Weight loss: Which diet is the right diet?

With so many weight loss diet trends flooding the internet there is more information and options than ever before for someone seeking to lose our manage their weight with a particular type of diet. Most choices in regards to a particular diet come independent of the history, research and nutrient deficiencies of the diet in question. Even a balanced diet with the foods we have today fall short in terms of nutritional value as outlined in my article 'Q:What are supplements and can I get what I need from food?'.So if that's the case, and a balanced diet provides the widest array of foods, how in tune are dieters to the micronutrient deficiencies inherent in the diet plans they incorporate? Research has shown that many popular diets (vegan and low carb) are deficient in vitamin B7, vitamin D, vitamin E, chromium, iodine and molybdenum (vegan diets had issues with vitamin B's and calcium). And for these diets to meet the 100% daily value recommendations for major micro nutrients the dieter must consume over 3,000 calories per day which would not result in weight loss for most of the population (this is why vitamin supplements are important to incorporate into modern diets). Some diets, like the ketogenic diet, are based on nutritional science for weight loss as opposed to general health and lack long term studies to identify possible health risks from long term continuation.

The concept held true by most nutritional professionals is simple: CALORIES MATTER. All too often a dieter becomes absorbed in the mechanism of action for fat burning in a particular diet and when that mechanism has run it's course and led the dieter to a plateau, they are left at a stand still fighting to lose additional weight. Even worse, many will consume far too many calories for weight loss and judge the diet as ineffective or 'not right for them'. Early research was done to determine if genetic makeup pre-disposed an individual to one type of diet vs another, but recent research into the long term effects of particular diets has shown that when calories are equal, one diet doesn't trump another even when differences in genetic factors are taken into account. Below is what the researchers discovered:

Study shows weight loss for overweight individuals over a 1 year period is similar in a low fat vs low carb diet.

Study shows weight loss for overweight individuals aged 18-75 showed the the same weight loss over 3 months in Vegan vs Mediterranean diet:

For further details on modern diet trends, their history, the differences and what may be right for you, Crossroads SDA Church will have me conducting a free seminar open to the public in New York City from 10am to 12pm.