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Why Real Food Is The Best Diet

Who hasn’t been on a diet? Whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve all tried some sort of new diet fad. Maybe you’ve opted for the latest juice cleanse or prefer the traditional Atkins diet, either way, diets tend to consume our lives. Diets may come and go, but which one is actually the “best?”

It turns out, according to Juice Plus+ advocate Dr. Katz, that the best food – is REAL food. In a recent article, Dr. Katz concludes that “no diet is clearly best, but there are common elements across eating patterns that are proven to be beneficial to health.” He goes on to say that “a diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention.” At the end of the day, it’s not about which diet is better; but rather learning how to simply eat well in moderation. This means not only getting a wide range of foods, preferably natural and plant-based, but eating healthy fats and carbs as well as meats shouldn’t be avoided.

Eating real food is much more than a weight loss trick; it’s a lifestyle. Some diets, like the all too famous low-carbohydrate diet, severely limit certain nutritional aspects that your body actually needs. For example, because low-carb diets strictly reduce your intake of carbohydrates, your body may be lacking vital nutrients supplied by fruits, vegetables and whole grains. And what about those diets aimed at counting calories? Consuming a very low calorie diet will not only cause weight loss to occur too rapidly, but can actually make you feel fatigued and nauseous. So forget about infomercials, questionable advice you’ve received from your trainer, or the latest diet fad. Simply put away the processed junk food, and you can expect to lose weight, feel better and actually be healthier!

As the old saying goes “you are what you eat.” And as Dr. Katz and other medical professionals have pointed out, eating fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and some of the functional declines associated with aging.  But not only that, a diet rich in real foods contains other meaningful benefits as well:

  • More complete nutrition from whole foods loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
  • Absence of preservatives from processed foods such as excess salt, fat and simple sugars. 
  • Lower cost by satisfying your hunger with less. Real foods are dense with fiber and filling nutrients, which is more likely to fill you up faster than junk food.

Media messages about food and diets can be confusing, but increasingly, research seems to be pointing in one direction: real, fresh, natural food is best. How do you incorporate real food into your daily diet?

 

Sources

http://www.medicaldaily.com/there-really-best-diet-scientists-say-eat-real-food-and-not-too-much-it-273570
http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy/articles/pros-and-cons-of-low-calorie-diets.html
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/choosing-a-diet-program6.htm
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/R-D/Low-fat-diets-could-increase-heart-disease-risk-say-nutrition-experts