Diet Reviews
We have reviewed some of the more popular diets as they relate to specific patient needs. Some of the diet reviews below include the blood type diet, the perricone diet and diets for stress and hypertension. Information about a number of diets and their effectiveness can be found below:
Blood type diet
Dr D’Adamo believes our blood group determines how our bodies deal with different nutrients. His theory is based on the idea that each blood group has its own unique antigen marker (a substance that the body recognizes as being alien) and this marker reacts badly with certain foods, leading to all sorts of potential health problems. Furthermore, Dr D’Adamo believes that levels of stomach acidity and digestive enzymes are linked with your blood type. Consequently, he says, by following a diet designed specifically for your blood type, your body digests and absorbs food more efficiently, with the result that you lose weight
Each of the four blood types has a detailed list of foods that should be avoided and those that can be included. Here’s the lowdown:
Blood Group O
This is the most common blood group in the US. Dr D’Adamo says that our digestive tract retains the memory of ancient times, and so type Os need to eat a typical hunter-gatherer type diet. In other words, type Os should follow a high-protein, low-carb diet with lots of meat and fish but no dairy products, wheat or grains.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is – the diet recommended for people with blood type O is simply a variation on many of the typical high-protein, low-carb diets that are currently popular, such as the Atkins diet. Foods you can eat freely include meat, fish and olive oil; foods you can eat in moderation include eggs, nuts, seeds, certain vegetables and fruits; and foods to avoid include dairy products, beans, cereals, bread, pasta and rice. To complement your food intake, Dr D’Adamo recommends lots of vigorous aerobic exercise such as aerobics and running – just like our hunter-gatherer ancestors did!
Blood Group A
This is the second most common blood type in the US. Again according to Dr D'Adamo, digestive system is apparently very good at remembering that our ancestors had settled, farming lifestyles, which included eating lots of grains and vegetables but little meat. Consequently, blood type A’s should follow a vegetarian diet but still avoid dairy products. This means nuts, seeds, beans, cereals, pasta, rice, fruit and veg are all on the ‘to eat’ list. Meanwhile, calming exercises are thought to be best for blood type A’s such as yoga or golf.
Blood Group B
Only one person in 10 has blood type B – a real shame when you consider this blood group has the least dietary restrictions! As our type B ancestors were able to thrive on all sorts of foods, thanks to all that travelling, very few foods need to be avoided and this is the closest you’ll get to a healthy, balanced diet from Dr D'Adamo. The only foods that need to be avoided are processed foods, although nuts and seeds aren’t recommended and only small amounts of carb-rich foods should be eaten.
Blood Group AB
People with this rare blood type should eat a combination of the foods recommended for blood groups A and B. Somewhat confusing when type B allows you to eat most foods, while type A suggests a vegetarian diet! Dr D’Adamo gets around this by suggesting that type ABs follow a veggie diet most of the time with some meat, fish and dairy products occasionally. It’s the same when it comes to exercise too – blood type ABs should combine calming exercises with moderately intense activities.
There are not many positive things to say about this diet, which is clearly based on science fiction rather than science fact. However, as with any diet, it will get you thinking about what you are currently eating, with the result that you may start to make changes to your diet. Added to this, the blood type diet recommends eating fresh, natural foods and so can help you de-junk your diet by cutting out processed foods, takeaways, booze, chocolate and too many cups of coffee.
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Perricone diet
Unlike most 'diets', Perricone's diet program is not about weight loss. In fact his latest book - Dr Nicholas Perricone's Program doesn't even include the words "weight loss", "lose weight" or "calories" in it's index. So what's the Perricone Diet about? Well, in a nutshell it's about boosting diet-nutrition in order to reduce damage to the outer layers of cells, caused by free radicals. The benefits of the Perricone Diet are better skin, fewer ageing effects and better protection against a host of diseases and conditions.
Perricone Diet Plan
Rather than focus on Perricone's precise food menus, let's look at the main dietary elements of Perricone's diet plan, as follows:
Choose the Right Carbs
Choose wholegrains and legumes/beans and non-instant oatmeal. Choose foods rated 50 or less on the Glycemic Index. Avoid all refined carbs and foods rated > 50 on the Glycemic Index.
Choose the Best Fruits and Vegetables (Fresh or Frozen) - Best include: avocado, bell peppers, berries, cantaloupe/honeydew melons, dark leafy green vegetables (spinach, kale), orange colored squash, tomatoes. Avoid dried fruits.
Eat Good Quality Dietary Protein - From fish (especially wild salmon, or canned Alaskan red/pink salmon), egg whites, skinless chicken and turkey breast. Salmon is strongly recommended due to it's rich content of the powerful antioxidant DMAE (Dimethylaminoethanol).
Choose Nutritious Dietary Fats - Reduce saturated fats, avoid trans-fats (aka hydrogenated fats), avoid polyunsaturated fats from vegetable oils. Instead, use extra virgin Olive oil, (rich in oleic acid which helps omega-3 fats to protect cells) and eat plenty of fish rich in EPA and DHA omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Choose Nutritious Dairy Foods (Ideally Organic) - Plain yogurt is best, Feta cheese or possibly Swiss or Cheddar cheese. Limit milk intake.
Drink Water - Perricone strongly recommends water - the elixir of life (and great skin.)
Gout diet
Diet is one of the most important ways of preventing gout attacks.
Alcohol, especially beer, should be avoided. Limit alcohol consumption to 1 drink 3 times a week.
Drink 2 to 3 L of fluid daily. Adequate fluid intake helps dilute urinary uric acid.
Avoid High-Purine foods
Consume a moderate amount of protein. Limit meat, fish and poultry to 4 - 6 oz per day. Try other good protein food such as low fat dairy products, tofu and eggs.
Limit fat intake by choosing leaner meats, foods prepared with less oils and lower fat dairy products.
Avoiding high purine foods on a gout diet
Uric acid is a metabolic product of purine nucleic acids. Some purines are made in the body, while other purine comes from the food we eat. Reducing the amount of purines eaten would seem sensible, though evidence to demonstrate that would seem to be lacking. Weight reduction in those who are overweight is probably at least, if not more, important.
Gout diet and weight. Aside from avoiding high purine foods, maintaining a healthy body weight is important for gout patients as well. Obesity can result in increased uric acid production by the body. Follow a well-balanced diet to lose excess body weight. Do not follow a high-protein low-carb diet as this can worsen gout conditions
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Candida diet
Candida albicans is a yeast and a fungus. It exists naturally in small amounts in everyone's intestines. It is also responsible for yeast infections in women.
Diet is an important part of the Candida treatment program. The length of time on the diet will depend on the length of time one has had symptoms, symptom severity, and overall health. Many people notice improvement after strict adherence to the diet for two to four weeks. Once symptoms are gone and lab tests show significant improvement, whole foods from the restricted list can be slowly incorporated back into the diet.
Sugar feeds Candida, so it is important to minimize the total carbohydrate content of one's diet. During the first 2 to 3 weeks of the program, it is often recommended that carbohydrate intake be restricted to 20 to 60 grams per day, depending on age, activity level, and extent of grain sensitivities. As symptoms disappear, the carbohydrate total can gradually increase. Foods that are low carb include protein foods such as meat, chicken, turkey, shellfish, some nuts, and non-starchy vegetables.
Sugar -- It is best to eliminate all forms of sugar, as it feeds the yeast and encourages its growth. These foods include: white sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, maple sugar, molasses, date sugar, turbinado, raw sugar, demerrara, amisake, rice syrup, sorghum.
Read labels carefully. The hidden sugars to watch for include: sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, glycogen, glucose, mannitol, sorbitol, galactose, monosaccharides, polysaccharides.
Fruit -- Fruit contain natural sugars that support the growth of yeast. The following foods should be eliminated:
Yeast -- Foods that contain yeast should be eliminated. These include: Baker's yeast, Brewer's yeast, Engevita, Torula, and any other nutritional yeast. Baked goods raised with yeast such as breads, rolls, crackers, bagels, pastries, and muffins should also be eliminated. Healthy, yeast-free alternatives may include: Sprouted Essene bread, Lifestream bread, Manna wheat or rye bread, corn tortillas, tacos, rice cakes, rice crackers, Wasa rye crackers, Dimpfelmeier's 100% Plus rye bread, and rice bread. Muffins, biscuits, pancakes, Irish soda bread, chapatis, and other breads made at home using the flour of whole grains that a person is not allergic to and made with baking powder and/or baking soda for leavening.
Vinegar -- Vinegar is made with a yeast culture. Foods that contain vinegar include: White vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, mayonnaise, commercial salad dressing, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, BBQ sauce, shrimp sauce, soy sauce, mustard, pickles, pickled vegetables, green olives, relishes, horseradish, mincemeat, chili sauce.
Mushrooms -- Mushrooms are fungi. Eliminate all mushrooms.
Peanuts, Peanut Butter, and Pistachios -- Peanuts, peanut butter, and pistachios often have high mold contamination and should be eliminated.
Alcohol -- Alcoholic beverages provide sugar that feeds the yeast and stresses other organs such as the liver. Eliminate all forms of alcohol, including red wine, white wine, beer, whiskey, brandy, gin, scotch, any fermented liquor, vodka, rum, and all liqueurs
Low cholesterol diet
A low cholesterol diet is not hard to follow, given the variety of foods available. Many food manufacturers also have low fat, low cholesterol foods available for people who do not have the time to fix elaborate meals. When you are shopping for such foods, be sure to look at the labels and keep the following in mind:
•Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables--they are low in calories and fat.
•Try to lower your intake of saturated fats--they are associated with heart disease.
•Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as those used in many margarines and shortenings, contain a particular form of unsaturated fat known as trans-fatty. They raise blood cholesterol levels (including LDL, the bad cholesterol), just like saturated fat.
•Grain products, such as cereals, pastas, and breads, are low in cholesterol.
•Use low fat or skim milk instead of regular milk as an alternative.
•Cook with lean meats (turkey, chicken) instead of red meat, which is associated with increasing cholesterol levels. For instance, using ground turkey meat instead of ground beef is a delicious alternative for hamburgers.
•Limit cheeses in your recipes.
•When cooking with oils, use olive and canola oils, which are particularly high in monounsaturated fats or vegetable oil, which is high in polyunsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats help lower cholesterol levels.
Grapefruit diet
The old Grapefruit Diet has been floating around for a long time. Its popularity for so many years can be attributed to pseudo-science and good marketing copy. This is one of those fad diets that you can use to drop some quick pounds, but, like all fad diets, you need to recognize that it's deficient nutritionally and that you'll gain back what you lose as soon as you get off the diet IF you return to your old eating habits.
It's pretty much agreed by the Grapefruit Diet gurus that most people who try the program for a week or two will probably lose somewhere between 12 and 20 pounds.
Below is a typical day on the Grapefruit Diet
Breakfast:
Half a grapefruit and plain coffee or tea
Lunch:
Half a grapefruit plus two eggs
Cucumber and tomato salad with vinegar, lemon and herbs dressing
One piece of dry melba toast and plain tea or water
Dinner:
Half a grapefruit
4-6 ounces of chicken or beef or ham slices
Half a head of lettuce and a tomato with vinegar, lemon and herbs dressing
Plain tea or water
With a diet this restrictive -- eating fewer that 800 calories a day -- you can see why you'd lose weight. You can also see how nutritionally deficient this program is. And talk about boring
Diabetic diet
If you are both diabetic and overweight, your doctor may recommend a diet that limits your intake to 1,500 calories a day. To keep blood sugar levels under control, a diabetic diet strikes a balance among the carbohydrates, fats, and protein you take in. In addition, a 1,500-calorie diabetic diet restricts calories and fat.
What you should do - A sample 1,500 calorie diet is listed below. You can exchange or trade one food for another from the same food group. For example, you can choose 1 slice of bread instead of 3/4 cups of dry cereal, or a potato instead of a dinner roll. For other alternatives, see the lists under "Diabetic Exchange Diet."
BREAKFAST Food Groups
2 breads or starches, such as 3/4 cup (6 ounces) corn flakes and 1 slice toast
1 fruit, such as 1 small (5-inch) banana or 1/2 of a 9-inch banana
1 milk, such as 1 cup skim or 1 cup 1 percent milk
1 fat, such as 1 tsp. margarine
LUNCH Food Groups
2 ounces meat or protein, such as 2 ounces sliced turkey breast
2 breads or starches, such as 2 slices bread
1 vegetable, such as 1 lettuce leaf and 2 tomato slices
1 fat, such as 1 tsp. regular mayonnaise or 2 tsp. low-fat mayonnaise
AFTERNOON SNACK Food Groups
1 milk, such as 1 cup (8 ounces) skim or 1 cup 1 percent milk
1 vegetable, such as 1 cup carrot sticks
1 fat, such as 2 Tbs. fat-free salad dressing (can use with carrot sticks)
DINNER Food Groups
3 ounces meat or protein, such as 3 ounces lean roast beef
2 starches, such as one 3-inch baked potato and 1 medium (2-1/2 inch) dinner roll
1 fat, such as 1 tsp. margarine
2 vegetables, such as 1 cup (8 ounces) cooked mixed vegetables
1 fruit, such as 1-1/4 cups fresh strawberries
EVENING SNACK Food Groups
1 bread, such as three 2-1/2 inch square graham crackers
1 meat or meat substitute, such as 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
High Blood Pressure Diet
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are the number one cause of death in the United States. People with hypertension, or high blood pressure, are more likely to develop these diseases. Therefore, it is important to try to lower elevated blood pressure.
Hypertension cannot be cured in most cases. It can be successfully managed with lifestyle changes and/or medication. Reducing the amount of sodium in the diet can help bring blood pressure levels down.
With proper food selection, a diet for high blood pressure can be varied and adequate in all nutrients, including vitamins and minerals.
Sodium, of course, is essential for good health. While American adults average 4,000 to 6,000 milligrams daily, the recommended daily limit for the general public is only 2,400 milligrams. Someone with high blood pressure should consult a doctor to see how much sodium should be consumed daily. As a guide, however, 2,000 to 3,000 milligrams (2 to 3 grams) is enough.
A common dietary source of sodium is salt. Sodium is one of two minerals that make up salt (the other is chloride). One teaspoon of salt contains a whopping 2,300 milligrams of sodium&emdash;an entire day's supply! But sodium is also "hidden" in the diet in other foods, mainly processed and packaged foods.
Gall bladder diet
The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ that averages three to six inches in length. It lies underneath the liver in the upper right side of the abdomen. It is connected to the liver and small intestine by small tubes called bile ducts. Bile, a greenish-brown fluid, is utilized by the body to digest fatty foods and assists in the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. The gallbladder serves as a reservoir for bile. Between meals, bile accumulates and is concentrated within this organ. During meals, the gallbladder contracts and empties bile into the intestine to assist in digestion.
There are two major types of gallstones:
Cholesterol gallstones are composed mainly of cholesterol which is made in the liver. These account for nearly 80% of all cases of gallstones in the United States.
Pigment gallstones are composed of calcium salts, bilirubin and other material. They account for the remaining 20% of gallstones in this country.
Small gallstones can usually be cleared through dietetic cure. In case of acute gall bladder inflammation, the patient should fast for two or three days until the acute condition is cleared Nothing but water should be taken during this period after the fast the patient should take fruit and vegetables juices for a few days. Carrots, beets, grapefruit, pears, lemons or grape may be taken in the form of juice. Thereafter the patient should adopt a well balanced diet with emphasis on raw and cooked vegetables, fruit and vegetable juice. Yogurt, cottage cheese and a table spoon of olive oil twice a day should also be included in the diet.
Dash diet
DASH" stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension," a clinical study that tested the effects of nutrients in food on blood pressure. Study results indicated that elevated blood pressures were reduced by an eating plan that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy foods and is low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol. The DASH eating plan includes whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts and has reduced amounts of fats, red meats, sweets, and sugared beverages.
A second clinical study, called "DASH-Sodium," looked at the effect of a reduced dietary sodium intake on blood pressure as people followed either the DASH eating plan or a typical American diet. Results showed that reducing dietary sodium lowered blood pressure for both the DASH eating plan and the typical American diet. The biggest blood pressure-lowering benefits were for those eating the DASH eating plan at the lowest sodium level (1,500 milligrams per day)..
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