Recently, the Ducan diet has become very fashionable. This nutrition system was named after Pierre Ducan, who proposed it in 2000 in his book I Can't Lose Weight.
There is also reasonable
It cannot be said that the Ducan diet is contrary to all principles of healthy eating. There are positive aspects in this system. So, for example, it assumes fractional nutrition.
In addition, the diet implies limiting the fat content of the diet and even recommends moving more.
If you do not bring these tips to the point of absurdity, they really help to stay healthy. But then the problems begin.
The de facto Dukan diet is a protein diet that limits the intake of fats and carbohydrates. From the point of view of nutritional science, there is too much protein in it.
Harmful moments
According to the Ducan system, a person must sit at the table five times a day. Each meal contains one protein meal with no side dish. Thus, a person consumes from 140 g of pure protein per day. While no more than 120 g is considered the norm.
An excess of protein, like a lack of it, is harmful. It leads to either hypertension or gout. In addition, an excess of meat in the diet, along with a lack of other nutrients, leads to early aging of the body.
The lack of vegetable side dishes for meat is harmful for two reasons: firstly, the body experiences a deficiency of the most important dietary fiber, and secondly, the acid-base balance is disturbed - after all, meat gives an acidic environment, and vegetables - on the contrary, alkaline.
Fanatical restriction of sugar and carbohydrates is also not useful. Carbohydrates are needed by humans - including as "fast" energy for the brain.
Contradictions
The diet itself contains many contradictions. Let's see, for example, what is offered for breakfast. Here, they recommend either cottage cheese, or yogurt, or an oat bran cake as equivalent dishes - and these products have different nutritional values.
Another example: the diet encourages the consumption of more fluids and is aimed at losing weight, but completely eliminates soups. At the same time, it is well known that those who regularly eat soup consume fewer calories throughout the day.
In addition, the Ducan diet does not exclude, and in some editions recommends a variety of spices and hot sauces that whet the appetite and lead to overeating.
Here's another example of the controversy in the Ducan diet. The system recommends low fat yogurt, but does not prohibit fried liver. This product is too fat in itself, and then there is the oil on which it was fried.
The inedible part of the diet
Separately, it must be said about the main "highlight" of the diet. Pierre Dukan suggests dressing salads . . . with vaseline oil. Firstly, this oil is excluded from food additives and substances intended for the production of food products.
It, of course, can be bought at a pharmacy, but such oil should be used only as directed by a doctor - for example, for constipation.
However, this is a long outdated method - today there are more modern and subtly acting drugs. But the constant intake of vaseline oil leads to intestinal atony and hypovitaminosis.
In addition to all of the above, this "seasoning" has another very unpleasant feature. Vaseline oil is poorly absorbed, easily passes through the gastrointestinal tract and seeps through the anus, leaving marks on clothing and imparting an unpleasant odor.
Therefore, all "ducans", even men, have to wear pads.
Possible sad outcomes
To begin with, we list those for whom the Ducan diet is absolutely contraindicated. These include people with gout, kidney and liver problems, and pregnant women. Attention: such a diet can provoke a miscarriage!
In addition, the fanatical exclusion of carbohydrates, which serve as a source of energy for the brain, makes the Ducan diet unbearable for people of mental labor. A healthy person does not need to strictly limit sugar - it is enough not to exceed 50 g of sugar per day.
Following the Ducan system can lead to a deficiency of vitamins and minerals, as well as problems with the digestive system. Since the diet is low in fiber, the intestines have nothing to empty out. Hence - gas formation and bloating.
In addition, excess protein in the diet leads to the formation of ketone bodies and the accumulation of uric acid salts - that is, to gout.
At first, this process can even cause euphoria - this is how these ketone bodies work. It only ends with constant fatigue, exacerbation of chronic diseases, the development of new ones, as well as bad breath, which will join the smell of petroleum jelly.
Thus, Ducan's nutritional system can hardly be called a balanced diet and can hardly be recommended to anyone.