The Keto diet, and in particular subjecting your body to a state of ketosis has become a popular weight loss strategy over the past few years. In a nutshell, this is the drastic reduction in carbohydrates, which forces your body to begin converting fats as the primary source of energy.

Typically, this process begins when the body is starved of insulin (used to move sugar from the blood into the cells). It’s important to note here that we aren’t talking about refined sugars. We’re talking about the natural sugars your body converts from carbs. The diet has become popular under the notion that once your body is converting fat into energy instead of carbs, it will also start to break down the fat you have stored, and lead to weight loss.

This is true, to a point. However in the process of breaking down fats your body also produces ketones. These are acids, and although they can help to process fats, an oversupply of ketones-which can on the ketogenic diet- can also lead to acidic blood. This metabolic process, known as ketoacidosis, can lead to comas and even death.

Add to this the fact that starving your body of carbs can actually put your body into starvation mode, if done incorrectly, and it may actually lead to weight gain!

Yes, the ketogenic diet does have some merit for people with diabetes and other insulin related issues, but for the every day person the best choice of ‘diet’ is and always be a healthier lifestyle change. One that allows you to eat everything you enjoy (in moderation) without the restrictions. If you would like to reduce your carb intake, in a healthy way, check out our low carb menu at Movement food.

Also touted as the ‘master cleanse’ diet, the lemon detox diet is essentially a fast, where you consume a lemon-water drink up to 6 times a day, consisting of:

• -2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• -2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• -1/10 teaspoon (0.2 grams) cayenne pepper
• -8 to 12 ounces of purified or spring water

The idea behind this fad diet is that you can loose weight by putting your body into a state of caloric deficiency. Sure, it will lead to short term weight loss. But considering the diet “consists of lemonade, laxative teas and salt water,” I think we all know where that ‘weight’ is going. Not to mention claims that it will ‘detox’ your body, which have no real substance or research backing them.

When you take into account it is severely lacking in real food, and any real nutrients, it’s pretty easy to see why it’s a poor short-term solution for weight management or lifestyle change. Concurrently, it’s easy to see why so many people flocked to this fad diet in an attempt to take the shortcut!

When it comes to detoxifying the body, it is unlikely that any ‘diet’ will actually achieve this. In the body, the liver is designed to remove toxins, or anything harmful to the body. With the right food choices, we can aid the liver in its detoxification processes. Consuming certain foods, like cruciferous leafy greens (kale, swiss chard etc…), and adding micronutrients to our diets from other fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices have been shown to assist your body in this process.

If you want to take out the guesswork, or simply don’t have time to make fresh juices every day, try adding the Lean Green Detox juice to your next Movement Food order! With ingredients like apple, swiss chard, mint and ginger it’s been designed to help your liver to process and remove other harmful toxins. Of course, these juices are meant to supplement your healthy lifestyle and diet, not replace them.

The Paleolithic diet certainly gets closer to the mark in terms of whole foods and a more sustainable choice. Based on the idea that our anatomy hasn’t changed much for the last couple million years, the Paleo diet is designed to return our eating habits to those of the hunter-gatherer era.

The diet is made up primarily of lean meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, with the main premise of the diet being that our daily diet is made up of whole foods, and local ingredients.

Whilst there are many positives of the Paleo diet, like the move away from processed foods, refined sugars, alcohol and other toxins, it is also decidedly lacking in legumes (beans, lentils etc…) and other whole grains such as quinoa, buckwheat and wild rice, which can add much needed fibre and nutrients to your system.

Moreover, some Paleo branded foods have also been found to contain a wide array of artificial sweeteners and additives, exploiting a loop hole which allow them to fall under the Paleo category, but can actually make you hungrier, as well as negatively affect your gut biome, insulin levels and blood sugar.

Add to that the need to completely cut out coffee, the time (and often increase in price) it takes to purchase and prepare meals with whole foods each day, and it’s easy to see why people stray from this dietary concept as well.

More recently, research has shown that having a wide variety of wholefoods, herbs, spices is the best way to add micro-nutrients to our diets and assist the body in processing the good and the bad. As we mentioned, making healthier lifestyle choices doesn’t have to be restrictive. More often than not, cutting out the things we enjoy only leads to binging on sugary snacks later.

Good health is all about balance. At Movement Food, we provide healthy alternatives like protein pancakes and burrito’s so you can still enjoy the sweeter things in life, without all of the guilt!

All of our meals are prepared fresh, without any artificial sweeteners or refined foods, so you can enjoy the benefits of whole foods without all the hassle of preparing it yourself. To check it out, try using the ‘Paleo’ filter the next time you’re looking through our menu!

The raw diet is a subset of the vegetarian/vegan diet, and essentially involves eating raw or uncooked foods. Of course, the majority of these foods are fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and is based around the idea that cooking food kills nutrients.

With a focus on fruits and veg, this diet is typically low in calories, fat and sodium, can lead to lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases. It can also lead to weight loss due to the complete reduction in processed and high-sugar foods (if you stick to it strictly).

However the raw diet isn’t full proof either. Dietary supplements are often needed to replace essential nutrients like protein, calcium and iron. It is also based on the falsehood that cooking food makes it toxic, where in fact cooking some foods not only makes them more digestible, it can also kill harmful bacteria that lead to food poisoning and other potential problems.

The raw diet is not only highly restrictive, it can be nutritionally inadequate, and often means you’ll be spending more time and money in a quest to only eat organic ingredients.

Did you know Movement food solves all of these issues by only using fresh ingredients, and providing a wide range of vegan meals? Simply use the ‘Vegan’ filter when searching through our menu to add some nutrient rich, organic meals to your diet without all the guesswork!