Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Don't Die(t)

By Anant Mathur (May 6, 2014)

Of late I've noticed that a lot of different types of diets are being written about. The list includes: the 80:10:10 diet, Beverly Hills Diet, Cabbage soup diet, Grapefruit diet, South Beach diet, Gluten-free diet, Eat Like A Bird diet, The Cookie diet, Shangri-La diet, Baby Food diet and even one called the Purple Food diet (where you eat food that's purple coloured). These are just a handful of diets hundreds more exist with weirder and whackier names than these.

I'm not an expert on dieting but in my research for this post I did discover that unless you're training to be a bodybuilder, model, athlete, entertainer or are in a profession which requires you to have a six-pack, there's really no need to diet and exercise excessively. Recent studies have shown that overweight people who are physically active and physically fit actually live longer than people who are slim but are not physically active. Of course there are extreme situations; if a person purposely overeats on a regular basis, drinks excessively or enjoys being a couch potato - obviously, they're not going to have a long or healthy life.

I actually knew someone who was perfectly healthy had a healthy diet, exercised regularly and had a stress free life - still he had a heart-attack at the age of 36 and died. I also know many overweight people who've lived long healthy lives past their 80s and 90s.

The one thing to remember is that in moderation most foods and drinks are not bad for you. If you have junk food 5 times a day on a daily basis, that's going to cause problems. But, if you have junk food once a month it shouldn't be an issue for most people (there are always exceptions though, for example someone might be allergic to peanuts). The same goes for drinking - doctors say a drink a day is actually good for you, but if you drink 10 beers a day that's going to hurt you.

The best diet is one where you respect your body and keep healthy by eating in moderation. There are lots of delicious foods and drinks out there and I think it would be a crime not to be able to have them. The key again is moderation, don't overdo it and you'll be fine.

DISCLAIMER: The above post is meant for entertainment purposes only; readers shouldn't take it seriously or interpret it as advice.

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