo, Whole 30....if each one is supposed to be so revolutionary, why do new ones keep surfacing claiming the same?

The answer: money. And you're the sucker. That's right, business capitalize on overweight and guilty about it consumers hoping some magic combination will shed more pounds than the last bunk they tried. So I'm here to give it to you straight. Straight as in the Doctor is in the house.

1. You need nutrition from a variety of sources. That's right, proteins, fats, carbohydrates all play a vital roles in your health. Those of you who grew up with the Food Pyramid may be dismayed to hear that the science behind the large platform of grains at the bottom, was brought to you by no other than: the grain industry. Which is why in the late 90's, real research was conducted at multiple centers nationwide to actually determine how much protein and carbs we really need. Viola! The Choose My Plate booted out the Pyramid. http://www.choosemyplate.gov

For children, fatty acids play an essential part of brain health and development. Yes, some fats are better than others and in general plant-based fats (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, etc.) are better on the ole brain and body than animal based fats. The issue with the fast-food convenience food American diet is there's TOO much fat. Fat = cheap flavor, and we love flavor. But fat also comes in at a whopping 9 kCal per gram so on a weight consumption basis you consume twice the calories as carbs or protein.

2. Eating all of one thing is a BAD thing. The Atkins diet was a dream come true for the mid-western steak and potatoes anti-diet man. Who doesn't love being told to eat bacon and steak (and skip the taters)? Problem is, your kidney disagrees. High protein loads means a lot of nitrogen (and thus ammonia) to process. Your kidneys are like coffee filters and there's only so much flow they can handle. Studies have linked chronic kidney disease to high protein diets. Also, that same research I mentioned that studied nutritional requirements....they found that even high resistance training athletes need no more than 1.8 grams per kilogram lean body weight of daily protein (which is like 3 chicken breasts for the average adult male). The rest of us? We only need 0.8 grams per kilogram of our lean body weight.

3. Vegetarian and vegan isn't a simple plan. Most novice vegetarians and vegans make 2 crucial mistakes: not enough protein and not enough B vitamins. You see, B vitamins all come from animal sources. What about your cereal you say? Fortified. And has been since the 1940's. And where do you think the fortification is coming from? Second, is protein. Your body needs 9 amino acids from dietary sources and to synthesize a full protein, it needs them all at the right time. Your body does not store these very long. This is why vegetarian diets require a well architectured combination of legumes, grains, etc. and of course, those darn B vitamins. Unless you are cool with blood and bone disorders, like anemia.

4. Paleo and Whole30 have their challenges too (or should I say temptations). Here we are back to the exclude type of diets. Granted, these two "eat what nature provides" methods are excluding the most potentially nutritionally devoid and high calorie items (sugar, grains). But I've seen some very creative "treats" that follow the paleo rules and believe me, they are calorie LOADED. Just because you claim it's healthy, doesn't mean ou can't over consume it. And nuts, a staple of the Whole30 protein plan, are very calorie dense. I dare you to stick to 1/4 cup of almonds.

Bottom line: Yes, here it is, for free. No product purchase necessary. Eat your veggies, and a lot of them. Crowd out the pastas, and breads and other starches that marginal on vitamins. Eat protein, leaner is better. And watch your calories. That's right. Calorie counting is still king. Knowing what you need and stick to Calories OUT = Calories IN. Or, if trying to lose weight, calories OUT > calories in. Go for flavor from herbs, spices, and vegetable fats. Find recipes that are tasty and healthy....it doesn't matter if it came from a raw food cookbook, paleo cookbook, cooking light cookbook...you get the idea.

And commit to the long run, because it's not about the swimsuit, it's about avoiding seeing me in 15 years handing you your blood pressure and cholesterol medicine.

Next blog: To Cleanse or not to Cleanse