Fad diets go in and out of fashion, but some can be popular for a long time because research demonstrates they can actually work. Atkins, Ketogenic, Mediterranean, and Nordic diets all their benefits because they all get you to replace empty carbohydrates with healthier fruits, vegetables, and some proteins. If you want to eat healthy, you do not have to stick to only the foods recommended by one single fad diet. However, these diets all offer you choices of foods that provide you will a well-balanced and nutrient rich diet, so you may want to pay attention to some of the foods that these diets suggest.
What is the Nordic Diet?
The Nordic diet is a new diet that draws from the typical foods found in Nordic countries like Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. It focuses heavily on cutting out processed foods, high fat meat, and certain fish, while adding more fatty fish including salmon, mackerel, and herring to your diet. It also requires you to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables including berries, potatoes, and carrots. Nuts, legumes, low fat dairy, and whole grains are also foods recommended by the Nordic diet. This diet resembles the average healthy diet that includes all the important nutrients that experts recommend such as antioxidants, fibers, and protein. Meanwhile, it excludes all the foods that nutritionists would definitely tell you to avoid. Therefore, it is no surprise that this diet has many similarities to other effective fad diets.
For example, the Nordic diet and the Mediterranean diet both emphasize similar groups of food. The only significant difference is the type of oily foods that the diets focus on. The Mediterranean diet suggests olive oil, while the Nordic diet suggests canola oil. Canola oil is probably better for making sure you have healthy cholesterol letters to decrease your risk of certain cardiovascular diseases. Some research has shown canola oil is good for reducing your risk of strokes and heart attacks, while olive oil does not seem to have the same benefits. However, the research is extremely preliminary and not conclusive. More established research by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows the Nordic diet can reduce your risk of cancer, diabetes, inflammation, obesity, and your digestive system. It is also a more environmentally sound diet.
What is the Ketogenic diet?
The keto diet is more controversial than the Nordic diet because it actually forces you to put your body in starvation mode. You will not be starving yourself, but you will be completely draining your system of carbohydrates. Most nutrients are fine, but the keto diet says that you should replace all your carbohydrates with lipids. By making this adjustment, you put your body in ketosis. Ketosis is a state when your body decides to burn lipids known as ketones for energy instead of sugars.
Ketosis helps you lose weight more quickly and it also has many other surprising health benefits. It was actually developed for people with epilepsy because of the way it alters the bacteria in your digestive tract. Certain bacteria in your digestive tract can actually help prevent seizures and other neurological conditions, so the keto diet is generally good for your brain. However, it can also be bad for your brain because your brain relies on sugars for fuel. Still, most scientists agree that cutting down on sugars is good for your health because too much sugar in your diet can cause obesity, diabetes, cancer, inflammation, and many other serious health concerns.
What is the Mediterranean diet?
The Mediterranean diet is inspired by classic cuisine from places like Spain, Greece, and Italy. However, some of the foods are also common in France, Croatia and Turkey. The Mediterranean diet is focused on plants, but it also allows the occasional fish or chicken. Foods that have a relatively high fiber content are also recommended, including whole grains. Additionally, you will get most of your fat content from olive oil and you are free to drink generous amounts of red wine. Meanwhile, the diet recommends against sugar, red meat, and butters.
This type of diet will help you avoid processed fats and sugars, which will allow you lose weight and live a longer and happier life. This diet is good for your heart, your brain, your eyes, your digestive system, and your kidneys. Some research even says it is good for men’s sexual health. Since it promotes a healthy heart, your blood circulation improves. If you have good circulation, you will have an easier time avoiding and managing erectile dysfunction because a good erection requires adequate blood flow to your genitals. Additionally, many of the foods on the Mediterranean diet can elevate your testosterone levels, which can be beneficial to your sexual health.
What is the Atkins diet?
The Atkins diet is like the keto diet. However, instead of replacing all your carbs with fats, the Atkins diet suggests replacing all your carbs with proteins. Proteins can speed up your metabolism and help you feel satisfied so that you do not end up getting hungrier later. Therefore, the Atkins diet is good for losing weight and it also has many benefits when it comes to promoting good heart health.
There are actually a bunch of versions of the Atkins diet, depending on how serious you are about losing weight quickly and seeing permanent results. However, the main idea of the diet is to focus on your proteins and avoid empty carbohydrates. As with the keto diet, you do not want to avoid all forms of carbs because your body still relies on certain types of sugars for fuel. Additionally, carbs found in fruits and vegetables probably are not going to hurt you. However, you do want to cut out all the carbs that are not filling you up with any nutrients.
The main takeaway from successful fad diets is that good dieting works to help you lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. Cut out meals that contain processed foods, a lot of calories, ingredients that are incapable of filling you up, or ingredients that fail to provide your body with important nutrients. Many types of diets can fit within this criteria, so you should try to find a well-balanced diet that contains foods that you actually enjoy to ensure that you are going to stick to your diet plan. You can also talk to a nutritionist about what type of diet might be work well for you.
