Food should be adapted to the health condition of the person. Different diseases affect the biological processes in the body, so it is necessary to change the need for nutrients. Diet programs are used to achieve these changes. Diet is an integral part of therapeutic nutrition prescribed by the doctor, affecting the course of the disease, recovery, elimination of obesity and excess body weight.
Diet - what is it (therapeutic diet, diet for weight loss)?
"Diet (from the Greek diaita, Δίαιτα) is the controlled consumption of food and liquid, aimed at achieving a specific goal. The term "diet" can be used in several different ways: hospital (official) diet, weight loss programs, maintaining or changing health, long-term dietary systems (underpinned by a lifestyle or philosophy). This is how wiki describes diet (Wikipedia. org).
Principles of dietary nutrition:
- use of high quality raw materials;
- reduction of heat treatment of products;
- reducing the consumption of hot spices;
- increased consumption of greens (fennel, parsley, lemon instead of vinegar);
- depending on the disease - increase/decrease of some nutrients;
- regular meals (5 times a day, for diabetes - 6 times a day);
- emphasis on the taste of food - increased appetite in patients.
Diet is a broad concept. The diet program as such does not mean starvation or sudden changes that lead to worsening of the condition.
Types of diets
The goal of changing your diet may be to lose weight—a number of nutrition programs focus on weight loss. This term refers to the circles most known to the public. Another reason for observing dietary restrictions is the presence of disease. Such programs are prescribed by doctors; It is not recommended to follow them independently, without making a diagnosis (especially from an unhealthy person). Other diet goals are more specific. They include improving the quality of hair, nails and skin. There are also diets for building, strengthening muscle mass, food schemes for general improvement of immunity, etc.
Diets are associated with detoxification of the body. This is also a dietary change, a restriction, but a short-term change.
Medical diets (tables)
In the presence of a disease, it is important to ensure not only the technological preparation of the diet, but also professional contact with the patient. Even in the context of dietary changes, a person should be able to make food choices in consultation with a nutritionist.
What is a diet in medical terms? Today, the classification of diet programs (tables) usually looks like this:
- NPO (N) - hunger strike.
- 0S - tea room. Tea, unsweetened or sweetened. They are prescribed for patients who are unable to take food by mouth.
- No. 2 - soft. It is recommended for patients with gastrointestinal disorders and acute vascular diseases.
- No. 3 - a basic, rational diet. Suitable for 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 nutrition.
- No. 4 - low fat. It is recommended for chronic diseases of the liver, pancreas and gall bladder (usually after the transition from the stricter 4S).
- No. 5 - no residue. It is noted for disorders in the lower gastrointestinal tract.
- No. 6 - low protein. Suitable for patients with chronic renal failure.
- No. 8 - low calorie. They are prescribed for obese people who do not require mild dietary adjustments, patients with hyperlipoproteinemia, obesity type 1 and type 2 (the diet contains more than 5000 kJ per day, so compliance with the diet is relatively easy).
- No. 9 - diabetic. Recommended for patients with diabetes.
- 9S - mild diabetic. The diabetic version of a bland diet.
- No. 10 - without salt. It is usually not part of the nutrition system, since all diets involve cooking food without adding salt (the finished dish is salted as needed).
- No. 11 - nutritious. Intended for patients with increased energy needs and increased body weight.
- No. 12 - baby. If necessary, it is prescribed to children aged 1, 5-3 years.
- No. 13 - children's room. Fits ages 3-15.
- Gluten-free - a gluten-free diet. Intended for patients suffering from 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 aimed at reducing 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 equally reduce the fatty tissue in the body. But it is often noticed by people (mostly young women) who are not overweight, but feel the need to lose weight due to the dictates of fashion of exhaustion.
Weight loss can be caused by the loss of not only fat, but also water and muscle. Therefore, there is no direct relationship between fat content and body weight. Muscle loss during weight loss can be reduced through exercise and proper food choices. An improper diet poses a health risk. It can also have the opposite effect (after weight loss, fat deposits form again - the so-called "yo-yo effect").
Humans need nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, water. Essential amino acids (components of proteins) 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.
Among the most famous weight loss diet programs are the following meal plans.
The Dukan Diet
This is a weight loss diet published by the French nutritionist Dr. Pierre Dukan in the book "I can't lose weight". It is based on 4 phases of different durations:
- the first - 2–10 days;
- the second - 14 days;
- the third - depending on the number of kilograms lost (1 kg = 10 days of the third phase);
- fourth - constantly.
Each stage has allowed and prohibited products. The scheme develops from the most intensive phase (only protein-containing foods are consumed) to the last phase (everything is consumed respecting a protein day once a week). A necessary part of the weight loss process is the drinking regime.
Box diet
This nutritional program is based on eating food in limited quantities, but more often.
The box diet works on the principle of regular dosing of food. Its purpose is to create the habit of eating small amounts of food at regular intervals, without overdoing it, and eating large portions 3 times a day.
Paleolithic diet
The Paleolithic Program, also called the Paleo Diet or the Stone Age Diet, is often referred to as a lifestyle. A person following a Paleo diet approximates the supposed diet of prehistoric man during the Paleolithic era, the longest period in human history, spanning about 3 million years. In this period, people did not know agriculture, they obtained food from hunting and gathering. But the hunter-gatherer diet was and remains high in calories. It also contains more carbohydrates than the average modern diet.
Proponents of this dietary pattern suggest that human digestion is not evolutionarily adapted to agricultural products (cereals, dairy products).
Therefore, when following a paleo diet, agricultural products are excluded or limited from the diet:
- cereals;
- legumes;
- bread;
- milk;
- cheese;
- semi-finished etc.
The menu consists mainly of meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, eggs. It also includes fats (avocado, coconut, olive oil, lard).
The 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 medicine method that offered a cure for cancer. Its essence lies in "eating the tumor", its life only from the solid component of food.
Thanks to the "side effect" of losing weight, the Breuss diet plan began to be used to get rid of excess weight.
It consists of 42 days of abstinence from 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 the industrial juice is sterilized and contains lactic acid bacteria in addition to herbal ingredients.
Protein diet
Also known as the "protein", "cyclic ketogenic", "ketone" or "keto" diet. This is a scientifically proven method that produces good weight loss results in just a few weeks. Dr. Russell Wilder used it for medical purposes already in 1921. The father of its modern version can be considered Professor George L. Blackburn, who studied the burning of fat stored by the human body.
With conventional forms of weight loss, the body can reduce up to 40% of muscle mass. But muscles are the main fat burners. Consequently, after the dietary restrictions are over, the metabolism cannot cope with the amount of energy in the diet 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 fat and maintaining muscle mass, which minimizes the risk of the yo-yo effect.
Mayer's diet
This is a weight loss technique developed by Dr. Franz Xavier Mayer. It consists in limiting the consumption of calories, proteins, fats, fruits and vegetables. Consume hard dry bread with water. Chewing bread causes an increase in saliva, which improves digestion. Drinking causes diarrhea, which removes harmful deposits from the body.
Today, the popularity of this method is declining (for obvious reasons).
Special 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 foods should not be consumed at the same time as carbohydrate foods. This helps prevent the neutralization of digestive juices, thus avoiding disruption of the digestive process. When neutralized, neither fats nor proteins can be effectively broken down; carbohydrates are fermented and proteins decay, producing toxic waste.
Therefore, special food is not a diet as such. This is a lifestyle change, diet adjustment. Its basis is a combination of protein and neutral foods or carbohydrate and neutral foods (or consuming only neutral foods). It is also important to maintain a regular diet and consume food in smaller portions. By reducing energy consumption, special meals also serve as a method to lose weight.
IMPORTANT! Informative article! Before use, you should consult a specialist.