The diet must be adapted to the person's health status. Various diseases affect the biological processes in the body, so it is necessary to change the nutrient requirements. Diet programs are used to achieve these changes. The diet is an integral part of the therapeutic diet prescribed by a doctor and affects the course of the disease, recovery, elimination of obesity and overweight.
Diet – what is it (therapeutic diets, weight loss diets)?
"Diet (from Greek diaita, Δίαιτα) is the controlled consumption of food and liquids with the aim of achieving a specific goal. The term "diet" can be used in various ways: (official) hospital diets, weight loss programs, health maintenance or modification programs, long-term nutritional systems (supported by a lifestyle or philosophy). This is how the Wiki describes the diet (Wikipedia. org).
Principles of dietary nutrition:
- Use of high quality raw materials;
- Reduction of heat treatment of products;
- reducing consumption of hot spices;
- increasing consumption of greens (dill, parsley, lemon instead of vinegar);
- depending on the disease – increase/decrease in certain nutrients;
- regular meals (5 times a day, with diabetes - 6 times a day);
- Emphasizing the taste of food – increasing appetite in patients.
Nutrition is a broad concept. The nutritional program as such does not imply starvation or sudden changes that lead to a worsening of the condition.
Types of diets
The goal of changing your diet may be to lose weight - a number of nutritional programs focus on weight loss. This term refers to the circuits that are most widely known to the public. The next reason for compliance with dietary restrictions is the presence of a disease. Such programs are prescribed by doctors; It is not recommended to follow them independently without making a diagnosis (especially in an unhealthy person). Other diet goals are more specific. This includes improving the quality of hair, nails and skin. There are also diets to build and strengthen muscle mass, nutrition plans to generally improve immunity, etc.
Diets are associated with detoxification of the body. This is also a change in diet, a restriction, but only a short-term one.
Medical diets (tables)
In the presence of an illness, it is important to ensure not only the technological preparation of the diet, but also professional contact with the patient. Even as part of a diet change, a person should be able to make food choices in consultation with a nutritionist.
What is a diet from a medical perspective? Today, the classification of nutritional programs (tables) usually looks like this:
- NPO (N) - hunger strike.
- 0S - Tearoom. Tea, unsweetened or sweetened. Prescribed to patients who cannot take food orally.
- #2 – gentle. Recommended for patients with gastrointestinal disorders and acute vascular diseases.
- No. 3 – an alkaline, rational diet. Adhered to by adult patients and older children who do not require dietary restrictions.
- 4S – low fat. Prescribed for acute pancreatitis, inflammation of the gallbladder during the transition to oral food intake.
- #4 – Low Fat. Recommended for chronic diseases of the liver, pancreas and gallbladder (usually after switching from the stricter 4S).
- No. 5 – residue-free. Observed in diseases of the lower gastrointestinal tract.
- #6 – low protein. Suitable for patients with chronic kidney failure.
- #8 – low calorie. Prescribed for overweight people who do not need gentle changes in diet, patients with hyperlipoproteinemia, type 1 and type 2 obesity (the diet contains more than 5000 kJ per day, so compliance with the diet is relatively easy).
- #9 – Diabetic. Recommended for patients with diabetes.
- 9S – Diabetic Gentle. Diabetic version of a gentle diet.
- No. 10 – unsalted. Usually not part of the nutritional system, since all diets involve cooking food without adding salt (the finished dish is salted as needed).
- #11 – Nutritious. Intended for patients with increased energy requirements and increased body weight.
- #12 – Toddler. If necessary, it is prescribed to children 1. 5–3 years old.
- No. 13 - Children's room. Adhered to ages 3-15.
- Gluten Free – a gluten-free diet. Intended for patients with gluten intolerance (celiac disease).
- Low phosphorus dialysis diet. Observed in patients undergoing hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
Today there are also vegetarian diet options.
The most popular diets for weight loss
A low-energy diet is a nutritional program designed to reduce body weight, which is an important method for treating overweight and obesity. Its most common purpose is to eliminate excess fat. An effective weight loss diet plan should reduce the fat tissue in the body evenly. However, it is commonly observed by people (mostly young girls) who are not overweight but feel the need to lose weight due to the fad of exhaustion.
Weight loss can be caused by not only the loss of fat, but also water and muscle. Therefore, there is no direct connection between fat content and body weight. Muscle loss when losing weight can be reduced through exercise and the right diet. An incorrect diet poses a health risk. It can also have the opposite effect (after losing weight, fat deposits form again - the so-called "yo-yo effect").
Humans need nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, water. Essential amino acids (protein components) are important for the production of cells, especially muscle cells. Essential fatty acids are involved in the formation of brain cells. Vitamins and minerals are essential for many functions. The total amount of energy varies depending on the person's age. For adults, the optimal intake is 1200-1500 kcal/day.
The following diet plans are among the most popular diet programs for weight loss.
Ducan's diet
This is a weight loss diet developed by French nutritionist Dr. Pierre Dukan in the book "I can't lose weight" was published. It is based on 4 phases of different durations:
- first - 2-10 days;
- second - 14 days;
- third - depending on the number of kilograms lost (1 kg = 10 days of the third stage);
- the fourth - constantly.
In each phase there are permitted and prohibited products. The scheme is developed from the most intensive phase (only protein foods are consumed) to the final phase (everything is consumed once a week, observing a protein day). A necessary part of the weight loss process is the drinking regimen.
Boxing diet
This nutritional program is based on eating foods in limited quantities but more frequently.
The box diet is based on the principle of regular food dosage. The goal is to get into the habit of eating small amounts of food at regular intervals without overeating, and to eat large portions three times a day.
Paleolithic diet
The Paleolithic program, also called the Paleo diet or Stone Age diet, is often referred to as a lifestyle. A person following a paleo diet roughly resembles the assumed diet of prehistoric humans during the Paleolithic, the longest period in human history, lasting about 3 million years. During this time people did not know agriculture; they obtained food by hunting and gathering. But the diet of hunter-gatherers was and is high in calories. It also contains more carbohydrates than the average modern diet.
Proponents of this dietary pattern assume that human digestion is not evolutionarily adapted to agricultural products (grains, dairy products).
Therefore, a paleo diet excludes or restricts agricultural products from the diet:
- Grain;
- Legumes;
- bread;
- Milk;
- Cheese;
- semi-finished products, etc.
The menu consists mainly of meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts and eggs. It also contains fats (avocado, coconut, olive oil, lard).
Breuss diet
The Breuss Diet is a nutritional program named after its author, Rudolf Breuss, an Austrian electrician and healer (sometimes called a doctor, but he never studied at a specialized university). This diet was originally an alternative medical method that offered a cure for cancer. Its essence lies in "starving the tumor"; its life only comes from the solid component of food.
Thanks to the "side effect" of weight loss, people began to use the Breuss diet plan to lose excess weight.
It consists of 42 days without solid food. Only selected vegetable juices and herbal teas are drunk. The juice is produced industrially from organically grown vegetables. It can be prepared at home, but industrial juice is sterilized and, in addition to plant components, contains lactic acid bacteria.
Protein diet
Also known as "protein diet, " "cyclic ketogenic diet, " "ketone diet, " or "keto diet. "This is a scientifically proven method that leads to good weight loss results in just a few weeks. Dr. Russell Wilder used it for medicinal purposes as early as 1921. The father of its modern version can be considered Professor George L. Blackburn, who studied the burning of stored fat by the human body.
With traditional forms of weight loss, the body can lose up to 40% of muscle mass. But muscles are the main fat burners. Consequently, after dietary restrictions end, the metabolism can no longer cope with the amount of energy from food that was present before the dietary change. A yo-yo effect occurs. Professor Blackburn identified the state of ketosis and the possibility of its activation in the body. Its main benefit is weight loss by burning stored fats and preserving muscle mass, minimizing the risk of a yo-yo effect.
Mayer's diet
This is one of Dr. Franz Xavier Mayer developed weight loss technology. It consists of limiting the consumption of calories, proteins, fats, fruits and vegetables. Dry, hard bread with water is consumed. Chewing bread leads to increased salivation, which improves digestion. Drinking causes diarrhea, which removes harmful debris from the body.
Nowadays the popularity of this method is decreasing (for obvious reasons).
Separate food
This scheme is based on the assumption that proteins require an acidic environment in the stomach, while carbohydrates require an alkaline environment. Therefore, protein-containing foods should not be consumed at the same time as carbohydrate-containing foods. This helps prevent the neutralization of digestive juices and thus avoid disrupting the digestive process. When neutralized, neither fats nor proteins can be broken down effectively; Carbohydrates ferment and proteins rot, creating toxic residues.
Therefore, a separate diet is not a diet as such. This is a lifestyle change, a change in diet. Its basis is a combination of protein and neutral foods or carbohydrates and neutral foods (or eating only neutral foods). It is also important to eat regularly and eat foods in smaller portions. By reducing energy expenditure, separate meals also serve as a method for losing weight.
IMPORTANT! Informational article! Before use, you should consult a professional.