Does Alternate Day Dieting Really Work?
by www.SixWise.com
Alternate day dieting -- which involves eating whatever you
want one day, only to cut your caloric intake down to about
20-50 percent of its normal value the next -- is fast becoming
one of the most popular trends in eating since The Atkins
or South Beach diets.
|
With alternate day dieting, you don't have to choose
between "good" foods and "bad" ones
-- all foods are up for grabs on your "up"
day.
|
The idea is simple. By eating just a fraction of what you
normally would every other day, you compensate for the days
in between when you eat normally, or even indulgently. Many
people do this inherently, making up for a "bad"
weekend of eating by cutting back in the beginning of the
week.
A sample meal-plan on the alternate day diet (also sometimes
called up-day, down-day dieting) would include eating whatever
you want on Monday, followed by a meager 500 to 600 calories
on Tuesday -- made up perhaps of one protein shake, a salad,
a piece of fruit and some broth-based soup.
But are there real benefits to doing this simple concept
on a long-term basis?
According to plastic surgeon James B. Johnson, M.D., author
of the forthcoming book The
Alternate Day Diet, yes.
The Potential Benefits of Alternate Day Dieting
The diet's premise came from an animal study published in
the May 2003 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
that found animals fed every other day experienced health
benefits, more so even than mice fed 40 percent less than
normal every day.
Of course, most people are not keen on the
idea of fasting every other day, so this diet is an adaptation
of this. Still, studies suggest that alternate day dieting
may:
-
Help you lose weight (Johnson himself says he lost 35
pounds after following the diet for three months). One
study published in the October 2007 issue of the Journal
of Lipid Research, actually found that alternate-day
fasting, or even just eating half as much on alternate
days, shrank fat cells, which may protect against obesity
and type 2 diabetes.
-
Reduce oxidative
stress in your body, which is one of the leading causes
of chronic disease and aging.
-
Activate your "longevity gene." This gene, known as SIRT1, may help
to reduce inflammation,
lower free radical stress, improve insulin resistance,
and generally help you to live longer.
|
Many studies have found that restricting calories can
help you to lose weight, prevent disease and live longer.
|
-
Help to prevent disease. For instance, a study by Johnson,
published in Free Radical Biology & Medicine,
found that people with asthma had a significant reduction
in their symptoms after two weeks on the diet.
Are There Any Downsides?
While many experts appear to be on board with this new diet
plan, some point out that more research needs to be done to
evaluate whether alternate day dieting really results in weight
loss and disease prevention.
There is also a potential problem with what people eat on
their "up" diet day, or the day when they eat what
they want. Assuming you eat a healthy range of foods on this
day, you'll probably make out just fine. But for those who
use it as an excuse to binge solely on junk food, there's
a good chance that you'll end up with nutrient
deficiencies.
And then there's the camp that says dieting
of any kind is not ideal for your health or your weight.
According to a two-year study published in the June 2005
issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association,
if you're looking to achieve long-term health improvements,
behavior changes and self-acceptance are more effective than
dieting any day of the week.
Recommended Reading
Five
Diet Foods That are (Far) Worse Than What They're Replacing
Are
You Ready for Mediterranean Food to Make a Big Splash in the
U.S.?
Sources
ChicagoTribune.com
February 26, 2008
Science
Daily September 22, 2007
The
Independent June 18, 2006
Johnson
Upday Downday Diet