5 Diets You Shouldn't Try
Do you often find yourself asking the question "which diet is best for me?" There are many different diets and methods out there but one way to find out is to identify your goals. At Asken Diet, we built a free nutrition advice app to help guide users to better understand the food they are eating and learn how to improve their diet. Our calorie counting app allows you to scan the barcodes of all the food you've eaten, manually enter the food, or use a food database to automatically update your daily food intake. However, not all foods are listed in the food database, so it's important to monitor your intake. Remember, not all calories are alike. With Asken Diet, the team of licensed dietitians will give you free daily advice to make sure you are getting calories from a variety of healthy sources. Think: "Eat the rainbow" when it comes to eating a variety of vegetables and fruits. Those calories are the good kinds!
The Asken Diet app (available in the US and Canada iOS/Android app stores) originated in Japan under the name あすけん (pronounced "Asken") roughly translates to "Tomorrow's health" (明日健康). Our team believes in sustainable weight change by having a well balanced diet. We believe this is the healthiest diet for your body. Try to make small changes you will be able to sustain forever and aim for an eating pattern for life – which should be the one you can stick to in the long term, not just a quick fix you will inevitably give up on! Enjoy a rich variety of foods in appropriate portion sizes – moderation and keeping physically active are key.
Below are a list of worrying “diets” often championed by celebrities. We do not recommend these diets and want to educate readers about them.
Raw Vegan diet
What is it? This diet is out there in many versions but the premise is the same – go vegan and eat raw. It has been promoted as a cure for obesity and other disease.
Alkaline diet
What is it? Supporters of this diet believe that changing the foods they eat, consuming more alkaline and less acidic foods, will help change the pH balance of the blood and reduce health risks. Worryingly some wrongly claim it can treat cancer and that incorrectly ‘acidic’ foods cause osteoporosis.
The Bible diet
What is it? Eat only organic fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, meat and poultry for 40 days. No pork, processed foods, pastas or breads. Not only is this a pricey diet to follow, it also has the potential to limit key nutrients your body needs. Cutting down on processed foods is something we can get behind, but signing off on pasta, bread and pork isn’t necessary.
The Juice Cleanse
What is it? This diet recommends drinking liquids for 1-5 days. Must be low calorie and produce based. No solid food. Needless to say, your body needs more than juice to sustain itself. The results of a juice cleanse are often short lived and rebound weight is common.
Fad diets
What is it? When we see a celeb – looking fabulous and seemingly having a wonderful life – telling us that they did through the latest fad diet it can be very tempting to believe that it will be the magic bullet to change our lives too! The truth is most celebs have a busy team of professionals and assistants preparing their food, monitoring their exercise, picking their clothes, doing their makeup and making sure they always look their best.
Links that can help:
Asken Diet: www.askendiet.com/get
The British Dietetic Association (BDA): https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/top-5-worst-celeb-diets-to-avoid-in-2018.html
Spokesman: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/sep/01/dr-zorba-paster-a-more-plant-based-diet-supplement/
Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-diet-plans
Health US News: https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-diets-overall
Time: https://time.com/473/quiz-find-the-best-diet-for-your-personality/
Webmd: https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/ten-tips-for-finding-the-best-diet-that-works-for-you