Guest guest Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 " Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meat, and low fat, " she says. " Add physical activity -- an hour every day -- and you've got it. We could come up with multiple plans that incorporate all these bits of information. But nobody knows how to rate whether your way is better than mine. " That's all it amounts to. Use your common sense and eat healthy and exercise. I know exactly HOW to do it.....it's just the actual DOING IT part that I fail miserably at. ) Dawn anzavic@... wrote: > " The ratings are not based on whether there is meat in the diet, " > -McGrievy tells WebMD. " I was kind of surprised only the Ornish > book got five stars. The pH Miracle is vegetarian, but it was too high > in fat, and it had a lot of added oils. " > > What sank the Atkins diet, -McGrievy says, is that it gets 53% of > its calories from fat and 20% from saturated fat. > > " That is a real profile for heart disease risk, " she says. " None of > these diets are going to kill you in two weeks. This is over the long > term. The Atkins maintenance menu was the one we analyzed, not the > stricter one. We analyzed his most liberal menu, the one he says you can > stay on forever. " > > But Indiana University dietician Alice Lindeman, PhD, RD, says the > Atkins diet can be very effective. > > " I understand why people would want to slam Atkins. I have very big > problems with diets that eliminate whole groups of food, as his does, " > Lindeman tells WebMD. " But Atkins made us think more about the role of > insulin in weight reduction. The question is whether his diet is doing > any harm. And recent studies show it significantly lowers cholesterol > and triglycerides. " > > Lindeman thinks the PCRM ratings are " a bit old-fashioned. " " You > could go on a no-protein diet and it would get five stars on that > scale, " she says. " It is almost impossible to do that. You need protein > every day to heal wounds, to make enzymes and hormones, to grow your > hair. So if you look at their five standards in an objective way, any > diet that doesn't have fat in it would work. " > > Tufts University nutritionist Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, says the PCRM > ratings are a little simplistic. She points out that different people > have different nutritional needs. > > " There are a lot of different eating patterns that are associated with > positive health outcomes, " Lichtenstein says. " So it is unlikely someone > could say that one specific diet -- to the exclusion of all other diets > -- is the absolute best. There are certain dietary patterns associated > with better health outcomes. But we don't really know whether to give > equal weight to fiber and low fat or whatever. We don't know if that > makes biological sense. We don't have the knowledge to come up with a > point system. " > > -McGrievy and Lindeman discussed a few of the most popular diets > with WebMD. Here are their comments: > > The Ornish diet asks people on the typical Western diet to make a > radical change in the way they eat. As noted above, PCRM gave this diet > their only five-star rating. > > Lindeman: " Being from the Midwest, I have trouble with extremes. I find > that any diet that requires so much basic food awareness is difficult to > stay on. You have to cook a lot on his diet. I'm not saying the foods > people like to choose are the best, but it is very hard to have a busy > lifestyle and follow this plan. And if we all didn't have such busy life > styles we wouldn't' gain so much weight. " > > D'Adamo's Eat Right for Your Type argues that people have different > dietary needs based on blood types. Because each recommended diet was so > different, the PCRM study rated each one separately. > > -McGrievy: " Scientific research has not determined that blood type > determines what you should eat. The best was the type A diet. It was > high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables and low in fat. It emphasizes > plant food but is still too high in cholesterol. " > > Lindeman: " I am one blood type and my son is another. So how are we > going to cook? We have to live in the same house. In the U.S. we are a > mixed population. > > Ask anybody here how many lines of heritage they have and each person is > a multitude. I would look at people following this and say, 'What are > you doing this for?' " > > Sears' Zone Diet emphasizes a proper balance of protein, fat, and > carbohydrates at each meal. > > -McGrievy: " One of the things that The Zone is good for is it does > do a good amount of fruits and vegetables and does have adequate fiber. > It does recommend more lean protein, chicken and fish versus beef. " > > Lindeman: " This is the one I really like for people who have problems > regulating their blood sugar. These are people who get the shakes if > they don't have protein, and who have trouble with sugars. This diet is > fantastic. It makes sure every meal is a combination of carbohydrates > and protein and fat. It makes sure you don't skip meals, and it works on > your snacks. > > People with blood sugar problems can't treat snacks differently from > meals. And it regulates the times during the day that you can eat. I > recommend this to a lot of people. After you are on it for a while you > can modify it, but you sure do learn good stuff from it. " > > Sugar Busters warns not only against sugars but also against many > carbohydrates. > > -McGrievy: " It's basically saying that foods with sugars are > unhealthy and will make you gain weight. But the problem is it says > foods such as rice and carrots will make you gain weight, too. It falls > down on banning certain healthy foods. A lot of breads are recommended, > and there is a whole table of acceptable vegetables and fruits. It pins > carbohydrates as the bad guy. But Asians are the slimmest population in > the world and they eat a lot of carbohydrates. The good point is it > guides people toward less-refined carbohydrate choices. But it cuts out > some that are perfectly healthy. " > > Lindeman: " This is one I really like. It is one that can really help a > person regulate blood-sugar levels. By regulating blood sugar and not > letting it fluctuate, you don't overeat. " > > The Body for Life program emphasizes a high-protein, low-fat diet -- and > lots of exercise. > > -McGrievy: " This borders on very high protein, but it does include > carbohydrates. The negative is it gives you a lot of protein shakes that > aren't necessary in a healthy diet. They kind of squeeze out the fruits > and vegetables. > > The problem with this diet is it gets so much protein from lean meat, it > falls into the same trap as The Zone does. " > Still confused over which diet is best? Lichtenstein has some advice. > > " Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean > meat, and low fat, " she says. " Add physical activity -- an hour every > day -- and you've got it. We could come up with multiple plans that > incorporate all these bits of information. But nobody knows how to rate > whether your way is better than mine. " > > SOURCES: News release, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine • > Brie -McGrievy, RD, clinical research coordinator, Physicians > Committee for Responsible Medicine • Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, senior > scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Research Program, > Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, and professor > of family medicine and community health, Tufts University School of > Medicine, Boston • Alice Lindeman, PhD, RD, School of Health, Physical > Education, and Recreation, Indiana University, Bloomington. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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