It’s true, we all have tried different diets, whether it’s for losing weight, detoxing, building muscle or clearing up our skin and health issues. There are so many fad diets, but do any of them work long term and what are the health implications? We look at some of the disaster diets you should never try.
Research shows that “crash” & “fad” dieting can lead to many health implications such as fatigue, dehydration, constipation, and diarrhoea, it can raise a person’s risk of gallstones, osteoporosis and heart disease.
Don’t forget the fact that most crash dieters gain their weight back and sometimes more, when they stop!
We don’t need to make our weight loss efforts more difficult than they need to be, fad diets leave us cranky and our body starving for good nutrition. Diets certainly don’t create healthy lifestyle habits for our future.
Here are some disaster diets you should never try!
The Dukan Diet – ‘no carb/protein only’ approach that promotes rapid weight loss. Critics of the style claim it can cause bad breath, constipation and lack of energy plus more serious health risks like cardiovascular disease.
The Lemon Detox Diet – Dieticians Association of Australia deemed the Lemon Detox Diet the ‘worst’, with almost three quarters (74%) of 230 dieticians voting against it. It plays havoc on your metabolism as your body goes into starvation mode. Most of the weightless is fluid and is impossible to sustain in the long term. All the weight comes flooding back one you start eating normally again
No Rice, Pasta or Bread diet – While eating a wide range of colourful food is important for our bodies, depriving ourselves of the foods we love is like a punishment. Instead of swearing off rice and pasta and bread completely, you should choose unprocessed wholegrains. Like whole-wheat pasta, bread, and brown rice “Studies show that whole grains help control body weight – they are digested more slowly, keep blood sugar levels steady, and delay the return of hunger”.
Meal replacement diets – From biscuits to shakes to chocolate bars, there are many meal replacement diets in the marketplace. They are used as a replacement to your normal meals. While they are calorie controlled and can be useful on a once off occasion, they do not promote healthy eating and conscious food choices. Many of these types of replacements are nutrient deficient, and have been known to cause irritable bowel or constipation.
