Nov 8, 2010 Michael Onwochei
Trans Fats Promote Chronic Diseases - Mykl Roventine's Photostream
We often implement various dietary strategies to maintain good health and reduce body fat. Some of these dietary strategies are effective and some are dietary mistakes. In some cases, and quite often, we unintentionally combine good diet plans with bad ones; thus, we “take two steps forward and three steps backwards” in pursuing our dietary objectives. Consequently, the dietary goals become difficult to reach.
A healthy diet is a balanced diet which includes foods that support good health and excludes foods and items that harm us. It should be noted that most chronic diseases that affect us (e.g., metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease) are related to our diets. Good diets enable the body to maintain normal functional integrity so that it can sustain: normal metabolic activities; normal body fat composition; proper fluid and electrolyte balance; normal blood pressure, etc.
Setting a Dietary Goal
Mistake number one results from setting a diet plan with an improper dietary objectives. Our objectives and strategies often determine the results that we achieve. Losing body fat (losing weight) is the primary objective driving many dietary strategies. Losing body fat is an improper goal for an effective diet plan. The primary goal of an effective dietary strategy should be adapting a diet plan that promotes good health. This is important because a diet plan that supports good health will also support body fat reduction; whereas, a diet plan for body fat reduction may not promote good health.
Promotion of good health should be the primary goal of a sound diet plan. The secondary objective of a dietary plan may include: losing weight; losing body fat or gaining weight. If the secondary goal is losing body fat, then an effective dietary protocol requires that we should first determine if there is a specific basis for the excess body fat. For Example if the excess fat is caused by hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency, then a specific treatment (iodine supplementation) should be applied to correct the anomaly.
The content of the diet plan is an area where most dietary mistakes occur. The remaining six common dietary mistakes are associated with the type of foods and items that we consume.
Good Oils and Spices in the Diet Plan
Absence of good oils in the diets is the second most common dietary mistake. Mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated oils are good oils. Good oils are essential for good health. A diet that is free of good oils is a bad diet. It is important to distinguish good oils from bad oils Bad oils are perhaps the worst item that one can have on the menu. Bad oils are trans fats [1]. They should be avoided.
Lack of spices in the foods is the third most common dietary mistake. Spices have profound effects on our health and on energy metabolism. Some spices can boost metabolism (increase insulin sensitivity). Cinnamon, curry, cumin, ginger are examples of metabolism boosters [3]. Increase in insulin sensitivity improves the way carbohydrates are metabolized, and this makes body less prone to produce and store fat as would be the case for insulin resistance (decrease in insulin sensitivity.) It is very difficult to lose body fat in the state of insulin resistance.
Dietary Fibers in the Diet Plan
Dietary fiber is arguably the most important component of a good diet. Insufficient amounts of dietary fiber in the diet constitutes the fourth dietary mistake. It is better to obtain most of the dietary fibers from leafy vegetables. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and bioflavonoids can also be introduced into the diet when dietary fiber is obtained from leafy vegetables
Refined Carbohydrate in the Diet Plan
Too much refined carbohydrate in the diet is the fifth common dietary mistake. Refined carbohydrates (refined carbs) can lead to insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes and numerous other chronic diseases. These adverse effects of refined carbs can be mitigated by including significant amounts of dietary fibers in the diet.
Artificial Sweeteners in the Diet Plan
Consumption of artificial sweeteners in diet drinks and diet foods is the sixth dietary mistake. Artificial sweeteners have reigned havoc on the health of the modern society and has left on the tracks many obesity-challenged individuals. Artificial sweeteners are disrupters of the appetite control mechanisms [2]. They should be excluded from healthy diet plans.
Foods Contaminated with Pesticides, Herbicides and Obesogens
Consumption of pesticides, herbicides and obesogens is the seventh dietary mistake. Obesogens are environmental chemical pollutants which cause obesity. Atrazine is an example of an obesogen. Atrazine is a widely used herbicide in the corn fields for killing weeds with broad leaves. Leaching of atrazine into the water can lead to the contamination of drinking water.
Organic Food-based Diets
An organic food-based diet is the best approach for avoiding these dietary mistakes. Most of these dietary mistakes are largely due to man's intervention to refine and repackage the foods from the way they are presented to us by nature.
References
1. Obesity. Trans Fat Diet Induces Abdominal Obesity and Changes in Insulin Sensitivity in Monkeys. K. Kavanagh et al. 15: 1675–1684; 2007.
2. Physiol. Behav. A Role for Sweet Taste: Calorie Predictive Relations in Energy Regulation by Rats. Swithers, S. E., and Davidson, T. L. 100: 1, 2010.
3. Agricultural Research Magazine. Cinnamon Extracts Boost Insulin Sensitivity. Anderson, R. and Polansky, M. 48: 7, 2000.
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