Healthy Diets of Atkins and Vegetarian - Literature review Example

Which is better: Atkins or Vegetarian This paper is a study and comparison of two popular forms of diets with the purpose of finding out which one isbetter for a prolonged and healthy life. The paper has three parts. The first part is a discussion of basic concepts such as the human body, how it works, the purpose of nutrition, and the importance of health and how the human diet affects all these. Second, the two different forms of diets are analysed, studied, and compared in a more detailed manner, using available scientific evidence to support the arguments used. The third and last part summarises the findings and helps arrive at a verdict as to which diet would result in a prolonged healthy life. Basic Concepts The human body is a complex, living, biological organism that is sustained by nutrients for its continued survival. Without these nutrients, the body breaks down from weakness and disease and eventually dies. Like any living organism, the human body has to be cared for by providing it with the means to maintain the energy it needs to keep its biological functions working. Everything that the human body can do - seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, thinking, moving, reproducing, and so on - would depend on how well its smallest unit called the cell is nourished and maintained. Since the human body consists of some 60 trillion cells (Dunne, 2002, p. 135) that are grouped together into organs, each with its own function and purpose, the whole body will be healthy and able to live for a long period of time if the cells in the body are kept in good working condition. This is what nutrition is supposed to do, to keep each cell healthy and functioning properly. Nutrition provides the body with nutrients that are chemical substances necessary to keep the cell, and therefore the body, alive. There are six types of nutrients: carbohydrates, fats (or lipids), proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Each nutrient participates in at least one of the following functions: providing energy to the body, building and repairing body tissue, and regulating bodily processes. Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats supply energy. Proteins also build and repair body tissues with the help of vitamins and minerals. Vitamins, minerals, and water help regulate the different body processes such as circulation, respiration, digestion, and elimination of waste. Each nutrient is important and none works alone. Nutrients come from the food we eat, which the body must process before they can be used. What is known as nutrition is the whole series of processes where the body takes in and uses food for growth, development, and maintaining good bodily health. These processes - digestion, absorption, and metabolism - are very important and also need nutrients in order to be carried out properly. Nutrition therefore includes the whole range of activities that starts with the food we eat (our diet), the nutrients contained in the food, and the process of digestion, absorption, and metabolism that break down the nutrients in our diet into chemicals that are sent to all the different cells in the human body. If we want the body to stay healthy, the whole nutrition process must be healthy. This begins with having a healthy diet or food intake. What is a healthy diet This is what doctors, scientists, and health experts have been doing research all these years to determine. Several research studies show that what for us would be a healthy diet depends on many factors, such as our bodily state, age, level of activity, our lifestyles, the antibodies we have developed in our immune systems, and even the way we were nourished when we were still in our mother's womb and our cultural background (different people prefer potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, or noodles with their meat). There are countless definitions of what a healthy diet is. What may be healthy for bush men in the forests of Africa and Papua New Guinea (fresh worms, raw tuber roots, and boiled fish) may not be healthy for a young student living in Europe, and vice versa. While eating moderate amounts of steak and ice cream would not give us any health problems, asking forest people to do the same would probably end up shortening their lives. In recent years, there have been hundreds of so-called fad diets with names such as the South Beach, Mediterranean, or Zen-Macrobiotic diets, which are basically different plans and combinations of the six (or less) nutrient intakes. Of the many diets that vary in adoption depending on the latest publicised findings, we can analyse two of the more popular ones: the Vegetarian Diet and the Atkins Diet. Two Forms of Diets Vegetarian Diet There are several types of vegetarian diets, but the common factor amongst them is that they do not include red meat. Some include eggs, others allow fish, some milk, and some even allow certain types of poultry. When carefully planned, vegetarian diets can be nutritious and can even contribute to a reduction of obesity, reduced risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, some cancers, and even diabetes. Since all the needed nutrients can be found in plants, fruits, and vegetables that are allowed in vegetarian diets, a properly planned vegetarian diet can result in improving one's health. The virtue of a vegetarian diet is that it allows for all the nutrients that are found in natural food to be eaten. Unlike many other diets (such as Atkins) that require total abstention or low quantities of certain foods with their corresponding nutrients intake, the vegetarian diet is flexible and healthy. Vegetables are classified into four groups: green and leafy, yellow, starchy, and legumes. These are rich in carbohydrates, dietary fibre, vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K, and the minerals iron, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, and sometimes even molybdenum. Fruits are part of the vegetarian diet and are a rich source of vitamins A and C, potassium, magnesium, iron, carbohydrates, and dietary fibre. The natural sugars in fruits, called fructose, are also a good source of energy. However, like other foods, fruits must also be taken in moderation (Thomson, 2005; Jenkins et al., 1993). Most vegetarian diets are also low in fat, which normally comes from meat, fish, and poultry that some vegetarian diets allow. However, oil from olives or other fruits such as coconut is a good source of the fat needed by the body as a way of providing stored energy. How healthy is the vegetarian diet Several research studies have shown that a strict vegetarian (but not vegan) diet without meat, poultry, or fish intakes has been found to result in moderate weight loss, relief of rheumatoid arthritis, and a lower tendency of coronary heart diseases. In fact, in the same experiments, the vegan diets had a lower positive impact in terms of health benefits than the typical vegetarian diet, which can include milk, cheese, and eggs (Adebawo et al., 2006; Skldstam et al., 2005; Melby et al., 1989). Another benefit of vegetarian diets is the presence of dietary fibre found in the skins of fruits and the leaves and stems of vegetables and legumes. Dietary fibres are indigestible parts of plants that absorb water in the large intestine, helping to create soft, bulky stool. It is believed that dietary fibre binds cholesterol in the colon, helping rid cholesterol from the body, and also brings down blood glucose levels (Famodu et al., 1998; Adler et al., 1997; Skldstam, 1986; Margetts et al., 1986; Royse et al., 1983; Burslem et al., 1978). . Cholesterol is one of the chemicals that can accumulate in the circulatory system (veins and arteries) and if these break off, the small bits can cause strokes or, if they clog the arteries, result in hardening them or totally clogging them up, causing thrombosis and heart attacks. Glucose is a simple carbohydrate that acts as an energy source. Blood glucose levels that are abnormally high or low pose a danger to the body - too much energy stored as fat or too low energy levels that lead to fatigue or weight loss - so a high dietary fibre intake can keep the glucose level balanced (Kannel, 1996; Fowkes et al., 1993). Some strict vegetarians, called vegans, totally avoid eating foods from animal sources such as milk, honey, and gelatine and do show deficiencies of calcium, vitamins A, D, and B12, and of course, proteins. A major danger of vegetarian diets is vitamin B12 deficiency, since this is found only in animal proteins. This deficiency can cause forms of anaemia characterised by low counts of mature red blood cells as the bone marrow fails to produce them. High levels of folic acid contained in vegetables and fruits such as orange juice and strawberries can mask a B12 deficiency (Gupta et al., 2004) that can be addressed by taking yeast extract, fortified bread and cereals, and supplements rich in vitamin B12 (FSA, 2007). Atkins Diet Dr. Robert Atkins invented his diet (hereafter, The Atkins) in the 1970s as a revolutionary low-carbohydrate diet (Atkins, 2002). The Atkins allows unlimited quantities of meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and other high-fat, high-protein foods with low quantities of carbohydrate intake, no more than 20 grams in the first two weeks, gradually adding 5 grams each week until a maximum of anywhere from 40 to 90 grams of daily carbohydrate intake is reached. This is much lower than the 500 grams needed to supply the minimum of 2,000 kilocalories1 daily requirement recommended by health experts. The Atkins also limits the intake of healthy fruits, vegetables, breads and cereals that are all high carbohydrate sources, leading followers of the diet to eat more red meats, fats, and proteins. To compensate for the low intakes of food that are rich in other vitamins and minerals, followers of the Atkins diet need to take food supplements which have not really been proven to be effective substitutes to the natural sources of nutrients (Hart et al., 1999; Haapanen-Niemi et al., 1999). All these contribute to the diet's controversial nature, not only because the allowed foods put the body at risk of heart disease and cancer. Meats and fats are rich in cholesterol, whilst "unlimited" intake of these cancer-inducing foods and low (or almost zero) intake of cancer-preventing fruits and vegetables seem like the perfect condition for developing cancer cells. The Atkins emphasis on a low-carbohydrate diet as the secret to weight loss and a prolonged healthy life also goes against actual experience in other countries with high carbohydrate diets and high life expectancy, such as China and Japan (Ornish, 2004). In practice, however, recent scientific studies (Stern et al., 2004; Foster et al., 2003; Duggirala et al., 2003) showed that the Atkins diet improved several heart disease indicators, bringing down serum triglyceride and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and increasing HDL (good) cholesterol levels as compared to those who followed a low-fat, low-calorie diet. Besides, at the end of one year, both groups achieved similar levels of weight loss, over the long-term the supposedly dramatic benefits of the diet do not hold up, and the diet is seen to pose risks of bone loss, acidic urine, and the formation of kidney stones. There is a website dedicated to alerting the public of the dangers of following the Atkins diet, but unless there are more long-term research studies (the major studies cover only from 6 to 12 months), we can never be certain (Gardner et al., 2007; Beisswenger et al., 2005; Layman et al., 2005). Another significant finding from these scientific studies involving the Atkins diet is that the low-carbohydrate diet resulted in a lower calorie intake that could have been the main cause of the weight loss effect. Its critics therefore noted that rather than the low carbohydrate feature of this diet, it was the decreased caloric intake which became the key factor that led to weight loss. The low caloric intake may be due to the fact that most people find it difficult to stick to highly restrictive diets, more so if these are not appetising to take. As several have experienced, taking high-fat, high-protein meals without getting enough starchy and sweet food sources affect the appetite (van Heel et al., 2005; Nordmann et al., 2006; Truby et al., 2006; Zarraga et al., 2006; Maki et al., 2007; Heymsfield et al., 2007). Healthy Eating: Go Vegetarian Considering the available evidence on these two popular diets, it seems that the Vegetarian is healthier and more appetising than the Atkins and would help one to live a prolonged and healthy life. It would be better not to go for the strict Vegan diet that exposes one to vitamin B12 deficiency. The flexibility and variety of the vegetarian diet and its weight loss effect are additional factors that would appeal both to young and old alike to try it. However, how one eats is also as important as what one eats. Gorging on starchy, protein- and fat-rich vegetables (especially if taken with huge dollops of salad dressing) and fruits would result in high caloric intake that would be unhealthy, so it would be good to know the portions that would be best given one's age and body type. Lastly, it would be worthwhile keeping in mind that the real purpose of good nutrition is to keep the body healthy so that it can help us do most of what we want in life. Our body is a biological machine that needs to be maintained and repaired according to the way it has been designed by our genes, absorbing all the substances and chemicals it needs for trouble-free operation, developing its ability to fight germs and viruses coming from the outside and over which we have minimal control, and giving us a way to enjoy as much as the world and our life have to offer. 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