Therapeutic Diets

While many people are content to treat their chronic health conditions with nothing more than prescription medicine and physician care, there are others who would rather take a more holistic approach to their well-being. This can be accomplished by adopting specifically tailored therapeutic diets--elimination and restriction diets that work to counteract individual conditions.

Therapeutic Diets Generally

A therapeutic diet is an eating strategy tailored to effectuate a specific result. Normally, therapeutic diets are used to treat and prevent a variety of health-related conditions. However, even a weight control diet would be considered "therapeutic," as it is a modification of your normal eating behaviors designed to produce a specific desired result.

Therapeutic Diet Theory

The idea behind therapeutic diets is that you are what you eat. Certain foods are known for triggering or preventing certain conditions, and a therapeutic diet seeks to maximize this effect by stacking together known beneficial foods to encourage desired outcomes. For example, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are known for their cancer-fighting properties, making their inclusion a must in a therapeutic diet to combat cancer.

Sample Therapeutic Diet

A sample therapeutic diet to combat cancer is provided by the American Cancer Society. In this diet, you should aim to subsist largely on plant-based nutrition like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while eschewing cancer-causing items like excessive red meat consumption or overconsumption of saturated and trans fats. Sticking to lean protein sources like seafood and chicken will help you minimize your risk of developing cancer.

Benefits

Beyond merely decreasing your risk of contracting one specific condition--or increasing your chances of surviving one--therapeutic diets encapsulate a number of additional benefits. For example, they are usually diets that are rich in natural foods, making weight control an added bonus. Therapeutic diets can also help you to treat diseases without relying too heavily on prescription medication, which can come with unwanted complications and potential side effects.

Considerations

While the number of supposedly therapeutic diets on the market are many, the number of potentially fraudulent diets exceeds the number of scientifically established strategies. While the Internet is rife with imaginative frauds, you can also find solid dietary advice from credible sources--find links to a few in the References section. Of course, ask your doctor for advice before you adopt any particular plan of action.