Diet
Is the Atkins diet safe and effective?
There has been a fair bit of controversy with the Atkins diet, in particular because it is a diet that involves the ingestion of high saturated fats. In the vast majority of cases we do not recommend the Atkins diet, but it is true to say that I have experienced patients that have had benefits from the Atkins diet insofar as weight loss is concerned. They have managed to lose weight, but we haven't actually established whether there is a dangerous relationship between the Atkins diet and cholesterol levels, which is really our main concern.
Is organic food better for you than regular food?
Organic food is good for you, but it depends whether we have to compare it with food that carries noxious or toxic substances or other regular food. The importance of organic food is that, in theory, it does not carry any additives, chemicals or noxious substances and hence therefore, by definition, it is good for you. The difficulty is in establishing the degree and the levels of toxic substances in other foods, but in essence, obviously, we would recommend organic foods.
What is a balanced diet?
Diet is composed of a variety of essential groups of foods that you have to take. There are numerous foods that we either take in vastly excessive quantities or that we don't need at all. In essence, we have to consider four groups which are healthy to take everyday. Those include the dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurts), the protein-containing foods (meat, fish, or pulses), the fruit and vegetables which contribute fiber and numerous vitamins, and the cereals or bread products which will also contribute with fiber and other vitamins. One needs to take a little bit of each of those groups every day.
What is the best way to lose weight healthily?
The best way to lose weight is to maintain a healthy balanced diet as an everyday habit. In addition, you should introduce lifestyle changes such as reducing the amount of foods, that is to say calories that you take in everyday, increasing the amount of calories that you burn, and therefore increasing your exercise. You have to do that on a daily basis.
Is it sensible for children to diet to lose weight?
It is sensible for children to eat healthily. That means that implementing dietary changes in children has to be done in a way that you do not create a deficient nutritional intake. All that one needs to do with children is to reduce the intake of unhealthy foods. Those are usually high saturated fat foods, fast foods, sweets, and desserts. As soon as one does that with kids, if they maintain themselves on a healthy diet and a healthy, balanced eating program, they will inevitably, as they grow, proportionately lose weight. They may not necessarily lose absolute weight, but proportionately they will lose weight according to their height and therefore fall in line with the recommended criteria of weight for height.
What is bodymass index?
Body mass index is a figure that we have developed. It's a formula which gives us an index to tell us whether the weight is in proportion with the height of the patient. That means to say that we take their weight and we divide it by their height squared. In essence, it gives us a weight, the height squared measurement and we have an index from 20-25 which we consider to be an ideal range.
Are vitamin supplements worth taking?
Vitamin supplements are only worth taking in those patients who suffer a deficiency of certain vitamins. In a person who takes a normal, healthy, balanced diet, including sufficient vegetables, fruits, cereals, dairy products, and proteins; vitamin supplements should not be necessary. There are certain situations that will reduce the absorption of vitamins, for example, in patients who have chronic intestinal problems; they may well need vitamin supplements. In people who drink too much alcohol, for example, there will be a reduced absorption of vitamin Bs, particularly B1 and B6. So there are a number of medical reasons why certain types of patients might need vitamin supplements, and if in doubt, I think it's worth consulting with your doctor.
Is drinking red wine really good for you?
People who drink one or two glasses of red wine per day have a reduced mortality on patients that do not drink any wine at all, or patients who drink three or four glasses of wine a day. It is important to understand that drinking red wine can potentially be dangerous or subtlety not good for you. However, the statistics have shown that one or a maximum of two glasses of wine per day could possibly reduce mortality.
