Pros and Cons of These 4 Popular Diets
Posted by Annie O'Brien | 21st Jan 2021
Pros and Cons of These 4 Popular Diets
These popular diets may or may not help you lose weight, but are almost guaranteed to leave you feeling run down thanks to missing nutrients and the after strain on your body. So, at the end of the day, once you stop dieting, the weight is likely to return. So which diets actually work and which ones should be avoided?
Every single one of us is different; not just in terms of our bodies makeup and metabolism, but also in terms of our willpower and motivation.
With this in mind, we thought it might be useful to go through the Pros and Cons of These 4 Popular Diets.
Pros and Cons of These 4 Popular Diets
Vegan Diet
When well-prepared and balanced, a vegan diet is one of the cleanest diets out there. When eating a vegan diet you do not eat any animal products – no meat, no eggs, no dairy products.
Pros:
- A vegan diet is high in antioxidants, potassium, and filling fibre.
- It’s lower in nutrients we should all be cutting back on e.g. sodium, saturated fat and empty calories.
- Because vegan diets usually offer a tonne of health benefits and since you’ll be replacing ice cream, rich cheese and crackers with lentils and beetroot, you’ll likely to see the number on the scales go down.
Cons:
- If not prepared and well balanced, a vegan diet may lack in essential nutrients (calcium, iron, and vitamins B12 and D) and protein.
- Vegan junk food is a thing. There are plenty of junk food options for vegans, and just because they are vegan, does not mean they are healthy. Vegan treats can be loaded with sugar!
- Vegan athletes need to pay close attention to their protein choices and serving sizes. Therefore the protein needs of athletes are higher due to muscle breakdown.
Ketogenic Diet
The keto diet is based on low carbs, high fat and moderate protein. The claim is that this diet will cause your body to go into ketosis (burning fat for fuel), producing ketones (substances your body produces when your cells don’t get enough glucose) and leading to better health outcomes.
Pros:
- Weight loss is one of the main pros of the keto diet. People feel less hungry because fatty foods take a longer time to break down in the body, therefore, reducing the amount of food they eat.
- Burning fats by eating fat is obviously enticing. The keto diet lets many people eat the types of high-fat foods that they enjoy, such as red meats, cheese and butter, while still losing weight.
- The keto diet helps reduce seizures in pediatric patients with epilepsy
Cons:
- Because of the stringent food restrictions, people may find the keto diet hard to stick to. The keto diet can be effective for weight loss when used in a short time period followed by the adoption of healthier eating habits.
- Because the keto diet is so restricted, you may not receive the nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fibres) that you’d get from fresh fruits, legumes, vegetables and whole grains.
- The high-fat nature of the diet can have negative impacts on heart health.
Intermittent Fasting
This diet involves periods of fasting and eating. However, it does not specify what types of foods you can and can’t eat. So if you eat mostly lean meat, veg, wholegrains, nuts and seeds, it could be a very healthy way of eating but it could be very unhealthy if you fill up on foods high in added sugars and saturated fats.
Pros:
Reduced exposure to fluctuations in hormones such as insulin, which rises after you eat and in a sense helps the body to store fat.- Fasting will require you to reduce your total calorie intake and, therefore, lose weight
- Limited, early research suggests that intermittent fasting might have potential benefits for your metabolism.
Cons:
- While fasting, you are likely to be hungry and this hunger can increase mood swings and cause crankiness.
- Fasting can cause health problems if you overeat or binge when you are allowed to eat.
- If you don’t eat enough during your eating period, you will be lacking essential nutrients and energy.
Gluten-Free Diet
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The claim is that gluten is inflammatory and that avoiding it improves health and promotes weight loss and increased energy.
Pros:
- If you have coeliac disease, the only way to prevent further damage to your intestinal lining is a strict gluten-free diet.
- A gluten-free diet is also beneficial for individuals with non-celiac sensitivity to gluten.
- Eliminating gluten can lead to a healthier diet filled with less processed foods e.g. beer, bread, cake, cereals and cookies.
Cons:
- A gluten-free diet may be too restrictive for a lot of people, leading to insufficient B vitamins and dietary fibre.
- Gluten-free alternatives can be higher in calories, sugar and saturated fat. Just because a brownie is gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s healthy!
- Weight gain is possible as the intestinal track recovers and begins to absorb nutrients properly again.
Pros and Cons of These 4 Popular Diets – the Bottom line is…
There are many Pros and Cons of These 4 Popular Diets. However, fueling the body to perform at a high level requires planning, quality foods, and good hydration. At GourmetFuel we believe that healthy eating should be easy, enjoyable and sustainable. We focus on nutritious locally sourced ingredients that will give your body everything it needs to thrive without eliminating anything.
Dieting shouldn’t be about excluding certain foods or eating at certain times of the day; it’s about designing a nutritional plan to support your body, goals and preferences.