How to lose weight with the ‘Hay’ diet

Unhealthy diet? Surprised woman caught eating donuts fast food.

Unhealthy diet? Surprised woman caught eating donuts fast food.

Published Oct 31, 2016

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Amid the various fad diets that come and go, the Hay diet is remarkable for its continuing popularity among those looking to lose weight.

Also known as the food combining diet, the century-old weight loss plan was developed by US physician William Howard Hay in the early 1900s.

The diet's core concept is to separate food into three categories: protein-based, carbohydrate-based and neutral. The primary rule: Never eat a carbohydrate-heavy food with a protein-heavy food.

Mornings and evenings are meant for noshing on foods in the carbohydrate category, while lunch consists of a protein dish. Vegetables and fat-heavy foods fall into the neutral category, which can be eaten with either of the other two groups.

Hay's theory was that the human body does not digest proteins and carbohydrates in the same way, and eating them at the same time causes the body to produce health-damaging acids that trigger the fermentation process in the gut.

Separating foods allows the body to detoxify and therefore has a healing effect on one's health.

However, flipping Hay's theory around – that mixing certain foods causes metabolic diseases – doesn't pan out, according to Andreas Pfeiffer, director of endocrinology at Berlin's Charite hospital.

"Diabetes, heart attack, stroke or cancer are above all brought on by obesity," he says. Whether one eats certain foods together or separately has absolutely no effect on those diseases.

"A good acid-base balance is important," finds Stefan Kabisch from the German Institute of Human Nutrition. "However, separating foods is not necessary for managing that balance," he adds.

The body is able to regulate any disruptions and keep the pH levels of its blood and tissues stable without outside interference.

"It’s long been disproved that carbohydrates and proteins have a negative effect when they’re in the digestive system at the same time," Pfeiffer says.

Nevertheless, many people do shed excess weight by switching to the Hay diet.

Pfeiffer ascribes that to the dieters taking a more careful look at their eating habits.

"Its emphasis on vegetables as a neutral group, combined with wholesome foods, is definitely a plus point for the concept," confirms Heike Dethardt from the Dietary Association of Germany.

However, from a nutritional standpoint, she advises against following the Hay diet too strictly or for a long time, mostly because many foods contain both carbohydrates and proteins in equal amounts, and eating them separately on a daily basis is very hard.

"In addition, because of a decrease in the amount of protein the person eats, he or she could develop a deficit in calcium, certain B vitamins and amino acids," Kabisch says.

The fact that the Hay diet dictates when an adherent should eat, but gives no guidance on how much should be eaten at each meal, is also a strike against it for Kabisch.

"Weight loss doesn't depend on diet composition, it depends on portion size," he says. At the end of the day, losing weight comes down to striking a balance between calorie intake and expenditure.

The continued popularity of the Hay diet can be attributed to its strict guidelines, says Dethardt.

"It's especially useful for people with undisciplined eating habits, who benefit from having straightforward rules that they can follow on a daily basis," Dethardt adds.

That said, simply eating a more health-conscious diet, including less meat and more fruits and vegetables, will also have a positive influence on your health – no separation required.

DPA

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