Once the holidays are over, it's time to diet. After eating excesses, many put themselves on a diet and, to lose weight, rely on trendy diets, word of mouth and do-it-yourself. But what are the diets to follow and which ones to avoid due to their harmful effects on metabolism and health? Mauro Minelli, immunologist and professor of Fundamentals of dietetics and nutrition at Lum University, provides clarity.
“The term 'diet' must be understood as a lifestyle, or rather the set of food choices that have the aim of making us feel good and healthy – he states – To achieve this objective we must rely on professionals who take into account the data provided from scientific research, without giving in to the fashions of the moment It is essential to review your idea of diet – underlines the expert at Adnkronos Salute – by changing one's approach to food and one's eating habits, giving food back the right role of nourishment and not of an outlet for emotions, so as to be able to reduce the burden of neurosis, fears and hopes that surround our food choices in an almost obsessive way.”
Euphoria, irritability, sleep disturbances, mood instability are sensations often reported by people on a diet. As well as the dreaded 'yo-yo'. Effects that end up making the diet fail. “Constantly losing weight and gaining weight can have negative consequences, not only because it is very often associated with an increased risk of developing eating disorders – he explains – but, in particular, because it represents a real stress for our metabolism and for the cardiovascular system”.
How true is it that “conventional” slimming diets (few calories, few carbohydrates and lots of proteins) can paradoxically become fattening in the long term? “A slimming diet by definition imposes a caloric restriction, which will normally induce weight loss, more or less relevant, especially in the first period – replies Minelli – In this phase the organism tends to change its metabolism and therefore the amount of energy necessary to carry out all daily activities. If the calorie restriction has been particularly severe, the metabolism will continue to slow down and it will be difficult to continue losing weightas the body will tend to retain its fat reserves and burn less.”
But not only that, warns the expert. “As a consequence of this mechanism, when you return to a normocaloric diet you will see a sudden weight gain. Furthermore, it must be considered that the initial weight loss is minimally a loss of fat mass, while it mostly corresponds measures the loss of fluids and muscle mass. The latter is a much more metabolically active tissue than adipose tissue, and for this reason, a decrease in it will lead to a further slowing down of metabolism”.
“Unfortunately – he continues – the negative effects of a diet are seen in the long term. Think of very restrictive diets which are mostly based on a reduction in carbohydrates. Not just bread and pasta, very often fruit and vegetables are also sacrificed in slimming diets which are almost or completely absent, with the risk of incurring a state of deficiency of important minerals, vitamins and fibre, the latter being very important for our intestinal activity”.
“What's worse – he remarks – is that regimes structured in this way present an increase in the quantities of proteins and fats, turning into unhealthy and high-protein diets, despite not being in a condition of increased protein requirements as, for example, happens when practicing intense sporting activity. A diet of this kind followed for a long period can be harmful to the kidneys and can cause an increase in LDL cholesterol in the blood. Furthermore, scientific evidence is constantly increasing on the effects that diets rich in fats and animal proteins have on the intestinal microbiota.
These diets, followed for long periods, can determine the increase of particular bacterial species normally present in our intestine, such as Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria, which are highly inflammatory and can determine the appearance of intestinal pathologies and more“. Finally, the expert highlights that “it is not uncommon for an eating disorder to begin following the adoption of a weight-loss diet. In fact, the desire to lose more and more kilos can become an obsession, especially in the most vulnerable people and in those who decide to follow a diet completely independently, without the support of a nutrition expert.
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