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Matching DNA To a Diet Doesn't Work (statnews.com)
DNA testing won't guide dieters to the weight-loss regimen most likely to work for them, scientists reported on Tuesday. From a report: Despite some earlier studies claiming that genetic variants predict whether someone has a better chance of shedding pounds on a low-carbohydrate or a low-fat diet, and despite a growing industry premised on that notion, the most rigorous study so far found no difference in weight loss between overweight people on diets that "matched" their genotype and those on diets that didn't. The findings make it less likely that genetics might explain why only some people manage to lose weight on a low-carb diet like Atkins and why others succeed with a low-fat one (even though the vast majority of dieters don't keep off whatever pounds they lose). Unlike cancer treatments, diets can't be matched to genotype, the new study shows. The results underline "how, for most people, knowing genetic risk information doesn't have a big impact," said Timothy Caulfield, of the University of Alberta, a critic of quackery.
The only diet that works is one that you are happy sticking with. Sure, it's easy to lose a bunch of weight. I've lost 30lbs+ three times. That weight comes back if it's "a diet." The only diet that works though is the one that ceases to be a diet and becomes the lifestyle.
If you hate your diet- you're never going to stick on it. If you're happier leaving out carbs- leave out carbs. If you're happier counting calories- count calories. If you want to cut fat, cut fat.
Overall though, if this isn't something you can do for the rest of your life, the weight will come back. Everyone needs to find the diet that they are happy with. That's the only way they can reach their ideal weight. You can never stop being on "a diet" so it has to be something you love.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Diet and nutrition appear to be incredibly complex. For very good evolutionary reasons, it seems to be a flexible, creative system, with a lot of redundancies, failovers, and alternatives. The more I learn, the more I realize just how laughably little we know. It doesn't help that the field is filled with quackery, moralizing, conspiracy theories, and so, so many people determined to shore up a presupposed agenda, as opposed to searching for the truth. Also, the amount of money on the table just encourages the craziness.
I think eventually we will find things that are DNA-dependent, but many of those will be niche. A heart medicine comes to mind, which in trials did almost nothing for the general populace, but was found to work wonders for men of African descent. There are also a lot of other known issues dealing with medical effectiveness and dosing based on people's biological ability to use or remove the drug from their systems.
But I suspect for a lot of issues, most of the time results will be pretty general. Bodies that can burn both fat and sugar for energy might not have a reason to lose weight if the calorie intake is the same, but the scales are tipped in favor of either fat or sugar. Or we may find that certain genetic types respond well to a particular diet, but only if two or three other related factors are also strictly controlled for.
It sure as hell isn't going to hinge on something as simple as your blood type; that I know for sure.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
Seems the rise in weight and diseases really kicked off with the Fat Free fad.
The fat was replaced with carbohydrates.
And it has just been going up ever since.
Read what is in your food and you will notice the western diet consumes massive amounts of carbohydrates.
Easiest diet is this: expend more than you take in.
That is the easiest to understand, not the easiest to do.
I fell off the diet while in grad school and gained it back and more.
If it was so easy, why did you fail?