If you’re currently following this diet, you must stop right away. Pursuing misguided diet methods can lead to yo-yoing or even severe health issues.
Dieting is standard for modern individuals, with many dieting methods available. However, embracing the wrong diet can result in yo-yoing and significant health risks.
So, what diets should you avoid, and why?
One-Food Diet
Firstly, there’s the well-known “One-Food Diet.” This involves consuming only one type of food, such as the banana diet, sweet potato diet, egg diet, or tomato diet, for a set period. Typically, these diets consist of low-calorie foods. Consistently consuming low-calorie foods reduces overall calorie intake and suppresses appetite, making it easier to lose weight.
However, the one-food diet leads to nutritional imbalances and yo-yoing. Restricting yourself to a single food source means missing essential nutrients, potentially causing imbalances. These imbalances can result in symptoms like low blood pressure, anemia, osteoporosis, hair loss, amenorrhea, and more. Furthermore, such imbalances can slow down metabolism and increase cravings for forbidden foods, leading to rapid weight regain after discontinuation.
Dehydration Diet
Another unhealthy diet is the dehydration diet. Dehydrating diets are also dangerous. Some people avoid drinking water, engage in prolonged aerobic exercises while wearing thick clothing, or use saunas to sweat excessively. This may temporarily reduce weight and provide a sense of slimness.
However, this weight loss is not fat loss. It is primarily a loss of water weight, which quickly returns once you rehydrate. Moreover, avoiding water intake and excessive fluid loss through sweating can lead to various health issues, ranging from mild symptoms like constipation, dizziness, headaches, and fatigue to severe conditions such as kidney and heart problems, fainting, and seizures.
“Chew and Spit” or “Eat and Throw up” Diet
Lastly, there’s the “Chew and Spit Diet.” This involves chewing food without swallowing it or forcibly inducing vomiting after eating. People attempt this diet to savor the taste of food without consuming the calories, believing it won’t lead to weight gain.
However, this practice causes irreversible harm. Our bodies begin preparing for digestion as soon as we start chewing. Continuous stomach acid secretion without food intake can lead to gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and other digestive disorders. Additionally, chewing without satisfaction causes people to chew more food, often selecting unhealthy and high-calorie options. This leads to jaw and tooth problems and a higher risk of dental caries.
Vomiting after swallowing food exposes the esophagus to stomach acid, increasing the risk of esophagitis and esophageal rupture. Prolonged engagement in this practice can result in an eating disorder known as “diabulimia,” where individuals intentionally omit insulin to lose weight. This can lead to severe complications, including organ damage, coma, or death.
In conclusion, these diets can have dire consequences on your health. Instead, it’s crucial to pursue safe and balanced diet plans. Always consult with a healthcare professional before embarking on any weight loss journey.
By. Soojung Shin (soojungsin@inews24.com)
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