When it comes to nutrition and diets, the “bad guys” leading to diseases and to weigh gain seem like a rotating cast of characters. When I was young, it was all about fat. Over the years carbohydrates, sugar and lectin (to name a few) have been pinpointed as the culprits.
Since I have a major interest in nutrition and health, I pay close attention to the various theories. The only constant in my dietary experimentation is that I am a vegetarian. That said, you can figure out that keto, paleo and Dr. Gundry diets are problematic. Yes, they do encourage you to eat lots of vegetables and that is good! The problem comes in eating the required “healthy fats” and sufficient protein when you don’t eat meat.
Even when I decided to go ahead and eat eggs and dairy the resulting diet gave me great pause! How many eggs and how much cheese can one person consume?!?
David and I have tried different diets and have had different results. On a low carb diet like keto or paleo, David loses weight and feels more energetic. I, on the other hand, don’t lose weight, break into a rash and feel constantly slightly nauseated.
In spite of the drawbacks, I persisted on these diets for three months to see if I would start to feel better and lose some weight. I never did!
What I have learned from all this is that aside from staying away from sugar and processed foods, there aren’t really any constants. That food and how your body processes it is highly individual and very much related to your existing gut biota. David has always been a meat eater. I have always been a vegetarian. What works for him, doesn’t seem to work for me.
What works for me is a non-processed, whole food diet. Lots of organic/pesticide free vegetables, complex carbs, nuts, some fruit and a couple of eggs a week. I need to avoid sugar, dairy, processed foods including round up resistant GMO foods and too much sweet fruit. The biggest “bad guy” in my diet is the quantity of food I consume and when I consume it. Smaller portions and not eating after 4:00 pm make all the difference in the world. It’s what my body likes and responds to.