With fitness & wellness taking the center stage, we have been surrounded by fad diets- be it Ketosis, high protein or quantified nutrition. You see around everyone is jumping on this fad diet- weight loss link bandwagon. This addiction has become an obsession & everyone seems to follow the trend. Such trends are short lived & may come & go, but the question arises why is it that we gravitate towards such a fad diet? Just because a celebrity or your next door neighbor follows a particular diet, will it work for you as well?
Do these fad diets really help in weight or fat loss, or could cause some serious health issues?
These questions are worth answering! A particular diet which has worked for your spouse, friend or next door neighbor, may be worse for your health & microbes living in your gut that drives all the health decisions of your body. In fact those benefits which were promised to you are actually fading. Such fad diets do not bring any change in your life, health & your gut microbiome health except from impacting your bank balance. The fact of the matter is once such a diet is faded & people wake up- it’s time for a new one to make money by believing that this one is better than the previous one. Ultimately, these fat diets (food manufacturers), suppliers & endorsers are no better than Pharma companies that make you their lifetime subscribers by leveraging your misery without offering any tangible benefits. Health & wellness has become money making business by discounting the health of people who actually “buy in” the false promises
So if this diet does not work, what exactly works? One solution fits all approach is flawed when it comes to human health .
Our body is a container for 38 trillion microorganisms living in our gut. These microbes make up around 2 to 20 million genes while our body has only 25000 human genes. By Genes count, we are only 1% humans. Microbes in our gut constitute 99% of all the genes that are expressed in our body. And in fact microbes are really the ones that digest a lot of the foods we eat. 70% of our immune system is along our gut lining, and microbes are constantly interacting with our immune system to essentially train that immune system. They release all these chemicals we call metabolites that are absorbed by the human body and they actually change our gene expression. Since we can control how genes are expressed by altering what food we eat, we can actually prevent & reverse chronic diseases including weight loss
As such, every individual is unique & so is his gut microbiome. For example, Spinach, Beetroot & Almonds may be beneficial for the gut bacteria of your friend or colleague & their microbes shall metabolise them & release beneficial compounds while for you these foods may be toxic & may lead to inflammation.
Obviously, how we are born, what kind of milk(breast fed or formula fed) we were given as an infant, all things we have done, dietary choices we have adopted for years, our sleeping & exercise pattern, our environment & level of our stress is quite distinctive & different from our next door friend. All these factors are unique to us. As such our unique set of microbes require personalised & unique dietary recommendations. Therefore standard dietary recommendations & fat diets will not work to improve your health & eradicate chronic diseases
Just because some fad diets- such a calorie deficit, quantified nutrition, high protein or Ketosis are popular, it does not mean they are right. These fad diets take up one nutritional truth & expand it to a point where it is difficult to recognise from its scientific basis.This trend provides the public with a restricted view of what a “healthy” diet offers.
Your health depends upon the diversity of your gut microbes & having a diverse food in your diet that feeds beneficial bacteria in your gut can provide you various of beneficial compounds that can aid in metabolism, regulate your satiety & blood sugar level, improve digestion & even weight loss. However if you are restricted to eating only a handful of things, over and over again, it’s not good for your body. In fact, following these diets for long periods of time can cause severe consequences. Some of the indicators that the fad diets you have been following would be impacting your overall health:
- Dehydration & Inflammation: Some diets that limit your carbohydrate intake may accelerate your weight loss. However if you are following a restrictive diet such as low carbs or even Ketosis, it may not be good for your hydration levels. Carbohydrates are the main energy source & are also hydrophilic. It means that carbs attract water molecules. A low carb diet essentially means you will be reducing your body’s ability to keep water inside it. Besides, a low carb restrictive diet also leads to inflammation & increase risk of metabolic disorders since gut microbes thrives on carbs & fibre & if you do not feed your gut what they are hungry for, they will end up eating gut lining to meet their energy needs leading to leaky gut. In such a situation, bacteria may move from the large intestine to other places creating havoc in your body & leading to diabetes, lung disease & even cardiovascular diseases. Low carb diet also means that you will be replacing the carbs with animal fat & /or protein. Our gut metabolises these foods & releases harmful compound TMAO which start developing plague in our arteries, thereby increasing our risk of coronary heart disease. High animal fat & protein consumption also means increased daily water requirements needed to flush out remaining protein from the kidneys which put strain on Kidneys.
- Fatigue: This is an extended arm of Dehydration. Dehydration can induce fatigue like symptoms. However feeling low on energy can also due to consumption of these fad diets since these diets focus less on nutritional value of products instead focus on some specific food items.Whether you’re eating the same set of foods each day, or a small set of items throughout your week – you’re lack of variety in foods could be a big factor in the diversity of your gut microbiome. Creating an imbalance in your gut ecosystem can expose you to a lot of chronic disorders. Fatigue is the first sign of future severe health consequences. You should pay attention to what your body is telling you.
- Bloating & Constipation: Some diets do not make you feel comfortable when it comes to digestive issues. Infact diets such as high protein or quantified nutrition ( that does not look into what feeds your beneficial bacteria- example of Spinach we gave in the beginning paragraph of this blog) can lead to situations of bloating, gassy or constipated. Given that our gut microbes feed majorly on fiber, it can have a powerful impact on our gut health, whether through better food motility or feeding many beneficial microbes. It is important to note here that protein is meant to be digested in the small intestine only. Our gut does not recognise what protein is! So if you eat high protein & the undigested protein finds its way to large intestine, some specific bacteria in our gut ferment protein & releases ammonia gas which can lead to digestive disorders
The main issue with fad diets is its focus on weight loss over health. Moreover, it’s this emphasis that a quick “diet” fix is enough to make you healthy . Health and nutrition requires constant attention.
Rather than emphasizing ways to help you lose weight, Genefitletics focuses on analysing your gut microbiome composition- who are there, who are active & what functions they perform to provide your personalised dietary recommendations that feeds your beneficial microbes that they are hungry for & maintain a gut diversity & abundance.
By recommending you a variety of foods that are unique for your gut, we can optimise your digestion process, metabolism & improve your satiety level, thereby improving your overall health. With every gut evaluation test, you would see changes in your food recommendations based on the current structure of your gut microbiome. Every dietary modification we do in your personalised recommendations, takes care of the health of your gut microbes & makes sure that your microbes release beneficial short chain fatty acids that keep chronic diseases at bay.
Want to know more how our technology interacts with microbes in your gut to advise you what food recommendations & interventions are best to feed your microbes what they are hungry for? Sign up for our free discovery call here.
