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Dietician Sheela Seharawat

A Complete Guide to Dynamic Diet Plans their Benefits

The word diet is simply what we eat and drink on a regular basis as meals. If we add the word
healthy to diet, it becomes healthy diet, which means eating healthy and nutritious foods as
meals. Perhaps many of us misunderstand the word diet, as eating tasteless and unpleasant
foods to lose weight, as it is also understood as foods with less or no calories. It is all because
these word diet has been marketed in this way, like diet soda, diet sugar and many more. A
healthy diet, perhaps, is the diet that boosts your overall health by causing any harm or side
effects.

Many of us tend to pick up fad diets that ends up harming our health. Healthy dieting is all
about consuming the right foods in the right proportions that boosts our health and help us
achieve the desired results. Here are some popular diets and the purpose that these diets are
recommended:-

 Atkins Diet: designed by Dr. Robert Atkins, is a high protein and low carbohydrate
diet plan designed for quick weight loss. Medically this low carb diet is also known
for its capabilities to fight colon cancer, kidney diseases and even bone ailments like
osteoporosis.
The main reason why this diet plan is so effective is that when you eat less carbs and
intake more proteins, your appetite goes down, and you end up eating lesser calories.
Atkins diet plan is subdivided into four segments – induction, balancing, fine-tuning
and maintenance.
Foods that are included or allowed to eat in this diet are meats, fatty fish and seafood,
eggs, low carb veggies, full-fat dairy, nuts and seeds and healthy fats.
Foods like sugar, grains, vegetable oil, trans fats, diet or low-fat foods, high-carb
vegetables and fruits, starches and legumes are to be strictly avoided.
On the flip side, Atkins have shown to cause a lot of fatigue in people, due to lack of
sugar in the body. When the body is deprived of carbohydrates, it goes into a state
called ketosis. In this state the body starts eating into the muscles.

 Ketogenic Diet: another low carb diet with moderate amounts of proteins and high
fat. Known by many names like the ketosis diet, keto diet, low carb diet and low carb
high fat diet, it works on the process of ketosis, which is a natural process that the
body initiates when the food intakes are low and it feeds on the reserved fat of the
body to produce energy, thereby promoting fat loss.
Metabolically speaking, ketogenic foods are very healthy and delicious at the same
time. Foods like leans meats, high protein and high quality fats like eggs, butter, olive
oil and avocado are recommended in this diet plan. Also, leafy green vegetables, like
kale, spinach and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage finds
their place.
Foods high in carbohydrates, sugar and bad fats are eliminated from this diet like
grains, processed foods, vegetable oils (canola, corn, soybean, etc.), milk and
margarine.

Often at times it has been observed that some commonly but easily treatable side-
effects like constipation, lower acidosis, hypoglycemia and raised lipid and
cholesterol levels is caused by this diet.

 South Beach Diet: created by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, was aimed for weight
loss and heart health. Sometimes called a modified low-carbohydrate diet. The South
Beach Diet is lower in carbs and higher in protein and healthy fats. The purpose of
this diet is to change the overall balance of the foods we eat to encourage weight loss
and a healthy lifestyle. This diet plan doesn’t categorically eliminates all carbs and the
ones that are allowed are low on the glycemic index. It helps blood sugar and
metabolism be steady and thereby, keeping one full for long.
This diet works in three phases, in the first it is aimed to remove carbohydrates, in the
second it levels blood glucose levels and in the third phase it shoots up the
metabolism.
Foods that are included in this diet are chicken breasts, cheese (fat-free or low-fat),
whole eggs, fish (all types), green vegetables, peanut butter, peanuts, pistachio nuts,
olive oil, tofu and Vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, beans, broccoli, cauliflower,
celery, cucumbers, eggplant, legumes, lettuce, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes,
zucchini).
Foods to be avoided are alcohol, baked products, bread, cereal (all kinds), cheese,
fruit, fruit juice, Ice Cream, milk (whole, low-fat), oatmeal, pasta, pastries, poultry
(chicken wings, legs, thighs, wings, duck, goose, poultry products), soy, vegetables
(barley, beets, black-eyed peas, carrots, corn, pinto beans, sweet potatoes, white
potatoes, yams) and yogurt.
On the other hand this diet is never recommended for a longer period of time as
removing carbs permanently from your diet could have adverse health effects. Also,
after moving out of this diet plans have often shown quick weight gain in many.

 Vegan Diet: it is very important to know that vegans don’t eat any food that comes
from animal source, including dairy products and eggs. A vegan diet contains only
foods from plant sources, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and food products
made from plants. Studies conducted have revealed that people who eat meats,
especially red meats die faster than who don’t or eat little. It is a fact that people who
switch from being non-vegetarian to vegan lives longer. The basic difference between
a vegetarian and vegan is, vegetarians consume less animal fats and cholesterol,
whereas, vegans consume zero or no animal fats and cholesterol.
A vegan diet gives you clearer skin, brighter eyesight, healthy hair and nails, with no
allergy problems and high in energy. A 'well-planned' vegan diet will provide you
with a generous amount of essential vitamins and minerals, so undoubtedly one's
health is bound to improve.
The foods that vegans eat are fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole
grains. As said earlier, vegans only eat food based out of plant source, any animal
food, ingredient or additives derived from animal source, foods that sometimes

contain animal ingredients like French fries, potato chips, refines sugar, roasted
peanuts etc.

Vegan diets generally tends to be low in high-quality protein and low protein diets can
increase toxicity. Plant foods does not contain real vitamin A, hence, it has to be
supplemented. It has also been noticed that vegan get nutritional deficits.
Dieting might seem fashionable and the in thing, but if not administered and adhered to under
proper guidance could have adverse health effects. There is no doubt, the first thing to do is
to go to a specialist - a dietician. Try to be realistic and set goals that are comfortable to
achieve. Any dietician or nutritionist you consult will advise you to be patient and dedicated
to whatever you have decide. It has been observed that majority of the time any diet plan fails
is because of the fact that the person has not been loyal and dedicated to the plan.
Food preferences and adaptability varies from person to person. A food that might work
wonder for someone might be a disaster for the other. A dietician recommends and
customizes diet food depending on your need, preferences, health conditions, medical needs
and lifestyle needs.