Food therapy is the oldest known form of medicine. Ancient texts of India (the Vedas) dating back to 4500 BC gave precise descriptions of the therapeutic and medicinal value of hundreds of foods and edible plants. In 400 BC, Hippocrates told his students “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. The Neijing, a Chinese text dating from 300 BC, states, “Medicine and food are of the same source”. All ancient cultures held similar beliefs.

Scholars and historians have shown these ancient cultures provided the foundation for much of contemporary western medicine. Unfortunately, their medicinal knowledge of food did not. This wisdom has mostly been lost to modern cultures. What we eat is no longer used to achieve healing and wellness. Food has become a simple commodity and popular diets are passing fads.

Food is the foundation of health and healing, yet most physicians don’t have the time, expertise, or resources to design patient-specific therapeutic diets. Patients are bio-chemically unique; therefore each requires an individualized diet. Current nutritional software programs are cumbersome for the patient and the practitioner.

Patient compliance is poor because the diets are hard to follow and often cause new problems while attempting to address existing ones.

You may have decided that using a diet meal replacement plan or diet food plan would be the easiest way for you to lose weight. However, there are so many plans available; you may not know which program would work the best for you. Diet food, meal replacement plans Nutrisystem and MediFast. These diet plans may seem similar, although once you read about each plan, you will find they are very different.

Nutrisystem Overview:

Nutrisystem offers prepackaged, pre-portioned diet meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks. You are advised to add fresh vegetables, fruits, salads to lunch, and dinner meals. The meals are low calorie, yet nutritionally sound with the added fresh fruit and vegetables. The diet meals are based on low glycemic, good carbs, with the right amount of protein and fiber that your body needs for increased fat and calorie burning.

The Nutrisystem program also offers a free weight loss community website where you can get free diet counseling, weight loss tips and community support in your weight loss endeavors.

Nutrisystem advises if you eat their prepackaged diet meals and follow their plan, you can potentially lose 1 to 3 pounds a week.

MediFast Overview:

MediFast offers prepackaged diet meal replacement foods including shakes, soups, bars, pudding, drinks and cereals. Their name basically sums up how their plan works; you are “fasting” most of the day. Their most popular program is the 5 and 1 diet program where you eat 5 MediFast meals a day and 1 low calorie, low fat meal you cook and prepare yourself. Their plan is designed to be calorie deficient (between 800 – 1000 calories a day), thereby allowing your body to use fat for energy.

MediFast also offers a free weight loss community website where you can get diet support, weight loss tips, diet recipes and more.

MediFast advises if you follow their 5 in 1 diet program and use their diet meal replacements you can potentially lose up to 20 pounds in a month.

The Cost:
Nutrisystem costs about $11 a day, $77 a week and $308 a month plus shipping, although if you choose their auto-ship program, you will get a discount and a free week of diet meals and free shipping.

MediFast costs about $10 a day, $70 a week or $275 a month if you order one of their 4-week variety packages.

Both Nutrisystem and MediFast offer a money back guarantee minus shipping if you choose to return unopened packages of the diet meals within 30 days.