Most people follow a diet because they want to feel healthier and fitter. If your diet does not suit your biology, the effect of that diet will not be optimal. For example, do you leave the pasta because you think it is less healthy for you than rice? If your measurements show that pasta is not a problem for you, you can put it back on the menu with confidence. Is it causing peaks in your values? You can optimize your meal by adjusting the portion size or by adding more fat or fiber to the meal, for example. Or by eating it at the right time, such as after exercise. So you don’t always have to leave out an ingredient!

Today we dive deeper into the different diets and how this can deviate from your best diet.

Diets: which are the best?

There are many diets. When you search for diets in Google, you will get 529,000 results in less than half a second! This actually indicates that one best diet does not exist. And if it did exist, those other hundreds of thousands of diets wouldn’t be there.

So, how is it possible that there are always new diets that claim that the results are good or better than other diets? Science also tests different diets and of course the best one comes out. The definition of “best” is often related to whole group averages such as “on average people on this diet have lost 2 kg in 6 weeks”. As you can read in the previous blogs everyone reacts differently to food and it could be that if 2 people have the same diet, one of them will lose weight and the other does not.

This is why all diets should focus on changing lifestyle during and after its diet and not just the diet itself. Many people experience gaining weight quickly after a diet and sometimes are even heavier than before a diet. A diet (especially the so-called crash diet) cannot be sustained on the long term. Do you switch again after your old pattern? Then you might see  the kilos flying back on.

General guidelines

Are there really no general guidelines of what a healthy diet is? In general, the Mediterranean diet comes out best: lots of unprocessed products, fish, vegetables and healthy fats. An example of a new trend in this area is the keto diet where you eat virtually no carbohydrates. Your body enters ketosis and it may be easier to use the fat in your body as an energy source. But, be aware: 1 gram of fat contains more calories than 1 gram of protein or carbohydrates: you can still overeat. Those who want to lose weight will also have to pay attention to the total intake (and are advised to do, for example, intermittent fasting).

There is always a diet that works for you, while others feel uncomfortable or fail to achieve their health goals.

Still, some general guidelines about a healthy diet are:

• Eat as much as unprocessed products. So try avoiding prepackaged cans / bags / pots, instead eat fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, fish and meat. Prepackaged wraps, for example, are highly processed, but bread also falls under processed products. As an alternative, think of a homemade soup or salad: healthy and tasty!
• Eat enough fats and use them in a smart way in combination with proteins and carbohydrates. The fats can create a buffer in your stomach so that the carbohydrates are not absorbed so quickly. People training for a marathon sometimes eat a large plate of white pasta without additives, this will lead to an increase in blood sugar. A small portion of (multigrain) pasta with minced meat, sauce and vegetables is such a balanced meal for most people.
• Eat about 20 grams of fiber a day. Fiber is a real concentrate for your microbiome and we now know that the microbiome is very important for your reaction to food. Think of vegetables and fruit (preferably fruit low in sugars). Note: there are also exceptions here. In some conditions, a lower amount of fiber can work better.
• Drink two liters of water a day and do not eat too much salt. Processed products usually contain a lot of sugar and salt and by avoiding them you kill two birds with one stone. Do you mainly eat unprocessed products? Then your amount of salt is probably okay!

Do you want to further optimize these general guidelines to which meals work best for you? Don’t wait any longer and start with Clear!