If you love salmon and vegetables, this may be a diet for you. Promoted by medical doctor Ronald Hoffman, the diet is purported to be helpful for weight loss, and also for healing many chronic conditions and boosting general health. It is similar to the Mediterranean diet, and does not require counting calories or limiting your food intake as long as the foods are acceptable in this plan.
Health Benefits
Hoffman's official website lists a wide range of health conditions that the salad and salmon diet may help prevent or treat. Salmon and other oily fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are unsaturated fats that reduce risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Omega-3 fatty acids also protect against inflammation, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancer, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Including other beneficial foods and excluding unhealthy foods increases these effects.
Foods to Avoid
When following this diet, do not eat sugar, hydrogenated fats, refined foods and foods made with flour. You'll need to exclude white rice, breaded and fried foods, processed meat, commercially raised meat, salt, butter and most sweeteners, notes Diet Choices. Eat only small amounts of dairy products, such as a cup per day of organic sugar-free yogurt or organic cottage cheese. Limit alcohol intake to three beverages per week, and if you do indulge, consider drinking red wine for its health benefits.
Foods to Include
Include unlimited low-starch vegetables, along with legumes such as beans, lentils and split peas. Beans contain protein, fiber and carbohydrates, and they are beneficial for keeping blood sugar stable. Also include one serving of fruit per day and some lean protein from meat, poultry or eggs. Olive oil is a primary component of this diet, because it contains antioxidants that protect against artery clogging and chronic disease, notes Hoffman. You also may eat 4 oz. of whole grains per day, such as brown rice, bulgur wheat, millet or rolled oats.
Seafood Types
This diet allows several types of seafood besides salmon, reports Diet Spotlight. You may choose mackerel, sardines, trout, tuna, shrimp and lobster. Cook seafood by baking, broiling, grilling or poaching with a bit of olive oil. Add herbs and garlic for spice.
Exercise
If you participate in strenuous exercise, you may add more complex carbohydrates to this diet, according to Hoffman. Examples of intensive exercise include long-distance running and cycling. Hoffman comments that most people do not exercise intensively enough to benefit from increasing carbohydrates.
Considerations
This diet is generally a lifestyle change rather than a short-term way to lose weight. If it restricts many of your favorite foods, you may find it difficult to follow for the long term, observes Diet Choices. In addition, if you don't have plenty of time to learn recipes and prepare food, that can be a problem with this plan.
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