How Does a New Diet Affect Your Body? 2023
Diet is said to make you healthier, live longer, and look better (though that last point is subjective). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that 17% of American people were on a special diet between 2015 and 2018, a greater rate than a decade earlier.
The keto diet, intermittent fasting, and veganism all have pros and cons, but most people try them to improve their health and reduce weight.
Unfortunately, these advantages aren’t often apparent right immediately, and the hard effort and dedication necessary can be a barrier for many—just ask the 79% of dieters who say they’re unlikely to stick to their new eating habits (via Newsweek).
However, reasonable expectations and knowing how a diet impacts the body might influence whether someone stays to their regimen. Change your diet and notice what happens to your body and how long it takes.
Some effects take time to take effect.
A balanced diet may not be visible, but your body is changing. After changing your diet, certain health benefits appear practically instantly. Dr. Terry Wahls, a board-certified internal medicine physician, told MindBodyGreen that healthy foods can start to repair your gut within 20 minutes, and replacing inflammation triggers like sugar and simple carbs with veggies and whole grains can improve brain function within a few hours.
The body may take time to change. “The benefits evolve over months, sometimes years,” Torrance Memorial Medical Center cardiac director Dr. Mark D. Lurie told U.S. News & World Report. “Physiologic changes will start quickly, but the true effect takes time.”
Diet and health objectives determine this. Diabetologia reported in 2011 that a low-calorie diet might cure type 2 diabetes in eight weeks. WebMD says clinical test findings for heart-healthy diets can take three weeks to three months.
Weight loss is different for everyone, and no diet is foolproof. Cleveland Clinic advises eating fewer calories than needed. Your body will consume stored fat for fuel and eliminate it through perspiration, urine, and CO2.
New diets may be hard on your body.
A healthy diet may improve gut, brain, heart, and other functions, but you may not feel better immediately away. Most dieters expect early pain. “The number one thing I always hear about transitioning to a healthier diet is bloating, gas, and having an upset stomach,” registered dietitian Jaclyn London told Good Housekeeping.
Food desires. Starting a new diet by eliminating sugary and high-calorie items might make them more tempting. “If you have a cookie every day after school, just walking into the house cues you to have a cookie,” said Monell Chemical Senses Center food researcher Dr. Marcia Pelchat to WebMD.
“If you don’t get that cookie right away, your mind obsesses about it and turns it into a craving.” A 2018 Appetite research found withdrawal effects included irritation and weariness.
Dieting side effects might vary. A restricted diet that starves the body or causes fast weight loss might be harmful. Your diet is excessively restricted if you get cramps, pains, dizziness, gastrointestinal difficulties, dry mouth, or hair loss (NHS).