Avoid Fad Diets this January

When making diet-based New Year’s Resolutions, it’s common for people to opt for an overly strict regime to help ‘detox’ their body, stick to it rigidly for a few days, then give up entirely.

Strict diets might claim to rid your system of toxins, but in fact, your body does that job for you, working to break down what goes in, absorb the good, and excrete the not-so-good.  This is a constant process, meaning you’re detoxing all day long. So, you can start by leaving that job to your liver and kidneys.

So, what SHOULD we be doing to improve our health this January?

The seemingly never-ending supply of nutrition information in the media may trick you into thinking that good nutrition is a highly complex science. The truth is that despite the growing
number of complicated diets and superfoods on offer, the foundations of health
and nutrition are, in fact, relatively simple.

If you want to maintain optimal health, then the best approach is a balanced diet that focuses on:

• Prioritisation of high-fibre vegetables and wholegrains
• Plant-based fat sources
• High-quality protein
• Reduction in refined grains and processed foods

This means the more you can incorporate these foods into your diet, the more likely you will facilitate your weight loss and maintain good health. It also means no food or food group is off limits if you stick to the basic principles. This is far more achievable (and better for you) than a strict detox.