Rotational Diet - How Effective it is?

What is Rotational Diet? A rotational diet is an eating program, which divides food into various categories. The categories are scientifically formulated taking into consideration the family of foods, their nutrients, their calorific values and other necessary parameters.

You then eat each category of food for a certain limited period of time. When that period is over, you switch to another category of food for another period of time.

This goes on, until you are back to the first category of food again, and the cycle goes on. In this way, you rotate your diet and get to eat a variety of foods in a systematic manner.

Benefits Of Rotational Diet And Food Varieties

Helps to track down allergies: Allergic reactions from food are very difficult to identify. When you eat the same food over and over again, it is difficult to pinpoint if it is causing an allergic reaction. This is more so, when you are eating something you like. By switching categories of food, you are able to identify the culprit more easily. For example, you may be allergic to certain dairy products, or to gluten or fish. When you eat it regularly, you may be unaware of its allergy-causing properties. However, in a Rotation Diet, when you switch over to another category of food and the allergy disappears, you realize what had actually triggered it in the first place. You can now take steps to avoid this particular allergen in your diet.

Regain tolerance to foods you are allergic to: Only a few foods (about 5 per cent) have ‘fixed’ allergies. Most allergies can be overcome after a period of time. When you identify and avoid a particular allergen over a period of time, you may find that when you come back to it, after a certain period of time, the body has recuperated and got over this particular allergy. It also helps you to prevent and stay away from new food allergies.

Optimum nutrition: Since you are eating a vast variety of food in a planned and consistent manner, your body derives maximum benefit and nutrition. For example, left on your own, you may eat only burgers and fries every day, because that is what you like to eat. But this will not provide you the various nutrients like vitamins and minerals that you need. On the other hand, you may eat only vegetables and fruits day after day. Again this will deprive you of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which are also essential for the body. But when you rotate your diet, your body gets the entire variety of nutrients needed for its upkeep and well-being.

Strengthens the body’s immune system: Since the body is getting a variety of nutrients, a positive result is that the immune system becomes stronger. This in turn helps the body to minimize adverse reactions from other foods and reduces allergies.

Feeling of satisfaction: The Rotation Diet introduces variety into your meals and prevents boredom caused by eating similar meals every day. This leads to a feeling of well-being and satisfaction. Furthermore, since you are getting varied nutrients and tastes, food cravings also diminish.

Submitted on January 16, 2014