Looking for a Personalized Diet? Try the Personality Diet

The dieting market is saturated with numerous techniques to lose weight without having to try hard. Some dieters focus on eating certain kinds of foods, while others load up on diet pills. With many diet fads becoming popular and suddenly disappearing, many people are shifting towards finding a personalized diet. The idea is that not one diet fits all.

One form of dieting that has gained popularity is the personality diet. However, not all health experts agree on what exactly the personality diet is. Some base the personality diet on self-examination and back up their results with neuroscience research, while others base the personality diet merely on psychological traits.


Personality Diet, According to Neuroscientists

Dr. Daniel Amen, a clinical neuroscientist, has published a book entitled, “The Amen Solution: The Brain Healthy Way to Lose Weight and Keep it off.” Amen says that many people don’t do well on diets because they try diets that they’re not genetically capable of succeeding at.

He states that overeaters are classified into 5 groups. There are compulsive types, impulsive types, compulsive-impulsive types, sad or emotional overeaters, and a combination of sad/emotion eaters and anxious eaters.

Dr. Amen says, “We looked at the brains of our overweight patients and discovered there was not one brain pattern associated with being overweight: there were at least five different types.”


Eating Based on Brain Type

Based on the type of brain an overeater has, that should dictate the diet they eat. For instance, he says the compulsive overeaters are those that can’t stop thinking about food. He recommends that they stay away from protein because that would amplify their focus. He recommends that they eat carbohydrates that help in the production of serotonin. This eventually helps in altering their moods and loosens the compulsion.

Carbohydrates would be a bad combination for impulsive dieters because the serotonin would lead them to have a less heightened control over their activities. Proteins from meat and oats would help increase their focus and counteract impulsiveness.

Anxious types would benefit from staying away from alcohol and caffeine. Anxious types should focus on amino acid glutamine rich foods, like lentils and broccoli. These foods would help them in dealing with their anxiety.


Personality Diet Based on Psychological Tests

Dr. Robert Kushner, MD is a professor at Northwestern University. His book “The Personality Diet” leans more towards answering a series of questions to help determine a person’s personality. Based on these answers, a person would follow a diet that would fit their personality type.

Meal plans are divided into two groups. A person has 3 daily meals, and 2 daily snacks. Dr. Kushner’s version of the personality diet has a bigger emphasis on “super foods.” These are mainly plant-based and focuses on foods that are low to moderate in fat, but have high levels of vitamins and nutrients. Even though it focuses on a plant-based diet, it isn’t necessarily a vegetarian diet.


Sources:

Personality Diet: Fad Diet or Personalized and Based on Neuroscience?

Personality Diet: Putting Together a Personalized Diet (Kushner)

Personality Diet: Personalized Based on Plant-Based Foods


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