Who doesn't love the idea of quick and easy weight loss? Imagine being able to eat nothing but ice cream, and still losing 10 pounds. It sounds a little too good to be true, and that's because it is. Weight loss is a $66 billion dollar industry, and one of the most advertised, according to U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market.
And many of them are fad diets, called such because they are popular thanks to a new bestselling book or a heavy rotation by public relations teams but with little evidence behind them. The Boston Medical Center reported that of the estimated 45 million American who go on a diet annually, 50% of them use fad diets. A fad diet promises quick weight loss and that can be true, but that is because they are crash diets and involve unhealthy, unbalanced eating plans. Although fad diets have been proven not to work on multiple occasions, people still have faith in quick fixes.
The juice diet and the blood-type diet are two recent trending diets in America. Although they are entirely different, they have one thing in common...they don't work.
Let's take a look at The Juice Cleanse Diet. Although there are many ways to complete a juice diet, according to Juicing-for-Health the most common juice diet is the 7-day juice plan. They claim this plan is designed to "flush toxins" out of the person's system which will lead to weight loss, improved energy levels, better bowel movements, and a decreased craving for sugar and processed food. People participating in the diet take in around 500- 800 ml of juice per meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) which totals up to 1500-2400 ml of juice a day. On top of the juice, it is recommended to drink 70 ounces of water to stay adequately hydrated. You are allowed snacks as long as they are healthy. Thus, fruits, fresh vegetables, and natural teas are permitted.
There is one glaring problem. The majority of the weight loss during the Juice cleanse is water weight. The primary issue with diets such as the Juice diet is there is entirely no way that somebody will be able to receive all of their essential daily nutrients while doing this cleanse. Some crucial nutritional things that will not be obtained is iron, protein, omega three fatty acids, and calcium. Those are vital parts of daily dietary breakdowns and what is needed to help fuel the body entirely and keep it healthy. On top of not being able to receive the proper amount of nutrition, when solid food is introduced back to the diet, the digestive system will have to readjust to breaking down solid foods again, which causes for fat storage which leads to rapid weight gain and bloating.
When you even see the name “The Blood Type Diet” it should be suspect. Your blood type cannot impact your diet any more than your astrological sign can. Nevertheless they persist and claim Type O, A, B, and AB blood requires different eating habits. The Type O diet consists of high proteins, and vegetables. The Type A diet consists of cutting out meat, and eating legumes and whole grains. Type B removes chicken, corn, wheat, tomatoes, peanuts, and sesame seeds. Type AB has seafood, tofu, dairy, and green vegetable diet.
Even WebMD, which will usually endorse any miracle vegetable on one side and claim anything causes cancer on the others, notes there is no evidence supporting that the blood type diet works.
Instead, it's an instance where Americans spend too much time and money treating “illnesses” that they don't have.
There are many healthy ways to maintain your weight that do not include fad diets. Eating whole, healthy foods and treats in moderation during times when your body is most active is an excellent approach to healthier eating and losing weight. Add on a few hours a week at the gym; then you will get on the right track.
Society needs to stop trying to cheat their way into healthy lifestyles, or preventing things that do not pose a risk to their lifestyles.
