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 The upsides on this diet is that it does do a fairly good job of promoting the eating of healthy foods. Further, there is a lot of science behind "functional foods" and their benefits. However, the science is still very much in its nascent stages in a lot of ways. The FDA, for example, has cautioned companies who make hype-filled claims about the benefits of certain foods. One example is Cheerio's and their claims about heart health when eating whole grain cereal (WebMD).

This "diet" would be fairly easy to adhere to but the results would entirely depend on the precise foods eaten because calorie counts can even be high on some fruits. Further, any diet program or spiel that actively suggests that increasing physical activity is not beneficial or required for good health should be treated with skepticism. Finally, caloric intake vs.

calories burned (at rest or during exercise) is the whole battle when it comes to losing weight, which is another reason why putting any "kibosh" on physical activity (which would generally burn more calories at rest or during the activity).