Low-Cholesterol / Low-Saturated Fat

The first step in lowering cholesterol levels is usually a low-cholesterol / low-saturated fat diet. It limits cholesterol consumption to no more than 300 milligrams a day and total fat intake to any more than 30 percent of your daily calories. Only 10 percent of those fat calories should come from saturated fats. It can also be a relatively painless way of losing weight.

Cholesterol is a fat-like waxy substance produced by the liver and is absolutely essential to life. It works to build and repair cells and provides a base for some hormones and bile acids. High levels of cholesterol can contribute to the risk of heart disease and/or stroke. Even though cholesterol is produced in the body, avoiding foods containing cholesterol, trans fats, and saturated fats may help to reduce high blood cholesterol levels and help to prevent coronary heart disease. The antioxidants in processed tomatoes, especially the lycopene and vitamin C, have been shown to reduce free radicals that damage the molecules responsible for moving cholesterol through the blood stream. Including this bright red vegetable for some variety in a low cholesterol diet couldn’t hurt.

Low Carbohydrate

Any diet that restricts carbohydrate intake is a Low Carbohydrate Diet. Although no limits have been defined for low carbohydrate diets, the Dietary Guidelines for Healthy Americans recommend that a normal diet contain 45 percent to 60 percent of calories from carbohydrates. Most commonly, one considers a 40:30:30 ratio of carbohydrates to protein to fats as a somewhat normal intake. Therefore, it must be assumed that a carbohydrate intake of less than 30 percent of calories could be considered a low carbohydrate diet. Extremely low carbohydrate intake can be a rapid (and, if unsupervised, potentially dangerous) weight reduction diet designed to create ketosis. In addition, low intake of carbohydrates causes the body to metabolize protein from lean muscles and lose water. The weight is easily regained. The Atkins Nutrition Approach, The Zone Diet, and The South Beach Diet are based on carbohydrate restrictions. Always in season, nutritionally dense, and definitely a low carb vegetable, processed tomatoes are a natural way to get more fruits and vegetables into a low carbohydrate diet.

Diabetic

The diabetic diet follows the patterns of a normal diet for maintenance of good health and normal activity. The dietary requirements of individual diabetics differ with the severity of the disease, the type of diabetes, the type and extent of insulin therapy received, and the amount of activity performed. With diabetes, the ability to make or utilize insulin is impaired. Insulin is essential for metabolizing the glucose that the body produces from the food we eat. Diabetics must take extra care to balance food intake with insulin injections, exercise, and any other glucose altering activity. In Type 1 diabetes this balance is critical. In Type 2 diabetes the concern may be more focused on weight loss in order for the body to utilize the insulin it does produce. Large fluctuations in blood sugar levels should be avoided so spacing of meals and food intake is important, too. The glycemic index may be a helpful tool in predicting the way carbohydrate foods affect blood sugar and to help regulate insulin and medicinal dosages. With a low glycemic index of 38 versus 100 for glucose (sugar), processed tomatoes are a good way to get more vegetables with their health giving antioxidants into a diabetic diet.

The Atkins Nutritional Approach™

A four-phase eating plan leading to a permanent lifestyle based on eating natural, whole foods and avoiding sugar, bleached flour, and other refined carbohydrates, as well as the trans fats contained in most of the “junk” foods on supermarket shelves, is outlined in the Atkins Diet. It is specifically geared to correcting the metabolic imbalance that causes people to become overweight. This plan focuses on nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods, vitanutrient supplement, and regular exercise while reducing carbohydrate intake to about 20 grams of Net Carbs (total grams of carbs minus grams of fiber). It also restricts the intake of processed/refined carbs. The goals are to lose weight, maintain the weight loss, achieve good health, and lay the groundwork for permanent disease prevention. The initial phase called Induction reduces carbohydrate intake to no more than 20 grams per day. During phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss, and phase 3, a few more carbs are allowed. By phase 4, Lifetime Maintenance, it is assumed that the critical carbohydrate intake for maintaining body weight at a given level will be determined and a lifetime eating pattern established. One-fourth cup (a serving) of tomato sauce contains only 2 grams Net Carbs making it a great way to limit carbohydrate intake in any phase of this diet.

The Zone Perfect Nutrition® Program

Food is viewed as a "drug" which significantly affects the body's production of insulin. It is believed that changes in insulin levels can affect the mood, endurance, mental acuity, and weight gain or loss. People on this program eat a specified ratio of low-density carbohydrates, dietary fat and protein to control insulin production. If a specified therapeutic "zone" of insulin level is maintained, it is reported to burn excess body fat, increase energy, improve mental focus, and increase vitality. Always available, always in season and loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients, processed tomatoes make one great source of carbohydrates for this program.

The South Beach Diet®

Not a low-fat or low-carb diet, The South Beach Diet emphasizes eating the right carbohydrates and the right fats. Potatoes, fruit, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, beets, carrots, and corn are not allowed for the first two weeks and strongly discouraged after that. Carbohydrates with low glycemic indexes are good (they don't cause the blood sugar levels to rise and fall as quickly). No pastries or other sugar-filled desserts are allowed. Alcohol is forbidden in the induction phase and limited in the long-term program. The key elements are using the good fats -- Mediterranean oils, olive oil, canola oil, the omega-3 fish oils, and the oils found in almost all nuts -- along with the good carbohydrates from vegetables, whole-grain breads, and whole fruits.

Like the Atkins Diet, there is a 14-day induction phase, a next stage for reintroduction of carbohydrates, and a final stage that becomes the diet for life. There is no counting calories or strict portion sizes. The idea is to eat normal foods in normal portions following a few basic guidelines and develop a pattern for strategic snacking to control hunger and prevent the cravings that occur shortly after the end of a meal. This diet is very flexible. It's simple and it works without counting calories, without counting grams of fat or grams of carbohydrates. Just eat slowly and until you are satisfied. Processed tomatoes, a fruit labeled a vegetable, with a little olive oil, one of the good oils, added will make a thin-crusted veggie pizza full of taste and lycopene. The oil makes the lycopene more bioavailable and together they are just naturals for the South Beach Diet.