7) THE MANY WEIGHT LOSS DIETS POSSIBLE
g) Radical Diets
The Ornish Diet™
The Ornish diet™ is a vegetarian diet and has a higher percentage of carbohydrates than the Pritikin diet™. We can't wholeheartedly recommend it for a person with diabetes. Ornish says it is OK to eat "unrefined grains", pasta and fruit anytime until you are full, this could be disastrous for some diabetics, depending on how one defines "unrefined grains", pasta and fruit. And he is one of the many that says calories don't mean anything, which we don't agree with. And he says to avoid fish, something we just can't agree with.
Refined carbohydrates (corn flour, flour, baked goods, sugar, rice, potatoes, bread) Banned Unrefined carbohydrates (high fiber carbohydrates) Unlimited Red meat (beef, pork, dark meat chicken, dark meat turkey) Forbidden Lean meats (fish, shrimp, white meat chicken, white meat turkey) Forbidden Unsaturated Vegetable Fats (flax seed, canola, Omega 3, plant sterols, olive oil) Forbidden Dairy Products Non-fat only Beans, Orange vegetables, peas, green beans Unlimited Fruit Unlimited Green Leafy vegetables Unlimited It is important with the Ornish diet™ to get the essential amino acids from non-fat dairy, egg whites (EggBeatersTM), soybeans and/or dark green vegetables.
From Wikipedia:
The Ornish Diet is a somewhat popular diet that was developed by Dean Ornish M.D. in his book Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease. It is a diet that is specifically formulated to reverse heart disease but has recently been used as a weight-loss program. This vegetarian diet emphasizes low-fat, filling foods, including legumes and other high-fiber choices.
The Ornish Diet is a very strict one. It places very strict limitations on all foods containing more than very slight amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat. Meat and fish are not allowed, although nonfat dairy products and egg whites are permitted in limited quantities. This diet promotes complex carbohydrates (fruit, grains, etc.) and limits simple ones (sugars, honey, alcohol.)
The most controversial part of the diet is its prohibition on nuts and fish, which some researchers claim actually protect the heart. The Ornish diet is 10% fat, 20% protein, and 70% carbohydrates. According to his book "Eat More, Weigh Less," the typical American diet is 40% fat, 20% protein and 40% carbohydrates. To complement his suggested diet, Dr. Ornish advocates physical activity and meditation.
Vegan Diets
"Vegans" eat only vegetables, grains, fruits and other plant derived foods. Vegans don't even eat eggs, non-fat milk or cheese, something which a "vegetarian" typically will eat. A carefully planned vegan diet can be very good for an individual with type 2 diabetes. A vegan diet will typically result in significant weight loss, unless a person really piles on the vegetable oils and the refined carbohydrates. A vegan (pronounced Veeegan) diet is good from the standpoint that it is very easy to learn the "rules" and follow it the rest of one's life. It is very simple and it will almost invariably result in significant weight loss and the weight will remain off. You don't see overweight vegans!But if anyone decides to try the vegan diet, it is important to research it carefully, as there are certain essential amino acids (the building blocks for proteins in the body) which are relatively common in meat, eggs and milk but rare in vegetarian sources. There are nine amino acids required for humans which the human body cannot synthesize. Some of these amino acids are absolutely essential for good health and only found in a few vegan food sources. Soybeans and leafy green vegetables such as spinach are relatively complete, with all nine essential amino acids. Grains are low in amino acids over-all and lack the essential amino acid lysine. Beans and peas are relatively good sources of protein but lack an essential amino acid called methionine. Note most vegans and some nutritionists feel that such "protein balancing" is unnecessary and a vegan need only eat a "varied diet" to thrive. Note also that even vegans need to avoid refined carbohydrates and fried foods such as eggplant fried in vegetable oil. Vegans also need to realize that potato chips are typically deep fried in animal fat.
One vocal proponent of the vegan way is a doctor who has written many books on the benefits of eating a vegan diet. This doctor claims that a vegan diet can improve and reverse a diabetic's condition to the point where the diabetic no longer needs drugs. ANY diet in which there is significant weight loss in a person with type 2 diabetes can, in some cases, remove the requirement for drugs, including insulin. But caution must be exercised. Only when weight loss and exercise have worked their magic and only after consulting with a medical doctor should medication be eliminated (typically when A1c is less than 5.5 on minimal amounts of medication).
This vegan proponent also claims that there are vegan foods which remove calories from your body, so called "negative calorie" foods. There are no such foods. This doctor obviously believes very strongly in his position that the "vegan" way is the way to perfect health. And he has published a whole series of "research articles" which have been picked up and written up by the press. There is an obvious problem with this research. Any research team should be unbiased, they should NOT believe strongly in their position. We have been unable to find any statistically significant, unbiased, multi-center research which supports the "vegan" diet as being capable of "reversing" type 2 diabetes or any good research which shows a "negative calorie" effect from any vegetarian foods. Animal lovers and such animal rights organizations as PETA can be very vociferous in their support of the vegan diet and this set of beliefs tend to cloud research efforts.
It should be noted that the human body is obviously made to eat both meat and vegetables. The length of the small intestine is the major clue. The length of the small intestine in a rabbit is very long; it takes a lot of time to digest the vegetable matter it eats. And a rabbit typically eats its own fecal matter, doubling the effective length of its intestine. A wolf has a short small intestine; it doesn't take long to digest the meat it eats. The length of a human's small intestine relative to body length is close to a wolves but longer relative to body mass, indicating humans were largely carnivorous but also herbivores in Paleolithic times. This would argue against a completely vegan diet. For individuals with type 2 diabetes, there is a lot to be said for a "vegan/fish" diet where only fish is added, especially if that fish includes salmon and albacore tuna and if that diet avoids refined carbohydrates. If egg and non-fat dairy are added and high fructose fruit is removed from a "fish/vegan" diet the result is very close to what we recommend for a "Moderation Diet".
Current Chapter: 7) The Many Weight Loss Diets Possible
a) Diets: Which One is the Best?
b) The "Hunter Gatherer Diet"
c) Moderation Type 2 Diabetes Diet
d) Good Diets
e) Reasonable Diets
f) Helpful Diets
g) Radical Diets
h) Diets We do not Recommend
i) Fad Diets and Pills
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