Losing weight is not as easy as it seems. Do I have to follow a diet? Reduce carbohydrates? Reduce fat? To clear up doubts, the University of harvard studied a few years ago effect of low fat diets to lose weight in the way that interests us most: in the long term.
For this they carried out a systematic review of randomized clinical trials that compared the long-term effectiveness of low-fat and high-fat diet interventions for weight loss.
In this way, the researchers, who published their results in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinologyconcluded that low-fat dietary interventions they are no more successful than those containing a high fat content in the goal of maintain weight loss for periods of more than one year.
Although the general dogma establishes that You have to reduce fat to lose weight, the available scientific evidence does not support this statement. This is explained by Deirdre Tobias, a Preventive Medicine researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, one of the centers involved in the work. “In fact, we found no data to support that any fat reduction helps with significant long-term weight loss. We must look beyond fat, carbohydrate and protein ratios to determine healthy eating patterns”explains Tobias.
For this reason, the researcher believes that it is necessary to find new strategies that help achieve an adherence to an eating pattern long term that helps prevent weight gain and maintain lifestyle habits healthy.
The study analyzed data from 53 studies with 68,128 participants that compared the difference in weight between two groups, one of them with dietary intervention. On average, participants in all groups only managed to lose and maintain just over 2.5 kilos for a year or a little longer. Furthermore, the final work determines that the Low-fat diets produced greater weight loss when They compared them with normal diets in which the participants did not change their eating habits.
The best diets for health
that the oKissism has become the pandemic of the 21st century It is not new news. The overweight rates and obesity they continue to rise without brake. More than an aesthetic issue, it is about take care of ourselves and achieve a healthy weight so as not to get sick.
Once we are clear that we must follow a balanced diet that includes almost all healthy foodss, without demonizing or banning any, and without large portions, what else should we do? The maximum less plate and more shoe It is more fashionable than ever. We must reduce our portions (because they are usually too large) and maintain as active a life as possible. And yes, we must not forget that the miracle diets can make us lose weight quickly but those kilos tend to come back with a few more in that yo-yo effect that we know perfectly.
From Harvard they impel us to ask ourselves How much weight should I lose to be healthy? Once we put it into figures, we must establish personalized goals and introduce the lifestyle changes that we need to reduce that weight and, above all, to maintain it. Once we have established this we need to focus on what is a healthy diet? In its report on diet and weight loss, Harvard University is clear: it is one in which we choose natural foods and leave aside processed foods and snacks.
Eating patterns for health and weight loss
Actually It is not about which diet is the healthiest, since there is no such thing. What it is about is adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes food and physical exercise. “These styles tend to have some things in common: to be based on vegetables and fruits, to use healthy fats, little salt and unrefined sugars, as well as natural flavors over the processed ones, more typical of Western diets,” he explains. the Harvard document. Additionally, adopting this type of diet and exercising can help lose weight smartly.
With these premises, the academic center suggests these dietary patterns:
Mediterranean Diet
What matters most when we talk about food is the set of all the foods we eat and the eating pattern we follow. The Mediterranean diet is so far one of the few eating styles with Proven and proven health benefits. Until now, the Mediterranean lifestyle, which includes physical exercise and social relationships, has shown that the Mediterranean diet helps reduce cardiovascular pathology – heart attacks and strokes – and reduces the probability of developing diabetes, breast cancer and preserves cognitive health. , among others. What do you have to eat to follow the Mediterranean diet?
DASH diet
Like the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet has scientific evidence behind it that supports its effect against hypertension. In fact, its acronym corresponds to the acronym of Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertensionwhich in Spanish would be translated as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
The DASH diet allows control high blood pressure and prevent hypertension reducing sodium in the diet and foods with saturated fats and increasing the potassium, calcium, magnesium and fiber content. Here we explain how to follow this eating pattern:
- Reduce the consumption of ultra-processed products.
- Consume 3 daily fruits and and 4 or 5 small servings of vegetables, preferably fresh.
- Add 6 to 8 daily servings of whole grains.
- High content in skim dairy (2 to 3 a day).
- Frequent consumption of fish and meat with little fat.
- Use less than 3 grams of salt per day for cooking.
- Take advantage of the spices and seasonings (parsley, fennel, paprika…) to enhance the flavor of foods.
- Limit saturated fats.
- Avoid soft drinks and stimulants.
- Take a week 4 to 5 servings of nuts and legumes.
MIND Diet
The MIND diet, according to Harvard University, combines the Mediterranean Diet and the DASH Diet. Not in vain is his name Mediterranean-DASH Intervention Diet for Neurodegenerative Delay (which means Mediterranean-DASH. Dietary intervention to delay neurodegenerative damage). The mixture of both patterns and, designed by doctors, seems to produce benefits for brain health and prevent or delay dementia and cognitive impairment. Although it is very similar to these diets, MIND places more emphasis on the consumption of green leafy vegetables and berries and less on fruit and dairy products.
Nordic Diet
The Nordic diet based on scandinavian eating patterns has become relevant as a way of maintain health and lose weight through diet, in addition to demonstrating in scientific studies its benefits to prevent ictus. Among the foods consumed in this Nordic diet, the following stand out:
- Fresh fish.
- Pears and apples.
- Cereals, such as rye and oats.
- Vegetables common in cold climates, such as cabbage, carrots and cauliflower.