AIP, Paleo, Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, IIFYM, SCD… if these terms cause your head to spin, read on! I know that the plethora of popular diets being discussed on social media these days can be hard to keep track of and cause you to wonder what would be best for your personal health. Below I’ve briefly described some of these diets, their benefits and basic principals in an effort to help you wade through them. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but more of a quick summary of the various diets .
Paleo is a diet that consists of lean meat, seafood, healthy fats, nuts and seeds, vegetables and fruit. The diet is based on foods our ancient ancestors would have eaten (it is also called the caveman diet) and excludes food that would not have been familiar yet years ago like grains, legumes and dairy. The focus is on pasture-raised meat and eggs, wild caught seafood and organic fruits and vegetables. This diet is very anti-inflammatory. It uses healthy fats including avocados, olives, nuts and seeds and animal fats like egg yolks, lard, tallow, duck fat and butter. Attention is given to the way they are processed which allows them to remain nutrient dense even during the cooking process.
The Auto-Immune Protocol or Auto-immune Paleo (AIP) diet is similar to Paleo but it eliminates the foods that have components to them that can negatively affect your immune system and gut health. This diet allows you to have lean meat, seafood, healthy fats, vegetables and fruit but eliminates eggs, chocolate, nuts and seeds and nightshades. Night shades are members of the Solanaceae family, common nightshades include white (but not sweet) potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers, including chilies and bell peppers. The list also includes any spices made from peppers, like paprika, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper (although black pepper is a different plant). This diet is to help people suffering from auto-immune conditions.
A Vegetarian diet eliminates meat with other sub types like lacto-vegetarian which eliminates meat but eats dairy, ovo-vegetarian eliminates meat but eats eggs and lacto-ovo vegetarian which eliminates meat but eats dairy and eggs. There is also Vegan which eliminates meat and all animal products such as eggs, dairy and honey.
A Low Carbohydrate diet focuses on protein and fats. The most famous low carb diet is Atkins which is done in a four part process. Low carb diets don’t specifically discuss quality or quantity of food. Low carb diets are focused on counting the number of grams of carbs you have a day and sticking to a specific number to achieve weight loss or maintain a certain weight.
The Weight Watchers diet has assigned certain amount of points to food. Those with higher sugar or saturated fat have more points and foods with higher amounts of protein have less points. In this diet you get an allotted amount of points per day that you must stick to. There are no calorie restrictions and you can eat what you want as long as you stay in your target point range. This diet does not specifically discuss quality of food.
The Mediterranean diet encourages consumption of primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, replacing butter with fats such as olive oil and canola oil, using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods, limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month and eating fish and poultry at least twice a week. This diet limits saturated fat and protein.
If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) is a diet used by a lot of people who work out. This diet counts grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The diet focuses on meeting daily macronutrient (carbohydrates, protein and fat) goals instead of counting calories or demonizing certain macronutrients. This diet does not address quality of food, you could technically eat donuts and protein shakes all day and as long as it fits your macro nutrient count it would be acceptable.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) eliminates certain carbohydrates that can cause issues in the intestines. The diet is based on the principle that some carbohydrates require minimal digestion to be absorbed and will leave nothing behind to cause a microbial overgrowth in the intestine. Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and gluten therapy resistant Celiac are the consequence of an overgrowth and imbalance of intestinal bacteria. Specific Carbohydrate Diet also relies on properly fermented yogurt and sometimes probiotic supplements to help repopulate the gut with healthy intestinal bacteria.
The Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet was adjusted from the Specific Carbohydrate diet to fit the needs of patients suffering from a variety of intestinal and neurological conditions because of an imbalanced bacteria within the intestinal tract. It is most commonly used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, leaky gut, autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety and autoimmune disease. The GAPS Diet focuses on removing foods that are difficult to digest and are damaging to gut bacteria. It replaces them with nutrient-dense foods to give the intestinal lining a chance to heal. The diet has an emphasis on bone and meat broth. Foods that are eliminated are processed foods, grains, processed sugar, starchy carbs and potatoes, artificial chemicals and preservatives and conventional meat and dairy.
The FODMAPs diet is an abbreviation for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. These are compounds found in food that can be poorly absorbed by some people’s digestive tract. If they are not absorbed they can act as a food for the bacteria that live there normally. The bacteria will digest and ferment these FODMAPs and can cause symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). These symptoms can include abdominal bloating and distention, abdominal pain, nausea and changes in bowel habits.
Low Glycemic Index Diet or Diabetes Diet (GI) A glycemic index diet is based on how foods affect your blood sugar level. The glycemic index is a system of assigning a number to carbohydrate containing foods according to how much each food increases your blood sugar. The purpose of a glycemic index diet is to eat carbohydrates that are less likely to cause large increases in blood sugar levels. The diet is a means to lose weight and prevent chronic diseases related to obesity such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Common diets based on the glycemic index are the Zone Diet, Sugar Busters and the Slow-Carb Diet.
In the Weston A. Price
you eat whole, unprocessed foods including beef, lamb, game, organ meats, poultry and eggs from pasture-fed animals, wild fish (not farm-raised), fish eggs and shellfish from unpolluted waters. Full-fat milk products from pasture-fed cows, preferably raw and/or fermented, such as raw milk, whole yogurt, kefir, cultured butter, full-fat raw cheeses and fresh and sour cream are a part of this diet. It uses animal fats, such as lard, tallow, egg yolks, cream and butter liberally. It uses only traditional vegetable oils like extra virgin olive oil, expeller expressed sesame oil, small amounts of expeller expressed flax oil, and the tropical oils like coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil. Fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, are encouraged. It uses whole grains, legumes and nuts that have been prepared by soaking, sprouting or sour leavening to neutralize phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors and other anti-nutrients. Traditional sweeteners are allowed in moderation, such as raw honey, maple syrup, maple sugar, date sugar, dehydrated cane sugar juice and stevia powder. This diet is anti-inflammatory and focused on nutrient-dense foods.
I hope this gives you some clarification between some of the various diets out there. If you would like any verification on some other diets you have heard of please comment below.
I personally follow a blend of Paleo and the Weston A. Price Diet. I believe it is important to have balance and to consume nutrient-dense food. The source of the food and how it is processed is very important and can allow you to eat something incredibly nutritious or something that is void of nutrition completely. I also believe that not everything is good for everyone. For example, eggs are a very nutrient dense food and can be great for someone but at the same time be not good for someone who as an immune reaction or a food allergy. I believe that you just have to find what is right for you depending on the stage of health you are in and always do your research so that you can be informed and know exactly what you are putting into your body.
If you have questions or would like help creating a diet specifically for you, drop me an email, I would love to help!