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How Can False Promises Kill You?

February 11, 2022

6 min read

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Author : United We Care
Clinically approved by : Dr.Vasudha
How Can False Promises Kill You?

Introduction

In recent years, fad diets have become increasingly fashionable. Obesity, social media use, and society’s pressure to be skinny have contributed to this trend. Fad diets are a fast fix for weight reduction and improved health, restricting food choices and harming people’s health. They are complicated with misleading scientific claims. Yet, the number of people who follow these FAD diets are pretty high. 

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What Is The Fad Diet?

Fad diet refers to the diet marketed as the finest and quickest way to lose weight. However, some of these diets call for avoiding meals rich in nutrients that the body requires to be healthy. 
These are the diets frequently supported by celebrities or advertised in the media. Popular fad diets include a vegan diet, keto diet, low-fat diet, Mediterranean diet, paleo diet, gluten-free diet, intermittent fasting, etc. It may also include high-fat, low-carbohydrate, or high-protein meals and hype specific foods like cabbage, foods containing probiotics, or raw foods. But the fad diet lacks essential nutrients, such as grains and some essential compounds, such as lectins.
There is one thing that all fad diets have in common – they suggest a short-term remedy to an issue that many individuals will have for the rest of their lives. When you stop following the diet, you gain the weight that you have lost rapidly. Fad diets don’t focus on lifestyle changes, are essential to maintain weight loss, and aren’t long-term sustainable.

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Experts

Fad diets can also cause the following issues

The Science Behind the Fad Diet

Here is the science behind the fad diet. The human body first breaks down those conveniently accessible energy sources while eating a carbohydrate-rich diet. It causes an increase in blood glucose levels, which triggers the creation of insulin, a hormone that encourages the storage of excess nutrients as fat. It can prevent these nutrients from being absorbed, causing hunger and cravings in the body. When one takes minimal quantities, on the other hand, the body forcefully starts to convert stored fat into fuel, resulting in a condition known as ketosis. Lower blood glucose produces less insulin, making fat storage more accessible. 
When people start a high-protein fad diet, it can reduce appetite. This combination of fat burning and reduced hunger leads to weight reduction in the initial days, mainly to a loss of water weight, which occurs when your insulin reduces along with water tied to glycogen. 

The Danger of Fad Diets

It’s challenging to know what to trust with so much information freely available and new fad diets appearing almost every week. There may be risks linked with fad diets, such as the ketogenic diet or eating gluten- or dairy-free. The danger of fad diets can include the following circumstances:

  • It is too restrictive: 

It comes with several restrictions and often eliminates the entire food group. When a person restricts fat or carbs in their diet, the body releases certain hormones to counter the condition, promoting increased cravings for these absent macronutrients. Dietary limitations can lead to overeating later on, leading to lethargy and exhaustion,  implying that a person may have less energy to work out and go about their everyday activities.

  1. Nutrient deficiency: 

Some fad diets may push a person to exclude food categories such as whole grains, which their body requires fuel and nourishment. Others may even encourage people to eliminate specific fruits and vegetables, which supply critical nutrients and antioxidants to their bodies. If they follow this fad diet plan’s instructions and exclude items high in fibre and vital nutrients from their diet, they may lose weight but might have nutrient shortages and changes in their digestive, muscular, and bone health.
Fad diets can also cause the following issues:

1. Dehydration

2. Weakness and fatigue

3. Nausea and headaches

4. Constipation

5. Inadequate vitamin and mineral intake

How to Spot a Fad Diet?

Spotting a Fad diet is effortless. A fad diet often has one or more of the following characteristics: 

  1. It promises a rapid remedy
  2. Promotes combinations of foods
  3. Implies that food can alter bodily chemistry
  4. Food categories of nutrients like carbs are excluded or severely restricted
  5. Have strict weight-loss centric regulations
  6. Makes claims only based on single research or testimonials

Your Body Needs Balance and Variety to Function Properly

There is a diet that produces results. A person does not have to leave out any meals to acquire and maintain healthy body weight, and they may eat everything – in moderation. It’s a balanced eating plan, not a new concept. It will transform life when one combines with modest physical activity. People often leave out the importance of a well-balanced diet. Because your body needs balance and variety to function correctly, and to be effective with a balanced eating plan, one must:

  1. Eat plenty of legumes, vegetables, and fruits.
  2. Include a variety of cereals, preferably wholegrain
  3. Consume fish, lean meat, poultry or other alternatives
  4. Include yoghurts, milk, cheeses, etc
  5. Drink plenty of water
  6. Limit the intake of saturated fat and moderate total fat
  7. Choose to eat low-fat food
  8. Choose foods containing a low amount of salt
  9. Limit the alcohol intake
  10. Limit the consumption of too much sugar

What Can You Do About FAD Diet?

To avoid fad diets, one must slow down to give themselves enough time to change the way people eat. No one gains weight in a month, and hence, they must not expect to lose it all at once. They must determine the number of calories they will need each day to attain and maintain a healthy weight. We recommend keeping a food journal for a few months to sustain everything you eat and drink until eating healthy foods becomes second nature.

Conclusion 

Feeling good about oneself is part of being healthy. Don’t believe the media’s unrealistic portrayals of the world. We understand how work and taking care of a family can sometimes make it challenging to keep yourself healthy. So, adopting healthy eating habits is easy and helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight which boosts your confidence level. And if they need professional help, get in touch with United We Care. We build this platform out of a desire to give equal and inclusive access to help from the comfort of one’s own home to people worldwide.

 

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Author : United We Care

Founded in 2020, United We Care (UWC) is providing mental health and wellness services at a global level, UWC utilizes its team of dedicated and focused professionals with expertise in mental healthcare, to solve 2 essential missing components in the market, sustained user engagement and program efficacy/outcomes.

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