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How A Fad Diet Can Harm Your Health

15th November, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Not everyone is happy about the thought of going to the beach. Scores of otherwise health conscious citizens subject themselves to deprivation diets, or look to a detox diet, or start an intense exercise regimen, often in blazing hot weather, to look slimmer in revealing clothes because of the need to fit into the image that they think they must portray but instead many unwittingly end up harming their health.

Early June and January are the two times of year people do crazy, desperate things to get thin fast so they go on fasts, yo-yo diets, detox diets, and ‘cleanses’ without realizing that there are serious consequences to weight loss and nutrient restriction and they do not realize that crash dieting does not work and can be dangerous because of a message that gets lost in the national clamor over rising rates of overweight and obesity. It is important to know what you are getting into when you are considering a detox plan.

Crash diets may harm your heart. Some people believe that very low calorie regimens are based on the false theory that the body needs help eliminating waste. Research suggests rapid weight loss can slow your metabolism. Your body will not drop the weight as quickly if the metabolism is slowed down. Another issue that is faced because of the restrictive diets is a person does not get enough vitamins. Following a detox plan is not always going to hurt your cardiac system. But crash dieting repeatedly increases the risk of heart attacks. Long-term calorie-cutting can eventually lead to heart muscle loss.

A detox plan should not be entered into without thinking. A lot has been written concerning the safety of a plan that tries to help a person lose weight too rapidly. If people think that something is popular it can become even more dangerous. In one case the diet seemed to work wonders. There were stories about incredible transformations. But then the news of sudden deaths began to trickle in. Some of the deaths occurred in people with underlying diseases. Researchers who examined otherwise healthy dieters the pattern of deaths suggested the effects of protein calorie malnutrition on the heart.

The reasons for the health problems that are faced when a person uses these detox plans is becoming clearer. When a person is using these programs they have a lower amount of the essential minerals and vitamins that their body needs to stay healthy and keep their heart working well. In addition to heart problems a person also is lacking in the amount of salt in their body and has trouble regulating their blood pressure.

Much of the research that has been done on the detox programs is inconclusive. Much of the research has been conducted in obese people and is carefully monitored. Check with your physician to make sure what you are planning to do is safe for you before you begin. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to make a trip to their physician. This can get them into trouble.

For many people there is absolutely no benefit to fasting or detoxing. Many of these programs are not going to deliver the promises that they make and should not be used. A lot of people use their hard earned money to buy them.

Getting fit and trim is not a difficult process. If you’re overweight, slimming down is critical for your overall health. If a person can lose just ten percent of their weight they will have a better chance of staying healthier.

But it’s important to lose fat naturally, which usually means slowly as most experts recommend dropping just 1 to 2 pounds a week, and despite what some brand-name diets claim, the best way to do so is to exercise regularly and stick to a diet that limits saturated fat and sugars and emphasizes fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, and whole grains. The key to losing weight is a combination of diet and exercise. In order to get healthy and stay that way, it is the best plan.