The Great Australian Diet

Created by Australian health guru Dr John Tickell, the Great Australian Diet is touted as a return to natural foods and natural eating patterns. Tickell, an obstretician turned sports medicine specialist, claims that after travelling the world and studying foods, he has discovered several simple rules which can help anyone lose weight healthily.

He describes the Great Australian Diet as " anti-Atkins, anti-CSIRO " and emphasises the importance of carbohydrates in the diet, saying that the " two most important foods we eat- fruits and vegetables- are carbohydrates". Dr John also criticises the low GI diet because, he says, it frightens people off eating carbs.

The Great Australian Diet is actually rather complicated, and may not be as easy to follow as Dr Tickell seems to think. First of all, he replaces the glycemic index with the HI, or 'Human Interference' factor. This means that foods which have been highly processed, such as salami, white bread and white rice, are considered unhealthy, and are replaced by unprocessed alternatives- raw and lightly cooked vegetables, fish, especially deep water fish and sardines, and small amounts of lean meat. 2/3 of the diet should be composed of vegetables and fruits, and 1/3 'bonus' foods, which are essentially lean proteins, and after the initial two day cleansing period, which is very low calorie, 15 different types of plants should be eaten every day.

Since no calorie guidelines are given, and only vague instuctions to eat 4 or 5 nuts and so on, this may be the downfall of many dieters. After all, its pretty easy to forget how many nuts, seeds and grains you have eaten. It may also be hard for people on busy shedules to keep to such a demanding diet, since eating out is restricted really to grilled fish and an occasional steak and vegetables.

But the Great Australian Diet is much more than just an eating plan. Dieters get points for watching the sunset, hugging their children and other 'coping' activities, and use gentle exercise techniques to strengthen trunk and arm muscles. Walking is also part of the diet, which claims over 91 days to re-educate the body into natural rhythms. One of the selling points for me at least, is the resting weeks- after each three weeks on the diet, there are two weeks when you are allowed to eat freely, and recuperate. However, although it seems pretty healthy, the Great Australian Diet is never going to be voted easiest diet of the year.