What do you call that diet thing again?

Summer is here and many of us are already bent on getting that hot beach bod to show off. A good physique is just one of the many benefits of being healthy, a long term result of these three combined: an engaging fitness program, cool healthy habits, and of course, proper diet. All three are important obviously, but today, we’ll focus on our options when it comes to eating right.

Proper diet is feeding ourselves with the right nutrients so we can do our daily tasks and still have enough energy for fun and exercises. With all the information the Internet can provide, a lot of us are still surprisingly clueless which diet style will work for us. Here’s four of the most sought-after diet programs that might just be what you’re looking for.

PALEO DIET

Paleo diet or “caveman diet” means to get nourishment from just animal protein and plants the way our ancestors did during the Paleolithic era (about 10,000 years ago) when food were hunted and gathered. Also known as “Stone Age Diet” and “primal diet,” going Paleo means indulging in fresh lean meats and seafood, fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds (all organic of course), and none of the grains, refined sugar, dairy, and legumes (i.e. peanuts and beans) which are food made available during the agricultural revolution. The consequence of this is an organic diet low in sodium, healthy ratio of saturated-to-unsaturated fatty acids (good for your heart’s health!), increased vitamin and nutrient consumption, and your body having an optimal balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Paleo nutrition will help us shed pounds, stay leaner, and be less likely to get diseases (such as type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, and cancer) which are caused by eating too much processed and carbohydrate-loaded food.

Some celebrities known to have tried this diet method are Uma Thurman, Matthew McConaughey, and Jessica Biel. There’s no calorie-counting on this eating style, but if you can’t imagine a life without carbohydrates from pasta or bread, or your pizza without the crust or cheese, then you might want to check out the next one on the list.

PESCETARIAN DIET

Pescetarian diet (sometimes spelled Pescatarian) means to have a vegetarian diet with the addition of fish and other seafood. This eating style will let us enjoy any kind of fruit, vegetable, bean, grain, nut or seed, including plant-based proteins like soy and tempeh. Being Pescetarian means you also get to indulge in seafood including fish, mollusks, and crustaceans – which translates to foods like salmon, tuna, lobster, shrimp, scallops and oyster. Mmm! This diet scheme, however, prohibits some dairy products and all meat from land animals or birds, including chicken, beef, pork, and other types of poultry. A Pescetarian can get all the required nutrient from plants, even protein; what this diet wants from fish is its low saturated fat, the large quantities of polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, and the healthy amount of iron for solving (and prevention) of many health problems.  A Pescetarian diet that contain low amounts of fats and oils, and high amounts of fiber will make the body leaner without the unwanted body fats, the brain and heart healthier,  and avoid risks of diseases (heart and cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers) caused by eating animal meat, especially those that are non-organic.

So, if you’re okay with pizza without its meaty toppings, Pescetarian diet might just work for you! Celebrity fans of this diet style include Ariana Grande, David Duchovny, and Alyssa Milano.

GLUTEN-FREE DIET

Gluten-free diet is a diet that prohibits gluten, a protein composite found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and a cross between wheat and rye called triticale. Gluten is one of the most consumed proteins on earth and is produced when two molecules, glutenin and gliadin, come into contact and form a bond. Gluten is virtually everywhere: bread, pasta, chips, beer, and yes, pizza! This protein, however, is harmful to people with celiac disease and/or dermatitis herpetiformis because their immune system reacts to gluten and damages the lining of the small intestine preventing the body from getting the necessary nutrients. Gluten also causes celiac patients to experience bloating, diarrhea, nausea, tiredness and headaches. Gluten-free diet is designed as treatment for this disease. How did this become “the new black” in dieting? In 2011, William Davis, a cardiologist, published the New York Times bestseller “Wheat Belly” that labelled Gluten as “chronic poison” and blamed Gluten for everything — from forgetfulness to joint pain to weight gain. Davis said that those who have eliminated wheat (thus eliminating Gluten) from their diets have lost significant amount of weight and have reversed the effect of diabetes, arthritis, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and even depression. This caught on and people suddenly hated Gluten and even if Gluten-free food is more expensive, their belief that it will be better for their health have contributed to the widespread of this dieting style. Many of those following this diet claimed, even if they don’t have the celiac disease, that their health have improved significantly. Even Miley Cyrus said on her twitter “The change in your skin, physical and mental health is amazing!” referring to the effects of eradicating Gluten from diet.

Aside from Miley Cyrus, this diet fad have these celebrities as fans: Zooey Deschanel, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Novak Djokovic. What this diet further says is that I can have my pizza but it’ll be a bit more pricey because it needs the crust to be Gluten-free? Ohhh-kay!

THE ULTIMATE TEA DIET

Mark Ukra and Sharyn Kolberg, authors of the book “The Ultimate Tea Diet: How Tea Can Boost Your Metabolism, Shrink Your Appetite, and Kick-Start Remarkable Weight Loss,” firmly believes that we can lose weight by drinking tea and adhering to a specific food plan.  The diet involves these 3 steps:

1. Find a tea that you enjoy drinking (i.e. green tea, black tea, white tea, or oolong tea)
2. Drink your preferred tea all day (4-8 cups or as much as you want, hot or cold, real tea not herbal, and minimize adding sugar or creamer)
3. Pursue a manageable diet plan (a meal plan that revolves around tea with a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat. Also, use an 8-inch plate to maintain control).

Drinking tea can boost the body’s immune system, prevent tooth decay and cavities, as well as lower blood sugar and cholesterol. It’s even known to slow down the ageing process. Proponents of this diet claim that weight loss through the ultimate tea diet comes from these three components: (1) caffeine which stimulates metabolism, (2) L-Theanine, an amino acid found in tea which neutralizes the jittery effects of the caffeine and then suppresses appetite, and (3) EGCG, which causes the body to burn fat faster and more efficiently.

Celebrities known to have tried the “Ultimate Tea Diet” include Kendal Jenner and E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic. I’m sure they had no problem enjoying a huge slice of pepperoni pizza (biggest that could possible fit in an 8-inch plate) beside a warm cup of my favorite Green tea. Yeah baby!

In Conclusion…

There are many issues surrounding the validity of each diet style presented here. Factors such as current health condition and lifestyle should also be considered. Consult with your doctor before indulging in any diet method, read further and investigate. Some also believe that a pre-diet detoxifying cleanse before a diet program can help our organs function better by clearing them of toxins, thus, make the body more receptive to the diet’s intended result. The idea behind any detox process is to remove toxins from the body to help the lymph, liver, and kidneys perform their functions better. However, science is yet to prove this and since detox cleanse will give you possible side effects like nausea, fatigue, dizziness, and dehydration, better discuss with your doctor first to be really safe.

Finally, when you’ve found the right diet method for you, stay motivated and pair your healthy eating with healthy habits and a fun fitness program. Then you’re ready to enjoy life and the beach, and yeah… a slice of pizza from time to time.