has other impacts

Afad diet, which is often called a popular diet, is a diet that makes promises of weight loss or other health advantages without being backed by solid evidence. They often consist of unnecessary, expensive food products and leave out important nutrients. Some common fad diets include the following:

– Paleo diet: revolves around foods that our ancestors hunted or gathered, which needed little or no processing to be eaten, such as: meat, chicken, seafood, fruit, vegetables and nuts. Packaged foods, legumes, dairy and grains are not allowed. Paleo diets are not advised as they cut out valuable food sources, such as wholegrains and legumes, which are a good source of protein and fibre, and can help lower cholesterol. It also removes dairy, which is a convenient source of calcium and protein.

Raw food diet: this diet involves only eating unprocessed plant-based foods in their raw state to retain the enzymes and vitamins that can be destroyed through cooking (at temperatures over 40°C). The diet includes fresh fruit, veg, nuts and seeds, as well as raw animal products. This diet is not recommended as some raw foods can be hard to digest and some vitamins and minerals aren’t as easily absorbed from raw food. There are also many nutrients excluded, such as zinc and iron from cooked meat products.

– Keto diet: this is a low-carbohydrate, highfat diet, which causes the body to burn fat as its main source of fuel, breaking it down into ‘ketone bodies’ (or ‘ketones’) in a process called ketosis. Although it has benefits as a medical treatment for certain groups of people, there is little evidence to recommend it as a long-term weight loss technique for healthy people. It leaves out wholegrains, certain vitamins and minerals and only allows a small protein intake.

As shown, these diets are highly restrictive, and often eliminate whole foods such as dairy or grains. This means they leave out necessary nutrients and could be compromising your health.

In summary, good nutrition is about healthy sustainable dietary and behavioural changes. For realistic, credible nutrition advice, seek the expertise of an Accredited Practising Dietitian, such as myself.