Personalized diets
By personalized diets we mean a tailor-made behavioral path. It is very important to contact a professional who, taking into account the lifestyle and the concomitant pathologies of the subject, will develop a personalized nutritional and behavioral path to achieve the desired result within correct times and using correct methods.
Impedance analysis
The impedance analysis of metabolism is currently one of the most widely used and reliable techniques for determining the body composition. To measure body composition an instrument called “impedance meter” is used: it is connected to the patients by means of electrodes and measures the resistance that the body opposes to the passage of a very weak low voltage and high frequency current (50,000 Hz).
Once you have the value of the body impedance it is possible to calculate the content of body water, lean mass, fat mass and patient’s basal metabolism by using some algorithms and with the aid of a computer.
Behavioural and pharmacological approach to obesity
Various studies on behavioral therapy of obesity have shown that it can determine a loss of 10% of body weight in 4/6 months in individuals who complete the program (average 80% of individuals).
Anti-obesity therapy is affected by two main problems that have not yet been solved:
Most individuals are unable to maintain the new lifestyle rules over time and therefore regain the entire body weight lost within three years after the treatment;
There are countless situations in which the approach to obesity therapy is just of a pharmacological type, without any consideration to the fundamental initial behavioral setting.
To improve the maintenance of body weight over time, three strategies are being studied:
To include behavioral therapy within an ongoing care model;
To associate behavioral therapy with a pharmacological treatment;
To use new models of cognitive behavioral therapy to minimize body weight recovery.
Ketogenic diets
What it is
The ketogenic diet is a diet that drastically reduces carbohydrates while increasing the intake of proteins and fats. The main purpose of this diet is to force the body to use fat as an energy source.
All cells use the energy of carbohydrates to carry out their activity. If carbohydrates are reduced to a low enough level, cells begin to use fats. This mechanism works for all cells but nerve cells which do not have the ability to do so.
A process called ketosis is then initiated, leading to the formations of molecules called ketone bodies which can be used by the brain. Ketosis is typically reached after a couple of days with a daily intake of carbohydrates of around 20-50 grams, although these amounts can vary according to the individual.
The purpose of this diet
The purpose of this diet is mainly related to its effectiveness in reducing body weight, but it is important to emphasize that it is not an easy diet to follow and it’s mainly proposed for a short period of few weeks. The lack of consistency in following this diet leads to induce the body to block ketosis and use again sugars. Those who have followed this diet claim to have great energy once they reach the state of ketosis. However the days leading up to the ketosis state are sometimes characterized by nausea, constipation, fatigue and breathing difficulties.