Source: www.yahoo.com
We all know that fad diets wreak havoc on your body and often leave you
weighing more than when you started on them. But you may not realize
that common, beloved ways of eating, like vegetarianism, can make your
weight yo-yo just as easily. And others have long-term, adverse health
effects. Here, the top 10 diets that can do your body more harm good,
and the expert advice you must know before you change your eating
habits.
1. Vegetarianism
Ditching meat can have you reaching for not-so-nutritious protein
sources, like tofu and tempeh. "They're the most highly processed
foods," points out Kathy Keenan Isoldi, PhD, a registered dietitian at
Long Island University and author of The Woman's Day Guide to Lasting Weight Loss: 10 Simple Steps to a Healthier You at Any Stage of Life.
Processed foods not only tend to be devoid of nutrients but also filled
with sugar, which can cause weight gain by spiking insulin, and salt,
which can cause bloating. Instead, Dr. Isoldi suggests making your own
veggie burgers, and filling up on beans and lowfat cottage and
mozzarella cheese.
2. Paleo Diet
While this meat- and nut-heavy diet is chock full of nutrients, it's
also calorie-packed-as in, not a recipe for weight loss. Making matters
worse, registered dietician and health coach Erin Macdonald says this
diet can be hard to follow because it restricts carbohydrate intake,
limiting even healthy sources found in fruit. Although many athletes
adopt this protein-heavy diet, Macdonald notes that cutting out carbs,
your body's preferred source of fuel, can make you lethargic. "If you
want to cut grains, that's fine, but then throw in a sweet potato to get
more energy."
3. Atkins Diet
This plan allows bacon, butter and cheese in large portions,
yet shuns carbohydrates. Without healthy carbs in grains and fruit, your
body burns fat for fuel, which "gives you headaches, hurts your brain
chemistry and damages your heart and arteries," says Macdonald. In fact,
over time, it can cause bad breath, nausea and even organ failure.
Besides, low-carb diets are hard to stick to because "any time you
restrict a certain food, it triggers cravings for the forbidden fruit
and sets up a restriction-binge cycle," says registered dietitian Dawn
Jackson-Blatner. The fix? The Eco-Atkins diet, which discourages
unhealthy fats and permits lean protein from meat and fish and natural
carbohydrates from vegetables and fruit.
4. Dukan Diet
Similar to Atkins and Paleo, Dukan revolves around eating a lot of meat
all while discouraging carbs, but also high-fiber beans, nuts and
lentils. "Diets low in fiber don't leave you feeling full,
so you go off it or eat large portions," which can result in weight
gain, says bariatric physician, Sue Decotiis, MD. Then there are the
extreme protein-only days, which can make dieting unenjoyable and
potentially, a waste of time. Instead, try a moderately low-carb (rather
than no-carb) diet, which permits healthy legumes. And skip
one-food-group-only days: They only set you up for failure.
5. HCG Diet
And you thought cleanses were extreme: This three-to-six-week diet
restricts you to 500 calories per day-and requires injections of human
chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone women produce during pregnancy.
It's supposed to prevent your muscles from breaking down from such
little sustenance, and is believed to reduce hunger too, according to
weight-loss physician Sheri Emma, MD. But Dr. Decotiis won't let her
patients consume fewer than 700 calories, and insists on weekly checkups
to see that the dieters are staying healthy. One more warning: A lot of
over-the-counter forms of HCG are useless because they never reach your
bloodstream.
6. Gluten-Free Diet
More and more people are going gluten-free,
whether because they believe they're gluten-intolerant or they've heard
claims that gluten causes Alzheimer's. Though most people aren't
actually sensitive to gluten, and the jury's still out on its
detrimental effects, it can be a good diet. "You're avoiding
processed flour, which isn't something our bodies metabolize well," says
Dr. Decotiis. The problem: Once you start eliminating sugar-heavy carbs
from flour, a piece of cake can become toxic to your liver. Another
downside: Many gluten-free packaged foods popping up in supermarkets are
highly processed, and you know what that can do to your waistline.
Opting for whole foods that are naturally gluten-free is your best bet
if you go this route.
7. French Woman Diet
"Eat cheese, drink wine and savor chocolate!" How can this work for the
Europeans? "Because they're eating teeny, tiny portions and dining
slowly, rather than shoveling food in their mouths like we do," says
Macdonald. "Take 20 to 30 minutes to eat a meal and you'll find yourself
getting fuller faster," she says, because this allows your brain time
to receive the signal from your stomach that you're full. If you want to
enjoy your favorite foods, Macdonald recommends kicking off each day
with a high-protein breakfast to limit cravings, and then reducing your
lunch and dinner portions.
8. Juicing Juicers
actually eliminate healthy fiber by straining the pulp, and these
"healthy" juices contain 50 to 70% fruit-an average of 50 grams of sugar
per tall glass. "They're missing the two most important things: fiber
and protein, which curb hunger," Macdonald says. Worse still, a recent
Harvard study found that those who drink fruit juice have a higher risk
of developing type 2 diabetes. A better idea: drinks that are 80%
vegetables and 20% fruit with unsweetened almond milk, protein powder
and chia seeds mixed in for healthy fat, protein and fiber, suggests
Macdonald. Blend to keep the pulp, and consider the drink a meal
replacement rather than a side beverage.
9. Alkaline Diet (aka the 80/20 Diet)
No dairy, meat or alcohol-or sugar for that matter. Most fresh
vegetables are fine. Some fruit is, too, but not all. "Too many rules
confuse and overwhelm dieters," says Macdonald. "When you eat some
fruits but not others, how do you draw the line?" The goal of this diet
is to balance your pH to prevent problems like kidney stones and
osteoporosis. "But our bodies' blood has a relatively neutral pH and a
good ability to keep the pH in the correct place," says Macdonald.
Still, reducing high-fat animal protein, sugars and refined grains in
favor of veggies is smart.
10. Acai Berry Diet
After Oprah announced that she incorporated the Amazon rainforest
berries into her diet back in 2009, people started believing that they
were fat-busting, cleansing miracle-workers. Reality check: "I haven't
seen it burn calories," says Dr. Decotiis. And the colon cleanser with
which the berries are usually paired is dangerous. "When your gut is
healthy, it will get rid of the waste it needs to get rid of," she adds.
Do this by eating the right nutrients, such as prebiotics found in
protein, aloe and certain herbs, and omega-3 fatty acids which help
regrow cells, "not by flushing water up an unhealthy gut." Doing so can
result in abdominal inflammation, infection, diarrhea and even death.
