So Many Diets - How do you Know what to Choose?

I have been reading, with interest, about all of the various "diets" out there at the moment. How do we make sense of these diets and are they really what we should follow? I'm not going to tell anyone what to do, but I will, upfront, tell you that I try to follow a "balanced" diet. Just about all of the time, I do not have processed foods. I enjoy whole foods and especially love raw veggies. I am gluten-free (not by choice) and I try to avoid most animal products because they don't agree with my body chemistry. I juice carrots and some other vegetables at least three times a week. For the first time in many years, I have found that I can maintain my body weight and, most of the time, stay healthy and strong.

The Paleo Diet seems like a rehash of the Atkins Diet to me. With this diet, all processed foods are eliminated. That is wonderful. However, this diet is heavy on meat and animal protein. Grains and starches are cut out of the diet. Legumes and dairy are also avoided. Nuts, berries, some vegetables, and meat are the staples. This diet assumes that human beings evolved and that the diet is the original cave-man diet. I feel this is the real downfall of this particular diet. The Bible says that man is created in the image of God and the original diet was a vegan, raw foods diet (remember, there was no death until Cain killed Abel) and God only allowed meat into the diet after Noah's flood. If you want to say that is where the cave-man diet started, I guess I can give you that.

The Eating to Your Blood Type Diet is also interesting. With this diet, you eat certain foods (and avoid others) according to what blood type you have. For instance, if you are an A positive, you would follow these guidelines:

 "When we discuss 'diet,' we are not talking necessarily about a weight loss plan, that's a side benefit to following this plan. We are actually discussing diet in the more traditional sense, meaning a way to eat," explains, Dr. D'Adamo. Type As flourish on a vegetarian diet - if you are accustomed to eating meat, you will lose weight and have more energy once you eliminate the toxic foods from your diet. Many people find it difficult to move away from the typical meat and potato fare to soy proteins, grains and vegetables. But it is particularly important for sensitive Type As to eat their foods in as natural a state as possible: pure, fresh and organic. "I can't emphasize enough how this critical dietary adjustment can be to the sensitive immune system of Type A. With this diet you can supercharge your immune system and potentially short circuit the development of life threatening diseases." (http://www.dadamo.com/txt/index.pl?1003)

I think this is extremely interesting, because I am a type A and I do best with a vegetarian diet. Hmmmmm. 

The Hallelujah Diet is a vegan one that follows the premise that God gave a vegan diet to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. I have no problem with that. Those following this diet eat 80-85% of their food raw and the other 15-20% of their food cooked. The biggest problem I've had trying to follow this diet in the past is that I hate to give up coffee. I know, bad reason. It is also expensive, especially if you are the only person in the family who is willing to eat this way. I literally have to make two meals - one for me and one for the others in my family. So.....I do what I can and let go of the rest. This is the place that I turned to for help in learning to juice, by the way. They have great recipes and invaluable support.

The Daniel Plan is fairly new and, if you ask me, is probably the closest thing to following a balanced diet that I can find. Suzanne Somers follows a similar diet, but does not incorporate the religious aspect that Rick Warren does with this plan. Animal products are used, but should be organic and grass fed. Grains are rarely used and gluten is eliminated. Convenience foods are eliminated. This is a good all around plan for many.

I hope you have found a "grain" that you can use from this information. I believe that if we at least take the step to eat less convenience foods and more real foods, we'll all be a little (or a lot) healthier.