A diet is whatever a person eats, regardless of the goal—whether it is losing weight, gaining weight, reducing fat intake, avoiding carbohydrates, or having no particular goal. However, the term is often used to imply a goal of losing weight, which is an obsession for many people.

Standard healthy diets for children and adults are based on the needs of average people who have certain characteristics:

• They do not need to lose or gain weight.
• They do not need to restrict any component of the diet because of disorders, risk, or advanced age.
• They expend average amounts of energy through exercise or other vigorous activities.

Thus, for a particular person, a healthy diet may vary substantially from what is recommended in standard diets. For example, special diets are required by people who have diabetes, certain kidney or liver disorders, coronary artery disease, high cholesterol levels, osteoporosis, diverticular disease, chronic constipation, or food sensitivities. There are special dietary recommendations for young children, but little guidance is available for other age groups, such as older people.

Spotlight on Aging

The best diet for older people has not been determined. However, older people may benefit from changing some aspects of their diet, based on the way the body changes as it ages. No changes are required for some nutrients such as carbohydrates and fats.

• Calories: As people age, they tend to be less active and thus use less energy, making it easier to gain weight. If they try to consume fewer calories to avoid weight gain, they may not get all the nutrients needed—particularly vitamins and minerals. If older people stay physically active, their need for calories may not change.
• Protein: As people age, they tend to lose muscle. If older people do not consume enough protein, they may lose even more muscle. For older people who have problems eating (for example, because of difficulty swallowing or dental disorders), protein can be consumed in foods that are easier to chew than meat, such as fish, dairy products, eggs, peanut butter, beans, and soy products.
• Fiber: Eating enough fiber can help counter the slowing of the digestive tract that occurs as people age. Older people should eat 8 to 12 servings of high-fiber foods daily. Getting fiber from foods is best, but fiber supplements, such as psyllium, may be needed.
• Vitamins and minerals: Older people may need to take supplements of specific vitamins and minerals in addition to a multivitamin. Calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12 are examples. Getting enough calcium and vitamin D from the diet is difficult. These nutrients are needed to maintain strong bones, which are particularly important for older people. Some older people do not absorb enough vitamin B12 even though they consume enough in foods because the stomach and intestine become less able to remove vitamin B12 from food or to absorb it. Older people with this problem can absorb vitamin B12 better when it is given as a supplement.
• Water: As people age, they are more likely to become dehydrated because their ability to sense thirst decreases. Thus, older people need to make a conscious effort to drink enough fluids rather than wait until they feel thirsty.

Older people are more likely to have disorders or take drugs that can change the body’s nutritional needs or the body’s ability to meet those needs. Disorders and drugs can decrease appetite or interfere with the absorption of nutrients. When older people see their doctor, they should ask their doctor whether the disorders they have or the drugs they take affect nutrition in any way.

Weight Loss Diets

Weight loss requires consuming fewer calories than the body uses. Losing ½ pound of fat by dieting requires 10 days of consuming 200 fewer calories or 5 to 7 days of consuming 400 fewer calories per day than the body uses. One pound of body fat stores about 3,500 calories.

Most conservative weight loss diets involve consuming at least 1,200 to 1,400 calories a day. When rapid weight loss is needed, fewer than 1,200 calories may be consumed, but only for a short time. Such diets often have too little of essential nutrients, such as protein, iron, and calcium. Consuming fewer than 800 calories does not increase the amount of weight lost and is harder to tolerate.

To be healthy, weight loss diets should provide about the same volume of food (by including more fiber and fluids) as the normal diet. They should also be low in saturated fat and sugar and include essential nutrients, including antioxidants. The following general guidelines may help people lose weight:

• Reading food labels: People learn what nutrients and how many calories food, including beverages, contains. Then, people can plan their diet more effectively.
• Counting calories: People keep track of the number of calories they eat. This strategy helps people control calorie intake.
• Choosing nutrient-rich, low-calorie foods: When fewer calories are consumed, getting the needed nutrients—particularly vitamins and minerals—is more difficult. So people should choose foods that contain many nutrients but not many calories. Whole-grain cereals and whole-grain breads that are fortified with vitamins are good choices. Fruits and vegetables that are deeply colored (such as strawberries, peaches, broccoli, spinach, and squash) tend to contain more nutrients than those that are less deeply colored.
• Eating small meals frequently: This strategy can help with weight loss for several reasons. Insulin levels usually increase after eating, and more insulin is produced when many calories are consumed, especially when the meal is rich in carbohydrates. High insulin levels promote the deposition of fat and increase appetite. Eating small, frequent meals prevents insulin levels from increasing, thus discouraging fat deposition and helping suppress appetite.
• Eating certain types of foods at certain times of the day: For example, fast-energy foods, such as carbohydrates, are best eaten when the body needs a large supply of energy—that is, in the morning and during vigorous exercise. The body’s need for energy is lowest at night, so avoiding carbohydrates in the evening may help.
• Using sugar and fat substitutes: Such substitutes and foods that contain them can sometimes help people reduce calorie intake. However, in some cases, sugar substitutes have effects on metabolism that slow the rate of weight loss.
• Exercising: Combining increased exercise with dieting greatly enhances weight loss because exercise increases the number of calories the body uses. For example, vigorous walking burns about 4 calories per minute, so that 1 hour of brisk walking per day burns about 240 calories. Running is even better, burning about 6 to 8 calories per minute.

Many people follow a specific diet to lose weight.

Did You Know…

• Regardless of the weight loss diet followed, people must consume fewer calories than the body uses to lose weight.

High Protein-Low Carbohydrate Diets: Diets high in protein and low in simple carbohydrates have become popular as a way to lose weight. Most of these diets usually also restrict fat because each gram of fat supplies so many calories. However, some high protein-low carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, do not restrict fat.

The theory behind these diets is that slower-burning energy sources—protein and fat—provide a steady supply of energy and thus are less likely to lead to weight gain. In addition, people tend to feel full longer after eating protein than after eating carbohydrates because carbohydrates empty from the stomach quickly and are digested quickly. Carbohydrates also stimulate insulin production, which promotes fat deposition and increases appetite. However, the reason that these diets cause weight loss appears to be that people tire of the foods allowed by the diet and thus consume fewer calories.

Read full article at: Loss Weight Diet

Loss Weight DietExplains how to cut calories and reduce fat in a diet. Recommendations on achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, and selection of low-calorie, reduced fat foods and beverages. Provides free diet information, and exercise plan, with an explanation of each phase including low carb diets, diet reviews, and other health information

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/diets-information-1458190.html

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