Question: Is it better to diet than fast?

Alex Haragan answered on 26 Jun 2018:

Hi Sandra
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Well I take your question to be if you should adhere to a specific diet or fast – not eat – for periods of time.
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The question of nutrition is an interesting one and you’ll no doubt find hundreds of conflicting opinions: eat fat, don’t eat fat! low carb, high carb etc etc .
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The truth is nutrition is an incredibly complicated area that is far more than the food we eat, but a combination of our genetics, gut flora, diet, exercise and so on.
The reason opinions vary is that no-one really knows the “ideal” diet and there almost certainly isn’t one.
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Generally speaking though, there are a few things that seem to be true:
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Wherever you can, make food yourself and source local ingredients. Avoid any food made in a factory or by a corporation – no fast food, take-aways, ready-meals and so on. Make it yourself from the freshest things you can find.
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Fasting is generally unnecessary, and should be avoided in children, the elderly, pregnant, athletes, chronic conditions etc. If you must fast (say, for religious reasons) then make sure it is safe to do so – but fasting for losing weight or being healthy is just not a sensible idea.
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Fad diets – atkins, super-foods and all that – mostly completely rubbish. And very often can be much worse for you than not (atkins and damage to kidneys came up more than once).
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Exercise is key! You need to do lots of good quality endurance/cardiovascular exercise.
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In summary- eat everything in moderation, and do lots of exercise. And make it yourself when you can!