DIET
Dark side
of the spoon – what to do when seemingly sensible diets (like raw, vegan, or paleo) don’t work
Paleo. Raw. Vegan. 80/10/10. 5/2. Sugar-free. Dairy-free. Low fat. Low carbohydrate. Low calorie. Not working? Whatever the diet, research shows that 95% of people who go on a diet for weight loss reasons will regain any weight lost – usually plus some. by Casey Conroy
THE FAILURE OF DIETS Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve probably heard of some or all of the above approaches to eating. And if you’re holistic-health minded, you’ve probably tried (or have friends who have tried) one or more of these. To be honest, I’ve seen people benefit
greatly from each of these diets, at least initially. And when that happens, it’s awesome. New paleo-ists scrapping refined sugars and balancing out their blood sugar levels. People who incorporate more raw salads into their diets on their way to becoming raw foodists. Very sick people who stop eating red meat and watch their cancer disappear. The bone I want to pick with these
approaches is that, despite the many promises their proponents claim, and despite the success stories, there
10 MARCH 2017
are still failures. Nothing is 100% successful, especially in the long run. I’ve seen diets fail enough times to
want to say something about it. Despite the success stories, supporting science, and evidence around each of these diets, they often fail miserably. And when they do fail, people are left
confused, thinking it’s them who failed and not the diet, when really, it’s the other way around.
HARD TO STICK TO Everyone knows that restricting calories, fat, or carbohydrates may work in the short term, but is very, very rarely sustainable. One study comparing the Atkins (low carbohydrate predecessor of the paleo diet), Ornish (high carbohydrate, low fat), Weight Watchers (restricted calorie), and zone diets (low carbohydrate) found that, after one year,
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