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We turned 7 this month, raring to go for touching newer heights and more incredible accomplishments. In our series of articles this month, we will discuss interesting topics for all age groups and overall well-being. 
Please scroll down to know more about 7 diet plans you can pick and choose, as recommended by our in-house nutritionist, M Sowmya, be it for losing weight, uplifting heart health, or just relish every bite guilt-free, for a healthy living! Read on…
Diet plans aren't just designed to shed surplus weight and uplift overall wellness. Modifying your diet habits can be one of the best possible ways to lose weight; at the same time, it also serves as a vital tool in optimizing health, improving your eating behaviours, and leading a more active and disciplined lifestyle.
Nevertheless, the numerous diets available can make it difficult for you to get started, and the whole process can be draining, making you give up before you have found the best one. Several diets will be more adaptable, maintainable, and effective for different people. Also, a survey conducted by Forbes Health states that 45 % of people have not fixed to a diet regimen in the past, as they found it hard to find the food, they relished in the specific diet plan.
A few diet patterns focus on curbing appetite to lower your calorie intake, while others may be restricting carbs or fat. Additionally, some diet aims more at eating behaviours and lifestyle changes rather than restricting certain foods, and what's more, many confer indispensable health incentives that go way beyond weight loss.
The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet has been valued long as the gold standard for good nutrition, disease prevention, wellbeing, and longevity. This diet pattern is purely based on its nutrition benefits and achievability.
Also Read: Mediterranean Diet: Know Why This Is Not Just Another Food Fad To Follow in 2020
How Does It Work?
This diet comprises food from various countries and regions like Spain, Greece, and Italy. The Mediterranean diet focuses on eating natural sources of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and lean meats that include:
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Whole Grains
- Fish
- Nuts
- Lentils
- Olive Oil
- Poultry, eggs, and dairy products are to be eaten in moderation, and red meats are restricted
The Diet Limits
- Refined cereals
- Trans fats
- Processed meats
- Added sugar
- Highly processed foods
Health Benefits Of the Mediterranean Diet
- Supports losing weight in a healthy and sustainable way
- Augments heart health and functions
- Lowers the Risk of Cancer and combats cancer
- Prevents Diabetes
- Improve cognitive health and mood
- Helps to keep you calm and relaxed
The DASH Diet
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is an eating pattern formulated to treat or prevent high blood pressure. This diet stresses eating various fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats. While it also limits the intake of salt, red meat, added sugars and fat. Though this diet is not a weight loss diet, many people start losing a few kilos.
How Does It Work?
The DASH diet recommends specific serving from different food groups based on daily calorie intake, which include:
- 5 servings of vegetables
- 5 servings of fruit
- 7 servings of good complex carbs
- 2 servings of low-fat dairy products
- 2 servings or lesser of lean meats
- Additionally, nuts and seeds can be taken twice or thrice in a week
Health Benefits Of the DASH Diet
- Supports controlling blood pressure and lowers the risk factors for heart disease
- Help to reduce the risk of breast and colorectal cancers
- Studies reveal that the DASH diet may also help to lose weight
Plant-Based And Flexitarian Diets
Well, veganism and vegetarianism are the most famous forms of plant-based diets, which totally refrain from the intake of animal products for health, ethical and environmental purposes.
Also, more convenient plant-based diets exist like the flexitarian diet, where diet pattern permits eating animal products in moderation.
How Does It Work?
This diet generally restricts meat and meat products but allows dairy products; however, vegan diets completely restrict all animal products, including butter, dairy, and other by-products like honey.
The flexitarian diet plan does not have a strict recommendation about calories and macronutrients; it is more a less considered a lifestyle modification.
It basically includes:
- Protein from plants instead of animals
- fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains
- Whole and natural foods
- Restrict sugar and sweets
It allows the flexibility to add meat and animal products from time to time.
Health Benefits Of Plant-Based And Flexitarian Diets
Plant-based diets are beneficial in lowering the risk of developing chronic diseases such as improved metabolic health markers, controlling blood pressure, and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and losing weight.
A Flexitarian diet has proven to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, promote metabolic health, control blood pressure, and shed a few pounds.
The MIND Diet
The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet unites the concept of both these diets to formulate an eating pattern that mainly pays attention to brain health and well-being.
Also Read: The MIND Diet: Here's Why You Should Eat These Top 10 Foods For Brain Health And Memory
How Does It Work?
The MIND diet does not have a stringent meal regimen but instead emphasizes eating specific foods with brain-boosting properties. Food groups allowed in the MIND diet include:
- 6 or more servings of green leafy vegetables
- 1 serving of non-starchy vegetables
- 5 or more servings of nuts
Further, it also allows to include other foods several times a week:
- Berries
- Beans
- Olive oil
- Whole grains
- Fish
- Poultry
Health Benefits Of MIND Diet
The MIND diet is well-known to improve cognitive health, lower a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and delay the onset of Parkinson's disease.
Intermittent Fasting (IF)
Intermittent fasting is an eating strategy that rotates between periods of fasting and eating. There are several forms of IF, including the 16/8 method, which involves restricting calorie intake to 8 hours daily. Also, the 5:2 method limits daily calorie intake to 500 – 600 calories twice a week. However, it's mainly famous as a diet for losing weight and may have incredible benefits for uplifting both physical and mental health.
Also Read: Intermittent Fasting: Method, Types, Health Benefits And FAQs
How Does It Work?
Intermittent fasting limits the time permitted to eat, which is easy to cut down on calorie intake. Thus, supporting weight loss, this diet pattern expects you to compensate for overeating food during allowed eating periods
Health Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting has been associated with positive anti-ageing effects, improves insulin sensitivity, boosts brain health, and reduces inflammation.
The Volumetrics Diet
This diet was formulated by Penn State nutrition professor Barbara Rolls Ph.D., that works well for both short-term and long-term weight loss. Instead of focusing on eating less, this diet encourages people to choose foods with low energy density.
How Does It Work?
In this diet pattern, you eat foods with low-calorie density, making you feel satiated and shed surplus weight. Low-calorie density foods are high in dietary fibre and water content.
Health Benefits Of Volumetrics Diet
- The volumetrics diet is packed with essential vitamins and minerals, which help to increase the intake of key nutrients and averts the risk of nutritional deficiencies
- Lowers risk of developing heart disease and cancer
- Supports weight loss
Low Carb Diet
Low carb diets are among the most popular diets for weight loss, which include the Atkins diet, keto diet, and low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet.
Low carb diets are famous for weight loss, including the Atkins diet, ketogenic diet, and low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet. Some types reduce carbs significantly more than others. For example, the keto diet restricts carbs to under 10% of total calories, whereas other types reduce carbs to 30% or less.
How Does It Work?
Low carb diets limit the intake of carbs and replace them with protein and healthy fat, this curbs the appetite, triggers metabolism, and builds muscle mass. In the keto diet pattern, the body begins to use fatty acids instead of carbs for energy by converting them into ketones, and the process is known as ketosis.
Health Benefits Of Low Carb Diets
- Low carb diet lowers risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure levels
- Improve blood sugar and insulin levels with type 2 diabetes
- Remarkably helps in losing weight than other low-fat diets
Conclusion
Several diets backed by science help you shed weight and confer distinct health incentives. Though all the diets have been shown to be effective for weight loss, your diet depends on your lifestyle and food preferences. This ensures that you stick to it in the long run.
Also, before starting with any new type of diet, it's always best to talk with your healthcare provider about your health condition, and they can help you choose which plan would work best for you. Additionally, once you've made a point to start a new diet, consult a dietitian or nutritionist who can help you alter new rules and help you plan meals that you want to eat.
