Fad Diets list among the most ridiculous ideas in human history. They are, like all quick fixes, counterproductive, often resulting in more damage than good. Many of these diets are far from balanced, and involve eating less or eating nothing at all.
They work well- in the short term. Generally, the body functions on the energy consumed through food. Whenever the energy supply of the body is low, it begins to burn calories packed into your body in the form of muscles, not fat, which is why you suddenly become low on strength. What you want to lose is fat, not muscle. But the body burns fat-calories ONLY after it is done with the muscles. This, however is not the worst part about fad diets The worst part is, that if you suddenly slip on your discipline and stop dieting one day, your body will continue to crave enormously, causing maniacal binge eating which makes you put on twice as much weight as before. The cases in existence are quite terrible. If you do continue with anything less than a balanced, complete diet, however, long term deprivation of nutrients to your body will result in health problems, prolonged weakness and illness. There is nothing like a balanced diet along with a regular exercise routine.
There are so many fad diets out there that promise what is impossible to believe. They tell you to focus on one miracle food or ingredient, or on only a few foods or food groups. There are detox diets, low calorie diets with exotic names and very convincing arguments with absolutely no scientific investigation conducted. The following are among the ridiculous, riskiest gambles to take on your health.
1. The Fruit Diet
You must have heard of this one. It involves eating nothing but fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and absolutely no animal products or grains: That means no milk, cheese, rice, pasta, nothing. While several health conscious vegans follow this diet, it is not recommended for children, who require all the protein and energy they can get to grow. Actor Ashton Kutcher was hospitalized for pancreatic problems after following this diet in preparation for his role as Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who had also once been a Fruitarian. Is it just a coincidence that Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer?
2. Paleolithic Diet
The idea of the paleolithic diet is basically this: eat like our primal hunter-gatherer ancestors. Everything raw, or cooked directly over a fire. It is founded on the principle that our digestive systems have not evolved in the last 15000 years, and we are best suited to feasting on immense portions of red meat nothing humans didn’t consume before agriculture arrived. It is also referred to as the Stone Age diet, caveman diet, and hunter-gatherer diet.
3. Israeli Army Diet
Disclaimer: This diet, popularized in the 70s has absolutely no connection to the Israeli Defence Forces. It is an 8 day diet which involves eating a single type of food for two days straight.
Days 1 – 2: Apples
Days 3 – 4: Cheese
Days 5 – 6: Chicken
Days 7 – 8: Salad
4. The Cabbage Soup Diet
This diet promises the loss of 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of weight in a week, through consuming nothing but low calorie Cabbage Soup. This diet is as unappetizing as it is ridiculous.
5. The Atkins diet
Officially called the Atkins Nutritional Approach, this diet reportedly helped the discoverer Robert Atkins resolve his own weight problems. It is a low carb diet, which is often misinterpreted to mean “Eat all the fatty food and meat you want, but don’t touch carbohydrates.
6. The Cigarette diet
The cigarette diet says this: whenever you crave to eat something, smoke a cigarette instead. This was popularized around the time people did not know about the dangers of smoking. Needless to say, there is no scientific evidence backing this.
7. The Vinegar Diet
This fad is one of the most astounding ones in history and has even been supported by Megan Fox. People willingly downed glasses of icky vinegar day after day, in the belief that it would help them lose weight. This has also been used as a folk remedy for diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer and osteoporosis. The scary part is, this horrible diet actually corrodes your organs, because vinegar is actually an acid.
8. Last Chance Diet
One of the biggest crazes in the seventies, the last chance diet involved consuming nothing but a drink called Prolinn, which was mostly derived from the discarded body parts of slaughterhouse animals. Of course, the consumers did not know this. There were almost 60 reported deaths.
9. Inedia
The Breatharian diet consists of a regular and natural supply of air and light. No water or food, just air and light. An advocate of the diet, Ellen Grave, went on to claim that her DNA was altering itself in order to turn hydrogen and oxygen into nourishing sustenance. It didn’t seem to do that for all the people who tried it, and subsequently starved to death.
10. Tapeworm Diet
Like doctors in ancient times used leeches to cure illnesses, the Tapeworm diet involves eating these critters, which can grow up to 25 feet long, in the belief that they will chomp through the fat in your body. It is considered an Urban Legend, but there are several reports of people who have tried it.
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