What is a diet?
A few years back, I read an article that said that diets don't work. I say that diets do work but before getting into the debate, we should clarify the word "diet". In the simplest of terms, it is "what you eat". In the other definition of the word, "diet" could mean that you are changing what or how much you eat by "going on a diet". These things are usually designed to make some quick (hopefully) short-term changes in your weight and size. You might do this to fit into a dress or to look better in a suit for a wedding or a reunion. Making sense so far?
What does nutrition have to do with it?
I have studied nutrition since 1979, by reading various books, articles and having discussions with physician friends. Most physicians study little or nothing about nutrition, as one orthopedist admitted to me. I also have been eating my whole life. I've been skinny. I've been a little overweight at times, too. It isn't a real struggle for me. I made A's in chemistry and in other sciences (biology) and have even done some structural engineering, so I have a pretty good grasp on at least three components of what affects weight: chemistry, biology, and physics. Engineering is an applied form of physics and all the concomitant laws of physics, biology, and chemistry do apply to this thing called "diet". My nutritional studies were mostly regarding vitamins, minerals, and foods. Nutrition has a lot to do with diet, in that you do require vitamins and minerals, which are bio-available or easily assimilated to get the greatest benefits of those, all the way down to a cellular level. We won't get down to that extent in this specific article, however. Nutrition can help keep you or get you healthy or "healthier". If you are undernourished or malnourished, your body may crave food, trying to become better nourished.
Why or how is it that diets do work?
In the simplest of terms, the old acronym GIGO from the beginnings of computing (garbage in=garbage out), applies to diet. Think of diet as your eating lifestyle. If you take in more calories than you use, you may gain weight. The opposite is also true. If you are taking in fewer calories than you are burning up, you may lose weight. The long-term effect is what reveals which is occurring. People do not stay the exact same precise weight day after day and month after month.
Let's forget about diet as a short-term thing or a quick fix. Let's look at diet as how you live your life in terms of food and nutrition intake and in how active you are, or are not.
I've read studies about people who crave foods when they are lacking in nutrition. I even heard a biochemist say that if a person were to get the RDA or MDR (recommended daily allowance or minimum daily requirement) of vitamins and minerals from solely what they eat, that he or she would weigh over 300 pounds. Now, is this true? I don't know if it has been put to a true scientific test. I do know that my orthopedist friend stated that there is little or no scientific evidence to support things as simple as the joint benefits of taking chondroitin sulfate or glucosamine. I know that he took those, though, since he told me so.
In scientific studies of diet, nutrition, exercise, eating habits and weight, it is very difficult to monitor human beings 24/7. People tend to lie and cheat about what they eat or don't eat. You cannot monitor them 24/7 because they won't allow it and they are not usually committed to being subjects of science. Therefor, we are resigned to statistics, and tendencies, all of which are not necessarily quantifiable. What we do know is that some people are skinny, some are not, and some are overweight, some dangerously so.
We now know that being overweight may contribute to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or at the very least, living a life, which is less than happy and for a myriad of reasons.
DIETS DO WORK!
They do work in that, the results of your diet, what you eat and if and whether you exercise will show up on a Body Mass Index, on your scale, or how you look and feel in your clothes. If you want to make any changes or improvements in diet, there are some ideas and suggestions growing in a brand new online magazine about how people maintain or build health or a healthier lifestyle. It is brand new and we will grow with you, hopefully in the most healthy way!
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