Celebrate National Nutrition Month - The no fad diet way
March is one of the best months of the year for a dietitian. Designated as National Nutrition Month, March is the time to give special attention to a subject we know best...nutrition. Read on to learn more about National Nutrition Month, this year's theme for the month, and the importance of giving nutrition a little attention. The origination of National Nutrition Month
In 1973, the first National Nutrition Week campaign was launched featuring the theme "Invest in Yourself - Buy Nutrition." The American Dietetic Association was exuberant about having a nutrition week established. Finally, a time was created to recognize nutrition professionals as well as promote healthy eating to the public.
Within a few years, the response to National Nutrition Week had exploded and the public's growing interest in nutrition and health boosted the expansion from "Week" to "Month". Thus, in 1977, National Nutrition Month was born, along with events, advertisements, and a different yearly theme message for the consumer to absorb and learn.
The 2007 theme for the month is ... 100 percent fad free
The campaign for this year's National Nutrition Month was designed to focus our attention on the importance of making informed food choices and develop sound eating and physical activity habits. Too often people adopt the latest fad diet and use that as an eating guideline, instead of focusing on a well rounded healthy eating plan that will ultimately prove to be more successful. The 100 percent fad free theme was also created to teach individuals HOW to spot a fad diet.
The origination of fad diets
Fad diets have been around for years and years (remember the Grapefruit Diet and the Cabbage Soup diet?) and continue to grow in number. There are literally hundreds of different diets that have at one time or another been promoted as the best approach to losing weight. Unfortunately, most of them, in their efforts to succeed, involve omitting certain foods, and sometimes even entire food groups. Fad diets take form in many ways: low fat, low carbohydrate, high-protein, or focusing on one particular food, i.e. the grapefruit.
These diets typically lack major nutrients such as fiber and carbohydrates, as well as selected vitamins, minerals, and protective phytochemicals, such as antioxidants. Long term, by not receiving the proper amounts of these nutrients, you may develop serious health problems later in life.
How to spot a fad diet
While there is no set approach to identifying a fad diet, many fad diets have one or more of the following characteristics:
n Promises a quick fix - usually suggesting a weight loss of 5-10 pounds per week.
n Holds claims that sound too good to be true
n Lists dramatic statements made by "so-called" physicians or specialists
n Eliminates one or more food groups
n Recommends pills, or other products that must be purchased
n Gives lists of "good" and "bad" foods
n Recommends severely restricting calories - often below 1,200 per day
n Promotes a food or drink as being able to "increase metabolism" or "melt the pounds away"
n Claims that the diet plan will produce weight loss without needing to exercise.
What to do?
When deciding upon a weight loss plan to follow, read through the plan or information very carefully. Use your common sense and avoid diets that have one or all of the "fad characteristics. To lose weight successfully, good health should be your foremost priority.
Devote yourself to a lifestyle that includes eating a well-balanced diet, watching portion sizes, and plenty of physical activity. For more information on following a healthy meal plan, log on to www.mypyramid.gov
Celebrate National Nutrition Month by taking a good look at your current diet. Is it well-balanced? Are you drinking enough water? Are you consuming too many items high in fat or sugar? Are your portion sizes too large? Are you getting daily physical activity?
For help with any of these questions, seek the assistance of a Registered Dietitian in your area. Registered Dietitians are qualified in the area of diet and nutrition and will work with you to develop an individualized meal plan to meet your needs and lifestyle.
- Carrie Cassens, registered dietitian, KSB Hospital, Dixon
