Dietary Patterns

The words "dietary pattern" refer to a set of rules for food intake. Most of these rules are based on tradition, some are based on medical reasoning, but there are almost no rules derived from actual experience.

"From the standpoint of modern medicine, food should contain a sufficient amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, as well as micro- and macronutrients and vitamins. Moreover, calorie intake should meet the body's energy needs." This information can be trusted because it is a medical fact.

"Food should be consumed at a certain time and at certain intervals. That ensures optimal health and well-being." And here's an unsubstantiated assertion.

Experience shows that the best dietary pattern, for a particular person in a particular situation, is one that not only provides the necessary energy but also helps achieve the goal at hand. For example, to cure an allergy, a week-long food pause should be completed. To cure hypertension, a series of week-long pauses, once a month. To cure hormonal infertility, a five-day-long pause, right after ovulation. In the treatment of coxarthrosis, this diet was proven effective: the patient eats for one week, then completes a week-long food pause. In contrast, with daily nutrition you wouldn't achieve the desired effect, even if you take medication.

So, what kind of diet should you choose?

Usually, excess weight requires changing the diet. This is an issue of body composition, and the right dietary pattern can address it. Today, dietary patterns also attract interest among athletes and bodybuilders. It turns out that body shaping by training alone has its limits.

Let's consider the dietary patterns they practice.

1. Fasting every other day. Eating as usual during one day, then fasting overnight and throughout the following day (36 hours). Proponents of the technique advise choosing healthy food, but basically allow eating anything.

2. No fixed pattern (random eating). Some people believe that we should eat and train like our ancestors, randomly. This means skipping meals and training without a fixed schedule, but whenever you want. You also have to eat "evolutionarily correct" food and vary your calorie intake. The diet is very flexible, there are no rules in a strict sense: you eat when you want to, then fast for two days, then have a snack and go without food again.

3. Eating-pause-eating (a day without food, 1-2 times a week). You have to fast for 24 hours 1-2 times a week and eat mostly unprocessed, healthy food that is high in protein. The technique is flexible, you may choose when to fast and the exact time at which to start, e.g. from breakfast to breakfast or from lunch to lunch. John Berardi, a doctor and a sports nutrition specialist, tested it on himself and found it very promising.

4. Martin Berkhan's system (16-hour fast / 8-hour eating window). The system recommends eating only during a certain time interval. The rest of the time, you should refrain from eating. For example, you may eat only from 1 pm to 9 pm every day. However, that is not the only rule. Your diet should include high-protein food, alternating carbohydrate meals, training on an empty stomach, and proper timing (you should consume most of your daily diet immediately after a workout).

5. Military diet (20-hour fast / 4-hour eating window). According to this technique, you may eat only during a certain period of time. For example, you may eat from 6 pm to 10 pm each day and train on an empty stomach. For this pattern, a carefully chosen diet is recommended. As a rule, the four-hour eating window falls in the evening.

Those are the most popular dietary patterns at the moment.

Each pattern has its own specific features, but the main thing is that various patterns are finally being discussed, and not just different diets within a single supposedly correct pattern. Medicine still tends to assume a single eating pattern for everyone, varying only the diet.