Can­di­da Khan

As a reg­is­tered di­etit­ian nu­tri­tion­ist, one of the biggest mis­con­cep­tions I en­counter is the be­lief that di­et­ing is the an­swer to long-term health. Every­one is search­ing for the next quick fix and cut­ting carbs, skip­ping meals or detox­ing while elim­i­nat­ing en­tire food groups. Re­stric­tions al­ways fail over time and can al­so lead to the yo-yo ef­fect, leav­ing you in emo­tion­al, phys­i­cal and fi­nan­cial loss.

These are the main rea­sons I wouldn’t rec­om­mend di­et­ing and re­strict­ing when it comes to health:

1) Nu­tri­ent de­fi­cien­cies

2) Slowed me­tab­o­lism

3) Hor­mon­al im­bal­ances

4) Di­ges­tive prob­lems

5) Mus­cle loss

6) Low en­er­gy

7) Weak­ened im­mune sys­tem

8) Dis­or­der­ly eat­ing pat­terns

9) Blood sug­ar in­sta­bil­i­ty

10) Bone degra­da­tion

These health com­pli­ca­tions lead to in­creased med­ical ex­pens­es over time. Di­et cul­ture prof­its from re­peat­ed fail­ure. If di­ets tru­ly worked, the in­dus­try would not con­tin­ue grow­ing every year. The un­healthy re­la­tion­ship that you de­vel­op be­cause of the ir­reg­u­lar eat­ing pat­terns should not be de­sired.

In terms of cost, think about how much mon­ey is spent on:

• Detox teas

• Sup­ple­ments

• Meal re­place­ment shakes

• Weight loss pills

• Gym

Bal­anced eat­ing, on the oth­er hand, means that you are pro­vid­ing your body with the right nu­tri­ents at the right time. This in­cludes car­bo­hy­drates for en­er­gy, pro­tein for mus­cle re­pair and healthy fats for hor­mones and brain health, fi­bre for di­ges­tion, as well as vi­t­a­mins and min­er­als to sup­port over­all func­tion. All foods have their pur­pose, and it is vi­tal to in­clude all nu­tri­ents dai­ly. Bal­anced eat­ing al­lows flex­i­bil­i­ty when di­et­ing is re­stric­tive. No foods are for­bid­den in healthy eat­ing. How­ev­er, bal­anced eat­ing takes time to de­vel­op. It’s not built overnight. My clients and I work on tim­ing, hy­dra­tion, food prepa­ra­tion and mind­ful eat­ing, to name a few. It’s a grad­ual process to achieve sus­tain­able health.

These are the ben­e­fits of bal­anced eat­ing:

1) ↓Re­duce risk for di­a­betes and oth­er lifestyle dis­eases

2) ↓As­sist with weight man­age­ment

3) ↓Avoid­ing nu­tri­ent de­fi­cien­cies

4) Bet­ter en­er­gy lev­els

5)↓ Mas­sive sav­ings on health caused by stronger im­mune sys­tems

When we eat health­i­er, we will of­ten spend less mon­ey on med­ica­tions, emer­gency care, and fre­quent doc­tor vis­its.

Sim­ple and af­ford­able foods which can be in­clud­ed in bal­anced eat­ing are oats, beans, egg, sea­son­al fruits, veg­eta­bles, sweet pota­toes and chick­en. True health isn’t achieved by punch­ing the body, but sup­port­ing it. As a reg­is­tered di­etit­ian nu­tri­tion­ist, my goal is to en­cour­age a healthy re­la­tion­ship with food. Long-term habits and con­fi­dence can be built to sup­port the qual­i­ty of life you want to live.

Can­di­da Khan, MSc RD al­so known as Di­di, is a Reg­is­tered Di­etit­ian Nu­tri­tion­ist.

She is al­so the CEO of Di­di’s Nu­tri­tion Con­sul­tan­cy (didis­nu­tri­tion­con­sul­tan­cy.com)