Functional Food Fad Diet

Fad Diet

Premise/Theory: Functional foods are all the rage nowadays. As such, a fad diet that focuses on those functional foods, which are usually fruits and vegetables (or involve them to some degree) would be a great cornerstone for a fad diet. The diet will be known as the "Functional Foods Diet."

Dietary Recommendations/Guidelines: A person who wants to partake in the Functional Foods Diet just needs a litany of what are known as functional foods and a blender. In practice, it will break down like this:

The meal system will basically mimic that of Slimfast in that a person will have a functional food "smoothie" for breakfast and then another one for lunch.

The person will then need to eat a responsible dinner to close out each day.

For snacks, people can eat low-calorie fruits and vegetables like carrots or a small salad. Again, there will be focus on functional food. For example, a functional food would include tomatoes so one could include cherry tomatoes on a salad.

The functional foods diet can be used in the regular meal portion of the day as well. One can even have the occasional glass of wine and not run afoul of the functional foods diet.

According to Cherry Creek Nutrition, the ten best examples of functional foods would be as follows:

Omega-3 Enriched Eggs

Oats

Fatty Fish

Fortified Margarines

Soy-Functional Components

Any sort of tomato product

Any sort of probiotic (e.g. yogurt)

Nuts

Grape Juice/Red Wine

Leafy Greens (Cherry Creek Nutrition)

As can be seen above, there are a lot of different options. However, the smoothies will be the cornerstone of the diet and that will obviously involve fruits and vegetables in particular. In particular, the diet would be rich in beneficial substances such as the following (along with examples of what fruits or vegetables contain them):

Beta-carotene -- Carrots, various other fruits

Lutein & Zeaxanthin -- Kale, collards, spinach, corn, eggs and citrius

Lycopene -- Tomato products of any sort

Flavanones -- Citrus fruits

Flavanols -- Onions, apples, teas, broccoli

Proanthocyandins -- Cranberries, cocoa, apples, strawberries, grapes, wine, peanuts and cinnamon

Sulforaphane -- Cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and horseradish

Caffeic Acid/Ferulic Acid -- Apples, pears, citrus fruits and a few vegetables

Whole grains -- Cereal grains (Food Insight)

Rules & Benefits

People on this diet should lose one to two pounds a week or more

Individual results will depend on how much "cheating" occurs and overall caloric intake

High-sugar drinks like sodas and sweets should not be consumed in any quantity except very sparingly.

If you follow the general rules, you should not have to count calories

You should lose weight even if you do not change your level of physical activity

Not only will you lose weight, but you will become healthier overall. Your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes will all go down.

It is very easy to stay on this diet -- but you have to want to stick to it

The foods needed for the diet are not specialty and will not cost a great deal of money.

Don't be fooled by the pre-prepared meal plans and other fad diets. They over-charge you and with this diet, you control the menu, where you shop and the precise foods you eat, within a few healthy limitations.

Part II & III