Popular Diets Reviewed
(Re-printed
with permission from American Dietetic Association)
By the time you read this, there may already be a new best-selling diet book
heading the list, but with some help from current or former ADA media spokespeople we have
put together this fact sheet to give you the scoop on current popular diets.
Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight
Solution
The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to
Weight Loss Freedom by Phillip McGraw, PhD, Free Press, 2003.
Diet Summary The theme of this program is that
behavior modification and cognitive restructuring, along with a healthy diet and exercise,
can lead to permanent weight management. Claiming an 80 percent success rate, the
program’s key points offer behavioral and nutritional advice ranging from
portion control to supplement recommendations.
Foods are divided into two categories: high
response foods (good) and low response foods (bad). While some of the book’s
advice is good (recycling behavior modification strategies that have been used in weight
control programs for decades), several of the book’s points contain erroneous
or outdated nutrition and dietary recommendations.
Additionally, the Ultimate Weight
Solution includes seemingly simple advice for dealing with complicated emotional,
eating and family issues. Without proper supervision, managing these issues alone can lead
to ultimate dietary disaster. Dr. Phil suggests enlisting a ‘circle of
support,’ including a nutritionist with ‘technical
expertise;’ however, this advice comes late in the book.
And for adolescents…
The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution for
Teens: The 7 Keys to Weight Freedom by Jay McGraw, Free Press, 2003.
Written by Dr. Phil’s son,
this book is essentially a gentler version of the original Ultimate Weight Solution.
While I do like the way it adapts the 7 Keys for kids with softer, hopeful language, this
diet is still comprised of recycled behavior modification tips and unrealistically simple
solutions to treating obesity and eating disorders.
—Lisa Dorfman, MS, RD, LMHC,
Licensed Psychotherapist
The “New†Atkins
Diet
Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution: Revised and Improved by
Robert C. Atkins, MD, Avon, 2001.Diet Summary Arguably one of the most famous fad diets,
the Atkins Diet program restricts carbohydrates and focuses on eating mostly protein with
the use of vitamin and mineral supplements. According to the program, this will alter a
body’s metabolism so it will burn stored fat while building muscle mass. The
“new†Atkins Diet is the same diet with a more liberal
maintenance plan.
With the “newâ€
Atkins diet, some of the sensationalism is gone and there is heavy promoting of low-carb
bars and food products from Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. But the bottom line is still the
same. Carbs are demonized and there are major restrictions on fruits and vegetables, whole
grains, legumes and low-fat dairy foods, which contradicts everything we know about health
promotion and disease prevention.
—Keith Ayoob, EdD, RD, FADA
The Zone Diet
The Zone: Revolutionary Life Plan to Put Your Body in Total
Balance for Permanent Weight Loss by Barry Sears, MD, Regan Books, 1995.Diet Summary
Promoting a “balanced nutritional approach,†the Zone Diet is a
complex eating plan that divides each meal into proportions of 40 percent carbohydrates,
30 percent proteins and 30 percent fats. The “Zone†refers to
the state in which the body is at its physical peak, presumably from following this diet.
While the Zone Diet is closer to what most
dietetics professionals would recommend compared to other fad diets, there are still
better nutrition and exercise programs that are less complicated and frustrating than
constantly measuring proportions and counting calories.
—Althea Zanecosky, MS, RD
South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet: The Delicious,
Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss by Arthur Agaston,
MD, Rodale Press, 2003.
Diet Summary Comprised of three phases,
the South Beach Diet begins by banning carbohydrates such as fruit, bread, rice, potatoes,
pasta and baked goods and allowing normal-size portions of meat, poultry, shellfish,
vegetables, eggs and nuts. Dieters are told they will lose between eight and 13 pounds in
the first two weeks during the “detoxification†phase. The
second phase reintroduces “good carbs†(as defined using an
online glycemic index) and dieters expect to lose one to two pounds per week until the
weight goal is reached. The third phase is the least restrictive, allowing the dieters to
eat pretty much anything in moderation.
The theory behind the South Beach Diet is that
the faster sugars and starches are digested, the more weight is gained. Instead, the diet
will cause weight loss because it is a low-calorie plan with an average intake of about
1,400 to 1,500 calories per day. The diet’s first phase promotes potentially
dangerous accelerated weight loss; however, the second and third phases emphasize whole
grains, lean proteins and dairy, unsaturated fats and fruits and vegetables, in addition
to consistent meal times, snacks, a healthy dessert and plenty of water.
—Dawn Jackson, RD, LD
Sugar Busters
The New Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat by H.
Leighton Steward; Morrison C. Bethea, MD; Sam S. Andrews, MD; Luis A. Balart, MD,
Ballatine Books, 1998.Diet Summary The basic tenet of Sugar Busters is that all sugars,
including the sugar derived from complex carbohydrates and starches, are
“toxic†because they produce excess insulin, which causes our
bodies to store sugar as fat and make cholesterol. According to the book, foods with a
high glycemic index produce a greater insulin response and fat storage. The book concludes
with a list of acceptable foods and foods to avoid, a 14-day sample meal plan, and Sugar
Busters! recipes. The diet is recommended as appropriate for children, pregnant women,
people with diabetes, hypoglycemia sufferers and persons with a history of cardiovascular
disease.
The carbohydrate/insulin response theory as a
cause of weight gain has become popular in fad diets, but there is no evidence that excess
insulin release causes obesity in people with normal pancreatic function. Obesity is more
likely a result of a decline in physical activity and increase in calorie intake than
increased sugar or carbohydrate consumption. While the authors mention that protein foods
and fats should also be limited, some of the recipes suggest the contrary, such as the
filet mignon recipe for four that includes four 10-ounce filets, a cup of blue cheese and
a half-pound of bacon.
—Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
Raw Food Diets
The Raw Life: Becoming Natural in an Unnatural
World by Paul Nison, 343 Publishing Company, 2000, and Raw, the Uncooked Book by
Juliano Brotman and Erika Lenkert, Regan Books, 1999.
Diet Summary Various versions of raw
food diets exist, but they share the same basic principle: Cooked foods lose the natural
vitamins, nutrients and enzymes necessary to build a strong immune system. They recommend
eating only fruits and vegetables picked ripe from the tree, garden or vine (organic
preferred), nuts or seeds.
Some raw food diets claim that it is “not
natural†to eat sea vegetables, and others say that they are very important
to include in the diet. Raw food diets may be high in fiber and low in total fat,
saturated fat, cholesterol and calories, but they restrict so many important foods that it
becomes a challenge to get all the nutrients the body needs. For example, avoiding all
animal foods presents a challenge in getting enough vitamins B12 and D.
—Claudia M. González, MS, RD, LD/N
Recommended Reading
American Dietetic Association Complete Food and
Nutrition Guide by Roberta Larson Duyff, MS, RD, FADA, CFCS, John Wiley & Sons,
2002
Dieting for Dummies, second edition by Jane
Kirby, RD, Wiley Publishing, 2004
The Way to Eat by David L. Katz, MD, MPH,
FACPM and Maura H. Gonzalez, MS, RD, Sourcebooks, 2002
365 Days of Healthy Eating from the American
Dietetic Association by Roberta Larson Duyff, MS, RD, FADA, CFCS, John Wiley, 2004
ADA Guide to Healthy Eating for Kids: How Your
Children Can Eat Smart from 5 to 12 by Jodie Shield, MEd, RD and Mary Catherine
Mullen, MS, RD, John Wiley, 2002
ADA Guide to Eating Right When You Have Diabetes by
Maggie Powers, MS, RD, CDE, John Wiley, 2003
ADA Guide to Better Digestion by Leslie Bonci,
MPH, RD, John Wiley, 2003.
|
