What is the Shelton Diet?

The Shelton Diet is a dissociated diet that consumes only one category of food during meals.
According to Dr. Shelton's hypothesis, each food consumed in isolation is not fattening.

Under this regime, it is therefore imperative not to mix alkaline- type foods (eg fresh vegetables, dairy products, fruits, etc.) with acid- type foods (eg bread, cereals, meat, fish). , pulses, etc.).

Foods are therefore divided into different categories and three distinct meals will punctuate your day: a meal of protein , another of starchy foods and the last of fruits .

A meal = a category of foods.

The 7 rules of the Shelton regime

The Shelton diet is governed by 7 fundamental principles :

1. The rule of combinations

Vegetables combine with proteins and starchy foods , but in no case should proteins and starchy foods be combined. As for the fruits , they must be consumed separately and constitute a meal.

Finally, limit fat because they delay digestion.

2. The rule of time

Meals must be spaced a certain number of hours apart:

After your protein meal, wait 4 hours before eating starchy foods and fruits.
After your meal of starchy foods , wait 4 hours before eating protein or fruit .
After a meal of fruit , wait 2 hours before consuming protein , starch or vegetables .

Finally, if your protein or starchy meal contains more than 30% fat , you have to wait 7 hours before eating another food.

3. The fruit rule

Neutral fruits can be eaten with either acidic fruits or sweet fruits . On the other hand, sweet and sour fruits are not eaten together. (Ex: melon can not be mixed with any other fruit, lemon can be eaten with protein.)

4. The juice rule

Juices can be eaten with fruits . In contrast, vegetable juices should be eaten with proteins , vegetables and starchy foods .

5. The rule of vegetables

Vegetables combine with proteins and starchy foods . On the other hand, starchy foods can only be combined with vegetables or other starchy foods .

6. The rule of milk

Milk is consumed alone . It can not be combined with any other food. In general, dairy products are not recommended .

7. The rule of drinks

Drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day.

Foods to consume

You can consume poultry , eggs , fish , seafood , vegetables , cereals , herbs, spices , herbal teas and fruits at will (within Shelton rules).

Foods to banish

As part of the Shelton diet, do not season your salads (use a kitchen spray and spray 2-3 times on your salad.)

Replace the traditional sugar (sucrose) with other sugars ( fructose, honey or starchy foods ).

As a general rule, banish the following foods: pastries, sugar , tea , coffee , meats , chicken , chocolate and sugary or carbonated drinks .

The pluses and minuses of the Shelton diet

The Shelton Diet is for big eaters who like to see their plate full . Indeed, ingested food is low in calories can be consumed in abundant quantities .

The benefits of this diet are: a feeling of well-being and lightness , more energy , a state of arousal all day and prevention against cardiovascular disease . Finally, it also prevents swelling and bloating .

On the other hand, in the long term , it can lead to serious nutritional deficiencies in protein (a single portion of protein per day remains insufficient), vitamin B12 (contained in kidneys, eggs, milk, meat and liver) and zinc (contained in crustaceans, liver and dairy products). In addition, since dairy products are not recommended , the Shelton diet increases the risk of osteoporosis .

It is important to note that the Shelton diet has not been validated by the scientific community .

Duration and effectiveness

The Shelton diet can be followed without problems for a week . Strict and complicated , it is difficult to follow this diet to the letter. The respect of combinations is painful in the long run and we get tired of it.

The foods to avoid are many (sugar, sauces ...) and make this diet unattractive . Moreover, it leads to the recovery of lost pounds (yoyo effect).
Opt instead for a short-lived traditional low-calorie diet !