Holistic Health Radio Episode 1: Keto Diets, Celery Juice, Bikini Body Plans and Intermittent Fasting

Before we dive into today’s episode, I wanted to give you the lowdown on what Holistic Health Radio is all about:

In this podcast we chat all things health and wellness, with a particular focus on body image, mental health, intuitive eating and hormonal conditions.

Every week we take a deep dive into the health topics everyone else is too shy to talk about, and provide you with all the information, practical tips and tools you need to start improving your health from the inside out.

In today’s episode we take a look at some of the current diet and fitness fads to decipher if they are actually good for you. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re covering:

The Keto Diet:

• What is it?
• Where did it originate?
• Is it actually good for you?
• Plus whether it’s appropriate for females and our hormones specifically

Celery Juice

• Why this craze has made my favourite snack crazy expensive!
• What are the proposed benefits and claims?
• Why it’s probably a bunch of quackery similar to Belle Gibson curing brain cancer with wholefoods.

Bikini Body and other PDF workout guides

• What I actually like about these workout plans
• Who they are good for
• Who they’re NOT good for
• Why an individualised approach is important

Intermittent Fasting

• The different types of intermittent fasting including the 5:2 diet, the 16:8 method, and Eat-Stop-Eat
• Is this actually a diet?
• If you’re looking for fat loss should you try this?
• My concluding statements on Intermittent Fasting vs Balanced Eating

How To Spot a Fad Diet or Fitness Plan Checklist

1. Does it Promote A Quick Fix?

If the plan or diet suggests you can “lose 10 lbs in 10 days”, “spot reduce cellulite on your bum by doing these exercises”, or “get six-pack abs in 2 weeks with just 6 exercises a day” then chuck it to the side. The truth is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

2. Promotes Magic Foods or Combinations of Certain Foods

Things like only eating meat and nuts for breakfast (it’s gross, I’ve tried it), encourages you to buy a bucketload of specific supplements or shakes to get results, demonises certain food groups, suggests eating fruit with other foods is bad for your digestion, or tells you to significantly reduce or eliminate any food group.

Run away from these as fast as you can!

3. Implies that food can significantly change your body chemistry

I’m not denying that food can have incredible nutrient properties and enhance our health. However, there are a lot of claims about ‘detox’ programs, juice cleanses and other diets that say it can change your pH and ‘alkalise’ your insides.

The truth is our body has incredibly complex mechanisms for regulating our pH, maintaining homeostasis and is continually detoxing our body through the normal processes carried out by the liver and the kidneys. Honestly skip out on these and have a read of my blog 10 Ways To Detox Without Dieting which explains how you can naturally support this process without cutting out food groups.

4. If it has rigid rules that focus on weight loss

Does this plan suggest rigid rules like no carbs after 5pm? Or that you have to do fasted cardio every day to earn your breakfast? Is it a sad salad diet where no dressings or fats are allowed?

Anything that takes away the pleasure and joy from food, instills a sense of fear around eating, or controls your life in order to produce weight loss just isn’t worth it. A better place to start is to understand Why Diets Don’t Work and how you can make more sustainable lifestyle choices.

5. If It Makes Claims Based on a Single Study or Relies Purely on Testimonials
This is what I like to refer to as the “n=1” scenario. You know when your friend RAVES about what she did to improve her health and fitness and that it’s the solution for everyone… well it might not be. The truth is what works for one person, may not work for the next. So if you see something based only on testimonials from friends or on a website without the person having relevant credentials I’d question the program.

The same goes for if the evidence is only based on one scientific study or that study is performed on rats, not humans. There’s so much bullshit being peddled on the internet that doesn’t use high quality evidence, which is why it’s important to be quietly sceptical before giving your money away.

Well that’s a wrap for Episode 1! To make sure you get all the latest episodes delivered straight to your inbox, along with exclusive recipes, and my weekly blogs, be sure to sign up to the newsletter.