Who would have thought that fats are good, right? Fats can certainly be qualified as 'good' or ' bad'. Healthy fats, in fact, could make a great diet. A lot has been said about fad diets or quick weight-loss diets like Keto that propagates a high fat and low carb diet. You will find enough people on both sides of the argument. Some believe these diets work, while others disagree. It is a common notion that if you load up on fats, it may up the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. However, this may not be the case. High fat diets like ketogenic diet promise to maintain weight and overall health by putting the body in the state of ketosis. When the body has the ability to burn fat as fuel, the liver naturally creates fats called ketones. It is said that ketones burn fat more efficiently than the carbs can, which in turn may create an environment for weight loss.As the name suggests, high fat diet is a diet loaded with fats and is low on carbs and has turned out to be one of the most popular diets nowadays. According to Delhi based Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Datta, "high fat diet is beneficial for improving the gut flora and it also helps regulate your sugar levels."

What you need to consider is the 'type' of fat you are going for. When aiming for weight-loss with this way of eating, be mindful of consuming only 'good' fats which are basically unrefined animal fats, fat from fish and fats from plants like avocado, nuts and some oils.

Here is a list of benefits that you could derive from eating good fats:

1. High fat diet is extremely satiating and also keeps your blood sugar level stable. When you embark on low fat diet in an attempt to lose weight, you may end up hungry and dissatisfied, thus ending up craving for sugary snacks.

2. Increased fat intake promotes a healthy gut too. Healthy fats work with your gut bacteria to protect the gut barrier that works hard to regulate your immune response and flush out all the toxins and chemicals.

3. Good fats are good for brain health; our brain is composed of omega-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A deficiency of fats can lead to stress, anxiety and other mood disorders. So, feel good about adding good fats to your diet and vice versa!

4. Eating good fats will not make you fat. If you choose to eat healthier fats, in controlled portions, your body will eventually learn to burn fat, instead of energy, further inducing weight loss. A high-fat diet can also curb hunger and cravings that mostly leads to overeating.

5. Fat is a crucial element for your body's absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins. Adding fats to your diet will help boost the absorption of vitamins that further help in strengthening your bones, boosting your immune system and protecting your heart health.

6. High fat diet benefit includes boosting energy levels. Good fats keep you on your toes throughout the day without having to feel hungry. If you eat a diet centered on carbohydrates, one experiences raises in insulin levels. This rise in insulin levels will make you feel tired and lethargic.

7. Finally high fat diets can boost eye and skin health. Dry skin and eyes are generally caused due to the deficiency in fatty acids, therefore, getting adequate omega-3 fats and saturated fats in your diet may help keep your skin and eyes healthy.

A high fat diet could help lower the risk of developing various diseases, increases your energy levels and helps you stay focused and productive during the day. It also helps to choose your fats wisely and exercise portion control. So, if you are thinking of switching to a high fat diet, make sure you consult a dietitian who can help you build a proper plan to gain maximum results.

The keto diet has been rising in popularity around the world. The high-fat, low carb diet that was created to help relieve symptoms of epileptic seizures, has been popularised as a quick weight loss solution for those looking to overcome a plateau in their health journey. The diet is basically a fat-rich diet that alters your body metabolism to burn fat instead of carbohydrates. Dieters who follow the keto diet derive over 70 per cent of their daily calories from fatty foods like ghee, egg yolk, avocado, cheese etc. But there are a number of different spins to ketogenic diet that are now gaining popularity. These variations to the keto diet were born because the diet itself is incredibly difficult to follow, due to the extreme restriction on carbohydrate intake.

Ketogenic diet followers are only allowed to consume 10 per cent or less of their daily calories from carbs like grains, breads etc. It takes some time and consistent efforts to follow the ketogenic diet. People experience a number of symptoms in the starting that make following ketogenic diet extremely difficult. This is why some people now follow cyclical keto diet, where they load up on carbohydrates on some days of the week, instead of going cold turkey all the days of the week. Now another variation of ketogenic diet called the lazy keto is also gaining traction. So what's lazy keto all about? Will it be as effective as the original ketogenic diet, in helping you lose weight? Let's find out!

What Is Lazy Keto? How Does It Work?
Lazy keto diet is basically a low carb diet, wherein dieters just focus on reducing their carbohydrate intake to less than 20 grams per day. It sounds very difficult, but dieters following the lazy keto don't have to count their calories or keep a track of the amounts of the rest of the two macronutrients, fats and proteins. This extremely low amount of daily carbohydrate intake is said to help the body achieve ketosis and stay in that state. Ketosis is the state where the body starts utilising fat for energy, in the place of glucose or carbs, as it normally happens. This diet has got a lot of people on board, as the idea of counting every single calorie consumed and monitoring the nutrition of every single bite can be quite taxing and sometimes, even practically impossible.

While following lazy keto, it's important to eat whenever one is hungry and to keep your satiated. Dieters typically only consume keto-approved foods that are now abundantly available in the markets. The single most important goal of lazy keto diet is said to be to make sure the body stays in ketosis, to burn fat quicker.

Does The Lazy Keto Diet Lead To Weight Loss?
Now let's come to the most important aspect of the diet- does it give results? The lazy keto diet being extremely low in carbohydrates may actually work for you in the short term and lead to weight loss. But experts have argued that the lazy keto diet loses out to the original ketogenic diet, when it comes to sending your body into ketosis. This is because just restricting your carb intake may not be enough to jumpstart ketosis- you also need adequate amounts of healthy fats and proteins to burn fat. Moreover, the amount of protein and fats in your daily diet also needs to be carefully calibrated to ensure that once the body gets into ketosis, it remains so. This is where the lazy keto diet may fail, despite its obvious benefits of convenience.

Whichever diet you follow for weight loss, it is important to remember that you should not do so at the expense of your long term health. Consult a certified nutritionist or a dietitian to help you with a scientific and balanced diet plan, before starting on any weight loss journey.

When it comes to dietary sources of protein, there is always a lot of curiosity. This is because it's not just the supply of this essential macro-nutrient that matters for you, but the packaging or the nutritional profile of the source food also impacts your health. This is why red meats, despite being rich in protein, may not be considered good sources of protein, because they're also rich in saturated fat. Any good and healthy source of protein should not just have good amounts of it, but it should also have a wide range of healthy and beneficial nutrients. Additionally, healthy sources of protein must have low levels of cholesterol and saturated fats. This is why there has been a lot of talk about the need to switch from animal to plant-based sources of protein.

Protein-Rich Fruits
Fruits are rich in a rainbow of nutrients, right from all the essential vitamins that play a part in maintaining the health of various body functions, to energising natural sugars and satiating fibre. Fruits are not traditionally rich in protein and they're generally not expected to be- they have higher levels of other important nutrients including fibre and carbohydrates. But they still offer some amounts of protein and when paired with other healthier sources of lean proteins, may still be included in a healthy diet. However, you cannot rely on consumption of even these protein-rich fruits to fulfil your daily Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for protein.

Here are some protein-rich fruits for you to consider:

1. Raisins: This humble dried fruit is a fixture in all the festive offerings and is also added to a whole range of desserts. The golden raisins are nothing but de-hydrated or dried grapes. A 100 gram portion of raisins contains 3 grams of proteins, as per the data by United States Department of Agriculture.

2. Guava: This Vitamin C-rich fruit is savoured raw or in salads, and is even added to juices and drinks for a flavourful punch. Guava is rich in fibre as a 100 gram portion of the fruit contains 5 grams of it, according to USDA, and the same portion contains 2.6 grams of proteins.

3. Dates: This sugary sweet fruit has been consumed in Middle-eastern countries as a staple for centuries now. Pitted dates are stuffed with a variety of ingredients and are even consumed in the form of a sweetening paste for milkshakes and baked goods as well. A 100 gram portion of dates contains 2.45 grams of protein, along with 8 grams of fibre, as per data by the United States Department of Agriculture.

4. Prunes: Another dried fruit that is relatively rich in protein is the prune. These are made by de-hydrating ripened plums and it contains a wide-range of essential minerals and vitamins, along with some important macro-nutrients. This includes 2.18 grams of protein per 100 grams, along with 7 grams of dietary fibre.

You may consider adding these fruits to your diet, more for deriving other benefits from them, rather than looking at them as reliable sources of protein. Consult a certified dietitian or a nutritionist for a diet chart that helps you meet your dietary protein requirements.

Weight loss diets are a-dime-a-dozen, but what is not present is enough and credible information about which diet is healthy and which diet may actually get you the results that you desire. With the increasing influence of social media self-claimed nutritionists and dietitians, there is no control over the kind of myths or lies people may end up endorsing and believing in. Raw food diet or raw foodism is one such 'trendy' diet that has seen its time in the spotlight and a lot of people around the world believe that following a raw food diet may bring several health benefits. But does it actually help you lose weight? More importantly, will it allow you to lose weight in a safe and healthy manner?

Raw Foodism: Is It Really Healthier Than Eating Cooked Food?
Raw foodism is basically a diet where you don't cook anything you eat. Obviously, then a majority of your diet will comprise fresh fruits and leafy and cruciferous vegetables, as well as nuts and seeds. Some people, who follow the raw food diet, even consume un-pasteurised dairy products, raw eggs, meats and fish. The diet was born out of the belief that cooking foods for long periods of time can denature certain beneficial compounds in foods and destroy most of the nutrition present in them. Indeed there are some vitamins and nutrients that may get leached out of certain foods items while cooking, particularly during boiling or slow-cooking.

Additionally, cooking also introduces a number of potentially unhealthy elements to your diet, including high-sodium condiments, excessive salt and greasy or processed cooking oils. So, you may think that to reap the benefits of these foods, you should eat them raw. But, this is just half the story. While it is true that over-cooking food may make it loose its nutrition, some heat may actually make certain compounds more readily available for absorption by the body. Applying some heat to certain foods and spices activates the antioxidants and beneficial compounds in them and also makes sure that the food is easily digested by the body. Cooked food is easier to assimilate than raw food.

Benefits Of Raw Food: Does Eating Raw Food Lead To Weight Loss?

While eating raw foods or following raw foodism may make you lose weight initially due to the absence of salt, sugar or cooking oils, it is not a sustainable diet as you may lose out on a number of important antioxidants and healthy compounds from your meals. Another reason why following a raw food diet can lead to weight loss is that the options are limited - you will mostly end up eating a lot of fresh fruits, seeds and nuts, which are typically low in calories. However, raw food diet may deprive you of a number of other essential nutrients, including protein as well as minerals like zinc and calcium. These may lead to poor overall health and health complications due to the deficiencies in these nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

So, the bottom line is that you should stick to eating cooked food. Do not over-cook your food, if you are concerned about the nutrients getting lost. Additionally, prepare your meals by using low salt and sugar, as well as with healthier alternatives for processed cooking oils like olive oil, mustard oil and coconut oil.

A poor diet not only spells disaster for general health but it could also be a leading cause of deaths all over the world. If a new study is to be believed, consuming unhealthy foods regularly and not eating enough healthy foods can wreak more harm than smoking cigarettes! The finding, which was published in the international medical journal, The Lancet, observed and assessed the consumption of major foods and nutrients across 195 countries among adults over the age of 25. The relationship between sub optimal diet and the rate of mortality was studied carefully. Over 130 scientists from around 40 countries took part in the analysis and the results are shocking enough to push you towards a healthy diet immediately.

A healthy diet is synonymous to good health. 'We are what we eat' - we have heard this a gazillion times. The saying lays stress on watching our diet carefully as it is the basis of our overall well being. As good food helps us maintain a good health, bad food can do the exact opposite.

The study reveals that poor diets caused 10.9 million deaths (22% of all deaths) among adults in the year 2017 while smoking was responsible for 8.0 million deaths. It further divulges that 50% of the diet-related deaths were caused due to low intake of healthy foods. Specifically, 3 kinds of feeding habits were held responsible for such a harsh impact on people's health.

The Three Bad Diets Linked To High Mortality Rate Are -
- Low intake of whole grains
- Low intake of fruits
- High consumption of sodium

And the foods that are linked to high death rates (one in every five deaths globally) are - red meat, processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, and trans fatty acids among other foods.

It was also found out during a survey for the study that the biggest gap between an optimal diet and a bad diet is usually caused by the dearth of milk, whole gains and nuts and seeds.

Researchers pointed out a glaring fault in the general dietary perception of the people - We lay too much emphasis on restricting the consumption of unhealthy foods. While a good dietary strategy should focus more on including a good amount of healthy foods.

Other than encouraging people to put more healthy foods on their plate, it is also important to direct food and beverage industry to regulate their manufacturing norms and produce cleaner foods with less trans fats, chemicals, additives and sugar. Only a collective effort by the producers and the consumers can lead to a healthy and sustainable living.