Nutrition 101 series: Diets

Atkin's, South Beach, raw foods, cabbage soup, liquids, zone, macrobiotic - these are just some of the more well known diets around the world thanks to the world of celebrity. But just because someone famous swears by a diet does that mean you should follow suit?

My interpretation of the word "diet" is basically deprivation. To diet is to deprive your body of something. You may disagree with my interpretation but let me explain my reasoning.

People go on diets for different reasons: to lose weight, to cleanse their body of toxins, to get healthier, to look and feel better. And how is this achieved? By depriving their body of the things that cause them to go on a diet in the first place. For example, people who go on the Atkin's diet want to lose weight and this is achieved by depriving their body of carbs and overloading on protein and fats. This deprivation of carbs does achieve a fast initial weight loss but in the long term it is unsustainable and the weight always come back.

Example of an Atkin's breakfast

One of the world's most famous celebrity dieter is Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow. She is a strict follower of the macrobiotic diet. If you haven't heard of it, it basically consists of grains as the staple of the diet supplemented with vegetables and legumes. Below is a breakdown of the diet and some of the rules:

• Whole grains, especially brown rice: 50–60%
• Vegetables: 25–30%
• Beans and legumes: 5–10%
• Fish, nuts, seeds, fruits, miso soup: 5-20%
• Soup (made from the ingredients above): 1-2 cups/day
• Food MUST be chewed thoroughly before swallowing
• Avoid poultry, meat, eggs, sugar, alcohol, coffee, spices, salt, chocolate, milk, yoghurt, cheese

For the normal person this may seem like an overly strict diet but for stars like Gwyneth and Madonna this is not a diet but a lifestyle. This diet is too restrictive to sustain and there is a lack of important nutrients. It's no wonder Gwyneth is now experiencing the side effects of the macrobiotic diet. A devout follower for 11 years she recently discovered she was in the early stages of osteopenia (an illness that can lead to osteoporosis) and had extremely low levels of Vitamin D - and we're talking about someone who is still in their 30's.

Diets are a quick fix short term solution to a weight problem and ask anyone who has dieted before how long they were able to keep the weight off. To maintain long term weight loss you need to change your lifestyle and make improvements to your diet - but making sure you do not deprive yourself. Eat healthily but allow yourself to indulge occasionally. Combine this with physical activity and you are on your way to achieving healthy weight loss for the long term.

Remember slow and steady wins the (weight loss) race!

JW

Nutrition 101 series: Understanding nutritional labels

Do you ever find yourself at the supermarket looking at two similar products wondering which one if better for you? You look at the nutritional panel on the back but don't quite understand what the numbers mean. Well you're not alone.

Is a product healthier just because it is 99% fat free or is low sugar better? Well let's break it down to basics. Nutritional panels are not all the same but generally they should have the basic info on total energy, fat, carbohydrates and sodium. The numbers will either represent the amount of calories or kilojoules, or be a percentage of the recommended daily intake.

Usually there are two columns on a panel - the first being the nutritional values of the serving size, and the second the nutritional value in 100g. Some foods might have a percentage of the recommended daily intake instead. Serving sizes vary between products so it is hard to compare foods based on this. The nutritional value in 100g is the easiest way to compare different food items.

When you are looking at individual food items it is VITAL to look at both sets of numbers to make sure you are eating the right amount of calories. Let's use the following nutritional label as an example. This particularly label doesn't state the serving size but using some basic math it works out to be approximately 300grams.

KEY THINGS to look out for include:

1. TOTAL ENERGY (kcal or kJ)

The label above shows that there are 315 kcal or 1345 kJ in ONE serving size. An average adult has a recommended intake of 2000 calories or 8368 kilojoules per day. So this particular food provides 16% of the recommended daily energy amount.

2. PROTEIN (g)

There is 23.7g of protein in one serving which makes up 53% of the daily recommendation. This looks like a lot but remember that the serving size is 300g which is approximately a medium sized meal.

3. FAT (g)

The total amount of fat is 12.6g BUT 8.1g of that is saturated fat. In my previous article I explained the different types of fats. Saturated fats are the kind you want to avoid along with trans-fats. Even though the total fat percentage is only 18%, the portion of saturated fat contributes to 41% of the daily recommendation. So it is important to look at the different types of fats in your food.

4. SUGAR (g)

You might be wondering why I have skipped over carbohydrates but what you might not know is that sugar is a type of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates provide us with a large portion of the energy we need to function but try to avoid foods which have sugars making up a large proportion of the carbohydrates. Sugar is something our body wants but DOESN'T actually need!

5. SODIUM (mg)

Sodium is usually expressed in milligrams but in this particular case it is written in grams. There is 0.72g or 720mg of sodium in one serving which makes up 30% of the daily recommendation.

So the next time you go shopping, why not stop and check the nutrition label using your newly acquire skills!

JW