IS FAD DIET A BOON OR BANE FOR DIABETES

BY
Sheela Paul, Vimala, Rubini-Dietitians


‘Fad diets’ promise quick weight loss through unhealthy eating patterns that usually lack essential nutrients and promote starvation. Most people are aware of why fad diets are unhealthy and must not be followed. However, they continue to follow fad diets to lose weight, thus promoting hoax fad diets that they know are harmful in the long run.

A fad diet is any diet, diet aid, or weight loss plan that promises miraculous results. They usually focus on one particular food, or substance and some of these diets have been found to be quite unhealthy and even dangerous.

People with diabetes must not follow fad diets. Instead, weight loss and proper diet must be a long-term, daily commitment to safely maintain healthy blood glucose levels while helping to reduce the burden of diabetes on organs.


So carefully consider the impact that such a diet would have on blood glucose and general nutrition. Think smart, eat a balanced diet, and monitor your blood sugar carefully – you will not need any special fad diet or expensive planned diet ..

Fad and popular diets initially work for the very same reasons they eventually fail — very restricted food choices, lack of flexibility, and no decision-making. Most people get very tired of eating the same foods and having limited choices. Once they start to cheat, they eventually fall back on poor eating habits.

Our food choices are increasingly influenced by media hype and the current bestseller list, instead of sound nutrition.

Before you begin any specialty diet plan, consider these tips:

Talk to your doctor or dietician. Always discuss your plans for a specialty diet with your physician and dietitian for information about diet and glucose management before starting anything new!

Never follow a “fasting” or “cleanse” diet. These crash diets often restrict your calorie intake to very low levels, and skipping meals can lead to a dangerous drop in blood sugar that can have serious consequences. Similarly, diets that require multiple meals per day of a single recipe or food group – particularly liquid diets – can lead to spikes in blood glucose and can also cause malnutrition when maintained over longer periods of time.

Remember that no "special" plan is needed for people with diabetes.

Besides watching carbohydrate intake and closely monitoring blood glucose levels, people with diabetes do not need to eat “special” foods or follow seriously restricted diet plans. Common sense in avoiding sugary foods and foods with high glycemic indices, coupled with a well-balanced and nutritious diet, is all that is necessary to manage a diabetic diet.

A starvation diet fills you up with watery vegetables. Weight loss is due to calorie restriction and water loss, not the magic fat-burning soup. Foods that claim to have special ‘fat-burning enzymes’ result in weight loss not because of any secret ingredient but simply because of the calorie restriction (usually only 900 calories a day).

Many restrictive and strange food combination diets exist! Still, there is no magical food combination or special ingredient that results in weight loss. In fad diets, like all diets, weight loss results from decreased calories.

Weight loss or weight gain is a simple equation.

Calories eaten minus calories used through activity = weight loss or weight gain.

Experts agree that a slow, steady weight loss of a half to two pounds per week is the key to permanent weight loss. In fact, studies show that faster weight loss is associated with faster weight regain once the diet is stopped.

Weight gain is also influenced by a decrease in physical activity, and increase in TV and computer time.

Health professionals urge people to eat less of the refined carbohydrates like white flour foods, crackers, noodles, chips, sugary snacks and cereals. They suggest choosing whole grain products more often, eating five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables daily, limiting fat intake and increasing daily activities. These actions ensure that we get good nutrition from our food, maintain a healthy weight and help prevent disease.

People with diabetes need to be more cautious -- fad diets can cause downward spikes in blood sugar,


"Reducing your calories, even at one meal, will affect your blood sugar "If you're taking medication that's also lowering your blood sugar, you will need to reduce that medication. You will need to monitor your blood sugar more often, depending on the severity of the diet and how calorie-restricted it is."
A fad diet can also increase cholesterol and blood pressure levels -- creating an especially high-risk situation for someone with diabetes,

Some examples of diets:

The famous Atkins high-protein/high-fat diet encourages eating red meat, full-fat cheese, chicken, , fish and shellfish, butter, and olive oil. With Atkins, carbohydrates are severely restricted during the two-week induction period - which is intended to cause ketosis, a condition in which the body burns its own fat for fuel.

"Ketosis is not good for anyone, and especially so if you have diabetes," "Most people get into hypoglycemia before they even get to ketosis. The diet's high cholesterol and fat intake is another big problem, increasing the risk of heart disease. In addition, all that protein makes your kidneys work harder, which can worsen existing kidney problems.


South Beach diet - Simple carbs are forbidden, but "good carbs" are encouraged -- whole grains, vegetables, lean protein (fruits can be phased in after the induction). Unhealthy fats (including fatty meats) are banned. This diet does not leave out any major food groups.

Carb-Controlling Diets:
Glycemic index is a concept of controlling blood sugar based on the types of carbohydrate food you eat.

High-glycemic-index foods -- such as white bread, rice, mashed potatoes, and most cold cereals -- cause a quick spike in blood sugar, so there's a burst of energy, then hunger again. Low glycemic index foods -- fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains -- cause levels to rise more slowly and last longer, so you feel less hungry for a longer period.

Meal Replacement Diets

Meal replacement products -- like Slim-Fast diet shakes and snacks -- are another weight loss strategy and a different type of a fad diet:

A person with diabetes "cannot regulate blood sugar in the same way as a person without diabetes. There is more risk of complications. A fad diet can increase that risk."

Think Carefully Before Beginning a Diet Plan