Fad diets are pretty dangerous in and of themselves, but some of them can really do a number on your wellbeing. Wellness expert Maria Trimarchi reveals the dangerous diets you should never, ever try:
1. Blood Type: According to Trimarchi, ‘In the mid-’90s, the Eat Right for Your Type diet encouraged Americans to be healthier by eating a menu determined by your blood type. For example, O blood types are an “old” blood line and should focus on ancient eating habits that include meats and fish; wheat, on the other hand, should be avoided because it makes O types sluggish and bloated. Type A? Try an A-for-agrarian (vegetarian) diet. We could go on, but there’s no evidence that following such a diet is at all beneficial for good health and decreased risk of chronic illness.’
2. hCG: ‘The hCG diet sounds tempting, doesn’t it?,’ Trimarchi admits. ‘Lose 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) in a month – and all you have to do for those results is be injected with the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is extracted from the urine of pregnant women. Oh, and in addition to that shot, you’re only allowed to consume 500 calories – and that’s per day. Considering the average American adult male consumes more than 2,600 on an average day, that’s going to hurt – literally. You’ll have stomach pains from near-starvation eating this way, and daily caloric intake this low qualifies as anorexia nervosa, which can cause damage to every organ system in your body. The problem, though, aside from starvation, is that there is no evidence that injecting yourself with hCG is a viable long-term weight-loss solution — and hCG is only approved as a way to treat infertility, not as a way to lose body fat.’
3. Cotton Wool: ‘Would you eat cotton balls to help curb your hunger?’ asks Trimarchi. ‘Some models do, it turns out, and since the cotton tastes, well, cottony, often things are flavoured up with a quick dip in orange juice (of which an ounce adds 14 calories). This isn’t a diet; rather, it is a dangerous way to trick your body into feeling full without actually eating any food. (Of course, if you’re not eating food you’re going to, inevitably, lose weight.) Cotton balls weren’t meant to be in your digestive system, and can cause all sorts of problems when you eat them, beginning with aspiration pneumonia from fibres and liquid that could make their way into your lungs all the way to twisted intestines, abdominal pain and bowel obstruction and necrosis.’
4. Cabbage Soup: Trimarchi details, ‘The cabbage soup diet: a menu plan that has you forgoing almost all foods except, of course, cabbage soup. There’s no denying you’ll lose weight –dieters report losing as much as 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in only a week – but there are problems with this plan. First, imagine eating cabbage soup for all your main meals for seven days; it’s a tedious and uninspired menu. And second, it’s not healthy weight loss. In the long run, eating nothing but cabbage soup (and maybe a little bouillon, black coffee, or a tomato) may give you good results for the week you follow the menu, but these are not the foods of a balanced diet. This diet is low calorie, low fat, low protein, and low on essential nutrients, so the weight you do lose is really nothing more than fluids – water retention – rather than fat.’
5. Vinegar: ‘Studies about the effect of vinegar as a dietary supplement are limited, at least in humans,’ Trimarchi warns. ‘But we do know there are risks: Vinegar is acidic and may cause oesophageal damage (and damage to your tooth enamel, too). Too much vinegar could also lower your potassium levels, weaken your bones, and interact with certain medications.’
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