What radical dietary restrictions lead to, and how the Harvard dish method works

Popular cleansing programs and radical dietary restrictions, which pseudo-experts present as a reboot of the gastrointestinal tract, are dangerous to health. This was told by the head of the Minsk city health center Snezhan Kavrigo, the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”.

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According to Cavrigo, from the point of view of evidence-based medicine and physiology, such experiments turn into severe systemic failures in the body. In particular, for the gastrointestinal tract, severe restrictions in nutrition are fraught with atrophy of the mucous membrane and intestinal villi, a syndrome of increased epithelial permeability, and the destruction of a healthy microbiome. In addition, fasting leads to stagnation of bile, violation of cholesterol excretion and sharply increases the risk of developing acute cholecystitis. In general, for the gallbladder - nothing good, for the kidneys - the same. Sharp distortions in nutrition cause hyperfiltration, overload with nitrogenous slags and other problems.

She recommended shifting the focus from external attributes such as “rapid weight loss of 20-30 kg” to scientific facts, physiology and control of real laboratory markers.

As a simple, understandable and safe alternative to rigid diets, Cavrigo spoke about the gold standard of healthy eating - the Harvard dish method.

- This is an ideal tool for daily diet control, not requiring exhausting calorie counting, said Cavrigo. To create a balanced meal, it is enough to mentally divide the plate into three parts - first in half, and then one of the halves again in half. At the same time, give 50% (half of the plate) to vegetables and fruits. Preferably diverse, focusing on non-starchy fruits and greens. A quarter of the plate, take the squirrel. Important: quality sources of protein are fish, poultry, legumes. And another 25% - complex carbohydrates. These include whole grain products, cereals and cereals, which provide the body with energy for a long time.

S. Cavrigo summed up: using this simple rule allows you to keep metabolic health normal without harming the internal organs.