What the World’s Most Successful Diets Have in Common

Many of the time-defying diets that continue to be followed are tried and tested diets. Mediterranean diet, low carbohydrate diet, paleo diet, plant-based diets are among the known. In addition, knowing the common points of all these successful diets increases the success of a diet application. Here are the common points of successful diets:

1. Reducing Sugar Use

Adding sugar in general nutrition is one of the most unhealthy aspects of the modern diet. While some people can tolerate moderate amounts of sugar without problems, most people consume a lot of sugar. When consumed too much, fructose, one of the main forms of sugar, gets overloaded on the liver and has to convert this fructose into fat in the liver. Some of the fat from the liver raises very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, blood triglycerides, but some remains in the liver. Excessive fructose intake is believed to be a major driver of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Obesity disease is also associated with many other conditions, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and because sugar provides too many calories, it provides empty calories as it is hardly any essential nutrient. Most experts agree that extra sugar intake is harmful. This is why most successful diets are

makes it a priority to cut or reduce its consumption as much as possible. In short, there is a universal consensus that high sugar intake is unhealthy, and limiting sugar is recommended in most successful diets.

2.Keeping Refined Carbohydrates Out of the Diet

Another ingredient that nutritionists consensus is that refined carbohydrates, which are sugar and processed starchy foods that remove fiber, including grains, are unhealthy. The most common refined carbohydrate is wheat flour, which is consumed in large quantities in western countries. Refined grains are ground with bran to powder, this is done by removing the dandruff and endosperm. Refined starch is also high in calories and contains almost no essential nutrients.

Starch without whole grain fiber can cause rapid spikes in blood sugar, causing overeating after a few hours when blood sugar drops. Studies indicate that refined carbohydrates cause various metabolic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Although some diets such as paleo and low-carb diets completely remove grains from their diets, all successful diets at least emphasize limiting refined grains and replacing them with healthier alternatives.

3.Avoiding High Levels of Omega-6 Fats

Although vegetable oils have been used for thousands of years, mass production of refined oils began in the early 20th century. These oils include soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, etc. There are oils such as. Scientists are concerned about the content of polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids found in some vegetable oils and have stated that most people can eat a lot of omega-6 fats through their diet. Omega-6 oil can cause LDL (bad) cholesterol to be oxidized more easily and contribute to endothelial dysfunction. It is known that there are two important factors in the heart disease process in this consumption. Still, it is controversial whether omega-6 oil causes or prevents heart disease. Although some observational studies point to protective effects, most controlled studies suggest they may be harmful. Other studies have observed that linoleic acid, the most common omega-6 fatty acid, does not increase blood levels of inflammatory markers. While more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be made, most scientists agree that people’s intake of omega-6 has increased significantly in the past century. Based on these considerations, vegetable oil intake related to omega-6 such as soybean oil and canola oil should be limited and instead of these, olive oil and other oils low in omega-6 should be selected. In summary, many diets encourage the intake of omega-6-rich vegetable oils such as soybean or canola oils to be reduced as much as possible. However, it is not known exactly whether these oils are harmful or not, and it should be kept in mind that more research is needed on this subject.

4. Removing Artificial Trans Fats

Trans fats are usually made by hydrogenating vegetable oils that make them solid at room temperature and increase their shelf life. According to numerous studies, trans fats are linked to increased inflammation and heart disease conditions. The evidence is so strong that many countries have restricted or banned the use of trans fats in foods. In the United States, although the federal ban on trans fats came into effect in 2018, currently manufactured products are still available for distribution by January 2020, or in some cases in 2021. Also, foods can be labeled as 0 grams of trans fat if they contain less than 0.5 grams (35) of trans fat. In short, it should not be forgotten that trans fats are made by hydrogenating vegetable oils and many studies show the connection of conditions such as inflammation and heart disease, and should be restricted or removed from diets as much as possible.

5. Keeping Vegetable and Fiber Intake High

Many diets limit or eliminate certain foods. For example, plant-based diets minimize or eliminate animal foods, while low-carb and paleo diets do not use grains. However, some successful diets, such as the low-carb way of eating, can restrict carbohydrate-rich starchy vegetables, but healthy diets all contain plenty of vegetables. The healthiness of vegetables has been universally accepted, and many studies support this by showing that vegetable consumption is linked to a reduced risk of disease.

Vegetables are high in antioxidants, nutrients, and fiber; this helps weight loss and feeds gut friendly bacteria. Even most low-carb diets include fruit intake to some degree. Generally speaking, all successful diets recommend eating plenty of vegetables and fruits. Because these foods are rich in antioxidants and healthy prebiotic fibers.

6.Focus on All Food

Another common point of successful diets is that they emphasize the importance of whole single ingredient foods instead of restricting calories. Although calories are important for weight management, the effect of limiting it regardless of the foods consumed is rarely seen in the long term. Instead of trying to lose weight or limit calories, this should be the goal to meet the body’s nutritional needs, to be healthier. In short, all successful diets emphasize a whole-food lifestyle change and allow weight loss to be seen as a natural process.

The healthiest diets focus on whole foods and encourage people to limit their intake of processed foods, trans fats, sugars and refined carbohydrates. It is preferable to consume all foods including vegetables, fruits and whole grains to improve general health conditions.