Harmful Effects of Fad Diets & Weight Loss Myths

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Don’t be fooled by any fad diet or weight loss myths! Listed below are 5 different weight loss myths and fad diet listings to help you not get fooled by false advertising!

Most Fad Diets Fail Because…

Far from the real findings of metabolic research, pill peddlers and miracle fad diet artists use flashy ploys, fake testimonials, and rock-bottom prices to deceive dieters. Each of the fad diets listed below are fraught with the telltale signs of many miracle weight loss “breakthroughs”, from a lack of empirical results to the plastering of over-emphatic claims all over their products.

What Are Some Fad Diets and do They Work? …Spoiler, nope!

Fad Diet #1 – Herbal Teas 

Similarly, the fad diet associated with herbal teas claim that their natural ingredients contribute to rapid weight loss. It’s only the use of caffeine, however, not an age-old herb, that produces any results, thus, herbal tea claims can be added to the list of weight loss myths. The diuretic caffeine also dehydrates the body, providing temporary drops in weight. While artichoke, green, elderberry, and other teas may provide helpful antioxidants and nutrients, they cannot offset caloric intake and are therefore one of many fad diet weight loss myths.

Fad Diet #2 – Mung Bean Soup  

Native to India and abundant in China, the mung bean is a small, green bean featured in Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Zhang Wuben, author of Eat Away The Illnesses Eaten In, claimed that a daily intake of no less than 500 grams of mung bean soup would prevent tumors, diabetes, and poor vision. This far-fetched diet fad weight loss myth has since been thoroughly debunked. While mung beans are nutritious, they don’t miraculously burn fat and thus can be added to the list of weight loss myths.

Fad Diet #3 – Acai Berry

Acai berries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins, which help to prevent diseases and improve vitality. Also containing fiber and “good fat,” acai berries can streamline digestion and metabolism. Thus, while it is true that a long-term diet of acai berries, when paired with exercise and supplemental nutrients, can indirectly promote weight loss, the quickening fame of the acai berry diet as a short-term “miracle cure” for obesity is a completely unfounded weight loss scam and is a fad diet that can be added to the list of weight loss myths.

Fad Diet #4 – The Dukan

French nutritionist Pierre Dukan recently devised a four-phase diet with the intention of promoting weight loss. The stages progressively build in what dieters can eat, starting with just protein, then adding vegetables, starches, minimal carbohydrates, and finally, dieters can eat whatever they want as long as they exercise. This fad diet doesn’t work because lowered levels of carbohydrates and sodium dry the body out, like diuretics, resulting in temporary results. This diet fad can thus be added to the long list of advertised weight loss myths.

Fad Diet #5 – Diet Pills

Fad Diet pills supposedly block fat absorption and increase metabolism by enhancing the enzymatic degradation of fat. Fad diet pills are weight loss myths, however, because their real function is to minimize water weight via dehydration. Qnexa is a drug that reaps detrimental effects on the heart, lungs, and future progeny of users. Yet the FDA approved this drug (huge shocker), in spite of admonitions from Yale researchers. Diets pills are one of many weight loss myths that cause many serious side effects.

This article was submitted by the diet experts at ezCater.com. To learn more and to order healthy Cary catering visit ezCater.com.

If you have any questions regarding any potential “fad” diets or weight loss “myths,” don’t hesitate to ask!

Daniel Maman

Daniel is a certified personal trainer (ACE), has a Bachelors of Science degree in Sports, Exercise, and Wellness, and spends his free time keeping up to date with the latest research in health and fitness. In his free time, you can find him playing basketball, doing muay thai, camping, traveling, reading, and eating tomatoes like they're apples.

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