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Food pyramid
In my last article, Peggy asked if it was healthy to cut out of your diet things like carbs (Atkins,) sugars (zone,) or fats. This is a wonderful question and I'm glad she asked it.
From an evolutionary standpoint, humans are hunter gatherers. Five thousand years ago, our ancestors survived by eating both what they could kill as well as what they could gather/farm. The reason I point this out is that our bodies have been hardwired through thousands of years of evolution to need a wide variety of foods. It is good for our bodies to eat a variety of different fruits, vegetables, meats, etc.
Our bodies require many different proteins, enzymes, and fatty acids that we cannot naturally produce. We get these from eating animals or fruits and vegetables that have them. By not eating these different essential food items, our bodies cannot function properly. Many of these different food items you can skip without much notice, but they all have certain benefits. There is a big push right now for increasing your intake of fish oil to improve cardiovascular function. There are many alternative supplements available at your local pharmacy; however, you should consult your pharmacist or a nutritionist before beginning any of these therapies.
Now after all of that, to answer Peggy's question, no it is not good to cut out whole food groups from our diet. For just an example, the Atkins diet is very popular. By not eating carbs our body is forced to break down fat for energy. The problem with this is that the brain NEEDS carbs to function properly. The Atkins diet works very well to lose weight but you must be careful and do it exactly as the diet is outlined. By not following the specific guidlines of the Atkins diet, the increase in ketones produced from the breakdown of fats in our bodies not only can decrease brain function but also can damage the kidneys and liver.
The reason these diets are so popular is that if you can isolate an enemy and avoid it at all costs it is psychologically easier to follow. The thing that we really need to do when we want to lose weight is not eliminate a food group from our diet, but rather cut down our portions and eat more frequently as I mentioned in my last article.
Thank you again Peggy for the wonderful question and I hope I answered your question, even if I did take the scenic route to do so.
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