The Pros and Cons of Popular Diets

Here are the pros and cons of popular diets that you should know if you are planning to go on a diet at this time.

• O rnish Diet

In a randomized trial conducted, the participants were assigned to the Ornish diet for one year (and which demonstrate compliance), has marked weight loss, HDL cholesterol and C-reactive protein (Danson et al, 2005).

Pros: address both physical and emotional health / mental. While the Ornish diet encourages cardio and categorization of food, also encourage meditation to reduce stress and improve overall mental health. Proven to help reduce the risk of heart disease and have been successful in helping individuals achieve weight loss.

Cons: An Omega-3 supplements are needed to maintain a healthy heart. Adults who adhered to the Ornish diet for a year were found to have lower levels of vitamin D, increasing the risk of fractures.

• Mayo Clinic Diet

The Mayo Clinic Diet encourage heart healthy practices such as active living and healthy eating. They push the control portion size (mayoclinic.com), vegetables and fruits on top of carbohydrates and simple sugars, grains over white bread, and lean meats and good fats.

Pros: Helping people achieve and maintain weight loss, lowering cholesterol levels, reduce belly fat (which can be a risk factor for heart disease). Allow flexibility so that it can adapt to the lifestyle of a person.

Cons: According to the Mayo Clinic website, switching to this diet is an overall lifestyle change than a diet that you can "get away" for a few months. It may be difficult for some individuals and not have a high level of compliance, with many people relapse of their old eating habits.

• DASH diet

A study followed 412 participants randomly and their eating habits. The results showed that adherence to the DASH diet significantly reduced the sodium level of participants (DASH Collaborative Research Group, 2001).

Pros: Especially for those who are already diagnosed with hypertension to reduce the levels of sodium and cholesterol. Encourage exercise as part of the diet.

Cons: long-term lifestyle change as opposed to a strict diet. The lack of support for this diet can make it difficult for individuals to maintain compliance.

• Mediterranean Diet

A study comparing short-term and long-term effects of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular health in 772 people with high cardiovascular risk (researchers predimed, 2006). The results showed that, compared with a low-fat diet, the Mediterranean diet with olive oil and nuts have beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors (researcher predimed, 2006).

Pros: Improves cardiovascular health. Many of the foods that are included in this diet also contains antioxidants, which help reduce the risk of cancer.

Cons: It's not a structured plan, so that individuals who do not lead healthy lifestyles already may have trouble with portion control. This diet also encourages moderate consumption of wine, which can interfere with drugs, barriers, and religious beliefs.

• Vegan diet

Pros: The intake of plant-based diet has been linked to the prevention of chronic diseases, including hypertension (Chi et al, 2007). Cholesterol reduction has also been demonstrated in individuals who follow a low-fat vegan diet.

Cons: If not done correctly, the individual may have a severe deficiency of iron, protein, and calcium. Not following a low-fat vegan diet and only vegan diet can still allow individuals to choose foods that are high in saturated fat, and still allows for junk food.

While this diet has advantages and have shown that they can reduce their compliance risk of cardiovascular disease, the overall goal of all it is a lifestyle change. Choose everyday to make healthier choices and staying active is the best way to ensure the improvement of the overall quality of life and better heart health.