The banting diet refers to a high protein diet that was popularized by Edward Banting in 1863 due to its weight loss properties. Banting himself was an obese individual, and he suffered from the negative effects of obesity greatly. His physician then prescribed this high protein diet to him in order to help him to lose weight. Banting placed emphasis on the role of diet in losing weight. And according to reports, banting believed that the diet is the principle point in treating corpulence.
Banting diet
There are several key points that help explain the banting diet according to Banting. He believed that the high protein diet would reduce obesity by:
- Reducing fat intake
- Reducing starch intake
- Reducing the quantity of sugar, you eat
Key beliefs of the founder of the banting diet that made it popular
The founders of the banting diet had several nutritional beliefs. Their main belief was that the diet was a simple remedy for:
- Reducing and destroying body fat
- Alleviating, preventing and curing diseases
- Preventing or eradicating carbuncles, boils and dyspepsia
- Making life enjoyable
- Promoting longevity
Today, there are many studies that have proven the amazing benefits of healthy balanced diet. With a healthy diet, you lower your chances of getting disease and improve the chances of living longer. So, Banting was correct in his beliefs.
Another important belief of Banting was that, animal-based food and vegetables with no sugar or starch reduced your chances of gaining body fat. And I have written about the negative impacts of dietary sugar and sugar sweetened beverages in several articles. To, be frank, dietary sugar has been the death of many people. Dietary sugar is a cancer that will kill us slowly as it is everywhere. Almost every food has some sugar in it and this has predisposed us to weight gain, diabetes, prediabetes, insulin resistance, obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Here is a list of some foods that give us sugar every day, check how many and how much of these you eat every day.
- Candy and sweets
- Confectioneries
- Breakfast cereals
- Sweetened tea and coffee
- Sugar sweetened beverages
- Bread
- Chocolates
- Biscuits
- Sugar marinated meat or fish
- Syrups
These are just but a few of the food stuffs that contain sugar and are killing all of us slowly. And these are the sugary foods that banting believed would help our health if we were to eliminate them from our diets.
So, what can we say about the banting diet?
In simple terms, the banting diet is a low carbohydrate high protein diet that was prescribed to Banting for weight loss. The most notable thing about this prescription given to banting is that it worked. The diet improved protein intake and eliminated starch and sugar. And it is reported that Banting lost about 20 kgs of his body weight in less than 1 year. After that Banting pronounced himself cured from obesity.
Nowadays, people define “banting” as the process of treating obesity by abstaining from sugar and starch. And, I rarely believe in weight loss dieting because they are usually unsustainable for the long term. But this diet has been reported to actually work. However, there is always a catch!
Why you need to be careful with the banting diet
When a diet or health intervention works well, there is always a catch. The same applies to the banting diet. The, banting diet works so well, that it would be surprising if there was no side effect. Here is the catch:
- The banting diet makes you lose weight and fat so fast that the body cannot sustain it.
- In its history, one person lost 20 kg in a very short period of time and he fell ill and died.
- The doctors agreed that this person may have undermined his health by losing so much weight too quickly.
The key point is that, you must desist from heavily depending on such methods that make you lose weight too quickly. It was therefore determined as a rule after this incident that:
- When losing weight, extremes should be avoided.
- You must avoid losing more than 454 g per week otherwise your body may not handle it.
- And the banting diet is not recommended for excessively long period applications.
Nb: Banting himself lived up to 81 years and he was an advocate of low carbohydrate diets in weight loss. He wrote many reports and letters about the topic.
A low carbohydrate diet and how it works
The low carbohydrate diet is a diet that gives you less energy from less than 130 g of carbohydrates every day. A low carbohydrate diet is a well-known diet that is used for weight and diabetes management. Clinicians and professional scientists have advocated for this diet as a valid and effective method to deal with diabetes and obesity. However, you must be vigilant when looking for advice in this area. This is because the field is filled with controversy and conflicting findings. As a result, both professionals and patients find it hard and confusing to navigate around all the controversies and confusing information.
Benefits of low carbohydrates diet
- Helps you in managing weight and diabetes.
- Improves heart function
- Reduces vascular inflammation
- Improves your blood lipid profiles
- Helps you to cut down the dreaded dietary sugars.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it’s fair to say that the banting diet works for weight loss. However, as I said, there is always a catch. In this case, the catch is that you cannot lose too much weight too quickly. This is because, as you do so, you will also be harming your body. Therefore, if you want to use the banting diet for weight loss, be sure not to do it for excessively long periods of time. As, this may expose you to other health risks. There is also, a lot of studies that have shown the harm posed by high protein diets to health, especially on your kidneys. However, that is a topic for another day!