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Diet: Making the nasty four-letter word work for you by Ihor Magun, M.D., F.A.C.P. It's unsightly and unhealthy and it's every where you look. It's talked about constantly and it has become the nation's number one public health prob lem. In many cases, it is a source of frustration and an expensive obsession that makes many of us sit up and pay attention to any new gimmick or product or elixir that can make it go away and stay away. It is obesity. Each year Americans spend billions of dollars on weight loss products, dietary aids, and dietary pro grams in the effort to reach and maintain a target weight. They hope that special packaged diet food will work and they hope that the encouraging optimism of the Duchess of York and is really true. What most fail to take into account is that reducing the waistline and shedding pounds for good requires work and commit ment. It is much more than counting calories. The mere word "diet" conjures up some form of restriction or sacrifice and is somewhat off-putting. For many, it implies too much restriction and too much sacrifice and this results in pounds that melt away for a few weeks or months and then return. Diets do work; however, the greatest obstacle is that they require a consistent life-style change, a healthier way of eating and living. The word "diet" should actually be changed to "lifetime food modifica tion." In addition, systematic reviews of various diets show that the most successful method of weight loss combines watching dietary intake and exercise sup ported by behavior therapy. Studies have also shown that some diets are more popular or considered more effective. At present, the Atkins diet enjoys great popu larity. The medical profession has given much consid eration to this low carbohydrate diet which is primarily based on the restriction of processed and refined car bohydrates. This diet dramatically limits our intake of breads, pasta, sugary foods and starchy vegetables, such as potatoes. Carbohydrates are our major source of energy. They are stored in the body in the form of glycogen. When carbohydrates are restricted, the gly cogen stores are rapidly depleted and the body begins to rely on protein as its only source of glucose. When this occurs, the body enters a process known as keto- sis. Ketosis is a state that makes the body bum fat as fuel, released into the body as ketones. The ketones are used by the muscles, brain, and other organs as an en ergy source. The Atkins diet consists of four stages: induc tion (severely limited carbohydrate intake), on-going wieght loss, pre-maintenance and maintenance. Once the target weight is achieved, more carbohydrate in take is permitted. It must be noted that many people choose this diet because there are no calories to count. There are only specific foods to avoid. Many also like the fact that they can eat bacon, eggs, and cheese bur gers (without the buns, of course)—foods loaded with protein and fat that are generally forbidden in other diets. Nutrition research embraces the idea that high sugar and carbohydrate diets are significant factors that contribute to obesity. The problem is that the elimina tion of an entire food group from the diet isn't neces sarily the best means of achieving the desired goal. Thus, the Atkins diet can be successful; however, it does not teach or promote good eating habits. All diets have the potential to succeed. The trick is to avoid the fads and the temptation to rely on quick fixes and stick to it. This may not be as difficult as it seems. Dieting with a friend dramatically im proves success. Supervised programs such as Weight Watchers are also quite successful because there is a weekly weigh-in and an adequate, rational approach to types of food consumed. Both friends and supervised programs offer an added bonus, an outside person or people who motivate and encourage the dieter to stick with it. With any diet, the basic principles still apply: watch the caloric intake, eat balanced meals that in clude all essential food groups, and exercise. Recog nize that the desired changes will not occur overnight and that a healthy regimen over a lifetime is the one sure way to keep unwanted pounds from coming back. Finally, recognize that no specific diet is best for eve ryone. Finding the one that is right for you means find ing a balance of required factors that you can live with. Only you know what works best for you and what you can commit to. 14 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 2003 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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