The consequences of dieting - the shocking truth about diets. Dangerous diets

Food restrictions are normal for many of the fair sex. However, not always those women who want to lose weight think about the price at which they are trying to get rid of excess weight.

Many who want to lose weight use various diets for this purpose, strict or looser, protein, fruit, mono-diets and many others. But how many of you have thought about whether being on a diet is dangerous for the body? In fact, certain dietary restrictions are always stressful for the body, and how it will react to such stress is a big question. Sometimes, in pursuit of the ideal figure, you can completely lose your health, but then it will be problematic to restore it, sometimes the treatment is delayed for many years.

I will not go far: I will traditionally compare Mother Russia with the West. Here and there, the number of people of working age diagnosed with obesity is 30 percent.

One of the main causes of obesity both in our country and in the West is malnutrition, and mainly constant overeating. It is possible that there are differences in the factors that cause overeating, since in our country the people live more poorly, and therefore have some limited choice of diet.

But, in general, as the results of sociological studies show, both Russians and residents of developed countries have the same idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat is the basis of losing weight. These are diets. Diet, according to losing weight, is the most effective and affordable way to lose weight.

All this would have been fine, if not for the excesses. Unfortunately, a number of newfangled diets are not only ineffective, but also harmful to health.

The most unfavorable diets for health

apple cider vinegar diet

The essence of the diet: adding apple cider vinegar to food. Vinegar helps to activate the metabolism.

What is the danger of the diet: regular consumption of vinegar cannot pass without a trace for the body. First of all, an apple cider vinegar diet harms the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract.

Kefir diet

The essence of the diet is that you need to eat only one yogurt, other foods should not be consumed at all. Actually, in this way you can use not only kefir, there is also a carrot diet, and, and. These diets are called mono-diets, that is, while sitting on them, you can eat only one product, the rest must be excluded from the diet. I think there is no need to explain how such a diet will affect health.

Let me tell you the story of my friend. She decided to sit on this diet, sat for 3 weeks and dropped 25 extra pounds. Not a bad result, is it? But the trouble is, after this diet, she ended up in the hospital for a whole month. She was so depleted of her body that she could not even eat. Now she doesn't have a single healthy organ because of this diet.

Conclusion: kefir diet, and all mono-diets are life-threatening.

salt-free diet

Salt-free diet is also dangerous. The very name of the salt-free diet suggests that table salt should be excluded from the diet. Few of the adherents of this method of losing weight understand what it is for. Most of them, by the way, argue that it is impossible to live without salt (and rightly so), but they do not recommend adding salt to food. The author could not find convincing justifications for the usefulness of such a diet, its effectiveness in terms of losing weight. However, it is impossible to completely deny such a diet the right to exist, since sometimes even doctors prescribe it. However, such a diet is recommended only for patients with hypertension and heart failure, accompanied by edema, kidney disease. For healthy people, moderate salt intake will only be beneficial, as it is an important source of sodium, a trace element absolutely necessary for the functioning of the heart, kidneys, muscles and brain.

sweet diet

A sweet diet is to eat only sweet foods. Such a diet greatly impairs human health. Since, there is no intake of all other useful substances into the body. In addition, it primarily leads to severe headaches, malaise, loss of strength, heartburn and indigestion.

This diet is the most favorite among women and teenagers. After all, it consists in the exclusive use of sweets, for example, due to: sweets or chocolate. But first of all, before embarking on such a light diet, you need to think about whether this is the most convenient, sweet and effortless way to your health?

low fat diets

All foods that contain fat are excluded from your diet. Sitting on such a diet, you can lose 3 kg in a week. BUT! If the daily diet accounts for less than 19% of the total calorie content, then the level of “good” cholesterol in the blood decreases, which protects the heart and blood vessels from atherosclerosis. Deficiency of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, for example, leads to diseases of the genitourinary system, and sometimes to infertility. In addition, it is these acids that help the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, K. If the food is completely fat-free, then the liver cannot normally process the already accumulated fat. Nutritionists have determined the optimal proportion of fats in the daily diet - they should account for 35% of daily calories.

Cleansing Diet

Diet involves cleansing the body of toxins. The daily rate should not exceed 1300 kcal + you need to drink a cleansing cocktail. The diet practically does not benefit the body, but there is a lot of harm from it. After the diet, the body will definitely gain its usual weight, and maybe even more.

lemon diet

The lemon diet became popular due to the fact that it appeared with a bunch of names Demi Moore, supposedly the Hollywood diva owes her unfading beauty to her. During the lemon diet, losing weight drinks water with lemon in large quantities, eats maple syrup, hot red pepper. Nutritionists say that such food is extremely dangerous for humans, because both lemon and pepper stimulate the production of gastric juice, which, in the absence of food, corrodes the stomach itself. The result is gastritis. And in the future - a stomach ulcer.

Pill diet

The most dangerous of all the above and generally existing methods of losing weight today. Women who prefer newfangled products to a healthy lifestyle, in order to lose weight as soon as possible without making any effort, are engaged in amateur activities. They prescribe for themselves the intake of dietary supplements, cocktails, medicines - this leads to a violation of the proper functioning of certain organs and can turn a person into a disabled person.

Do not forget that the firms promoting their products on the market are concerned only with the size of their own profits, but not with the health of consumer citizens. In addition, often the pill diet is ineffective - people just waste their money.

Raw Diet

Bottom line: eat only raw foods.

Danger: during thermal processing, some useful substances are activated in food, and harmful and dangerous ones are neutralized. With this diet, the body does not receive the required amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, this does not go away without a trace. In addition, a raw diet is recognized as ineffective, because thermal treatment does not affect calorie content.

grapefruit diet

With the grapefruit diet, you need to eat food in tiny portions, and the rest of the time - only grapefruit.

Thus, with a grapefruit diet, there is practically one grapefruit in your diet.

Grapefruit diet begins to act after 10-12 days of its observance. These 10-12 days of the grapefruit diet is a cruel torture for the body, depriving the body of the necessary amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

The grapefruit diet suggests that grapefruit should be eaten in large quantities and on an empty stomach. Grapefruit diet can adversely affect the condition of the teeth, gums, stomach and esophagus. It is worth mentioning that grapefruit has such an effect only in the case of a grapefruit diet, the fruit itself in a small amount does not cause such harm to the body.

Buckwheat diet

The popular buckwheat diet also raises many questions, so why is the buckwheat diet dangerous? Eating on this diet, first of all, those who have high blood clotting are at risk, since buckwheat thickens the blood even more, since this product is extremely rich in iron. For everyone, without exception, it is also dangerous that the buckwheat diet leads to dehydration and digestive disorders in the form of constipation - almost everyone notes severe dry mouth and intestinal problems.

According to recent studies, more than twelve percent of the population, or every ninth inhabitant of the planet, suffers from obesity. It is not surprising that in recent years there has been a sharp increase in interest in various, sometimes unsafe, weight loss systems.

Newfangled popular methods offer to get rid of extra pounds without leaving your own home and eating only certain foods. Seduced by such promises, millions of men and women rush to study the detailed recommendations of newly minted nutritionists, no longer thinking about the dangers of diets, often compiled by people who do not even have a remote idea of ​​\u200b\u200bmedicine.

Diets are based on a sharp reduction in the daily ration, the use of a single product (the so-called mono-diets), on the exclusion of several products from the diet, or separate nutrition, which is based on the idea of ​​​​compatibility or incompatibility of products of different composition. There are also authors who suggest giving up food altogether and drinking only water for one or several days, while others recommend giving up water as well.

But before headlong rushing to implement the sometimes not quite adequate recommendations of specialists of an indefinite profile, one should calmly weigh the pros and cons.

The main harm of diets is that they all offer to deal with the consequences without touching the cause. A competent process of losing weight should begin with finding out why the extra weight appeared, which no diet provides.

Outwardly, the reasons for fullness are obvious: overeating, eating junk food, “fast” food, soda, physical inactivity, bad eating habits - such as heavy dinners before bedtime, snacking, the habit of eating in front of the TV or at the computer, etc.

But these phenomena also have reasons. Some psychologists believe that any eating disorder is rooted in childhood. If a child was often soothed with a candy, then, having matured, he himself begins to console himself with food. This is how the habit of seizing stress is developed.

When a baby suffers from a lack of attention, he begins to consider himself unworthy of love, and this feeling of dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with himself leads to a serious internal conflict, which an adult often tries to hide from himself by eating another hamburger or a tenth serving of ice cream.

There can be a lot of reasons, but sometimes they lie so deep that you cannot do without the help of a professional psychotherapist. Only a qualified specialist can help find the roots of the habits that led to the accumulation of excess weight. And when the cause is eliminated, the effect will disappear by itself. The primitive diet of a person with psychological problems can lead to an even greater complication of the situation.

Adherents of strict diets run the risk of getting problems with the digestive organs, kidneys, liver, metabolic disorders and hormone levels. They suffer from neurosis, which eventually turn into bouts of depression or lead to eating disorders such as gluttony, bulimia, anorexia.

Another "pitfall" of all diets is a sharp reduction in the number of calories consumed per day (sometimes up to 700 or less), without taking into account the individual characteristics of the organism and the lifestyle of a particular person. Each person needs a different number of calories. This indicator depends on age, gender, body weight, height, metabolic rate, intensity of physical and mental stress.

Are there many diets that make recommendations based on all or at least one of these factors? Almost all weight loss methods simply suggest eating as little as possible, regardless of whether a person is engaged in three hours a day on simulators or does not get off the couch for days, whether he is writing a dissertation claiming a Nobel Prize or the last book he held in his hands was "Primer".

A competent diet should be compiled strictly individually, and following general recommendations such as eating one spoonful of rice for three days will certainly lead to health problems.

Another danger, the danger that diets, especially strict diets, are fraught with is the so-called “hunger reaction”. The human body is designed in such a way that in an extreme situation (and such is a sharp reduction in the amount of food) it tries to adapt to new conditions as quickly as possible. It switches to economy mode, i.e. does not consume reserves and stores any incoming food in the form of fat.

This explains the fact that very often a strict dieter or a starving person in general not only does not lose weight, but, on the contrary, gains it. After all, when even one piece of black bread enters his stomach, it will be deposited in the fat depot "for a rainy day."

The United Nations has published research data on the topic “Which country has the most overweight people? » Oddly enough, this is not the USA with its cult of hamburgers, energy drinks and sodas, but... . Mexico. Seventy percent of the population of this country is overweight, another third is obese. And it is absolutely unbelievable that it is not rich Mexicans who most often suffer from excess weight, but the poor inhabitants of the country, who often lack food. Maybe it’s really worth eating more to find the perfect figure?

Sometimes a dieter does lose weight - and not just in the first few days, but even over several months. Does this mean that he is losing weight correctly? This situation is even more dangerous than the above. Weight loss when following a low-calorie diet is most often due to muscle tissue, not fat. Without receiving the necessary energy from the outside, the body begins to destroy its own muscles. After all, it is easier to get glucose from them than from fat cells.

Most diets are based on reducing the amount of protein. Their lack in the diet leads to the destruction of the body's proteins. The process is fraught with the occurrence of muscular dystrophy and intoxication of the body with the breakdown products of amino acids. Due to protein starvation, the metabolism also slows down, and hence the process of losing weight.

If you stick to such a regimen for a long time, then after the end of the diet, the metabolic rate may no longer be restored. It is clear that with a slow metabolism, a person will gain weight even from a small amount of food.

Prolonged fasting is also fraught with other complications - in particular, disturbances in the work of the endocrine system. The most commonly affected is the thyroid gland. If she does not receive enough iodine, then she cannot produce hormones in the required amount. Over time, such a pathology as hypothyroidism develops. And with its presence, the appearance of excess weight is already inevitable.

Separately, mention should be made of the risk of dehydration and poisoning of the body during the so-called "dry" fasting, the authors of which propose to cleanse your body by refusing not only food, but also water. Doctors consider this method a veiled suicide: after all, the decay products that are formed in the body in conditions of lack of food cannot be removed from it without liquid.

And this means that soon a starving person by this method risks turning his body into a dump of unnecessary waste. And you do not need to have a medical degree to guess the consequences of such a “cleansing”.

The conclusion is obvious: the harm and benefits of the diet, even if it is more or less sparing and really helps to get rid of the hated fat, are not comparable. Perhaps a person will become slim, but he is unlikely to be able to become healthy again.

To find the figure of your dreams, it is not at all necessary to starve yourself for a month, or even more. The formula for an ideal figure is extremely simple: proper nutrition + maximum movement + excellent mood. The result is guaranteed. And most importantly - not at the expense of health.

The fact that many diets adversely affect the body is widely known. But often the harm of diets does not stop a person who wants to quickly lose weight.

Is it possible to lose weight without harm to health? What diets are the most dangerous? Let's try to answer these pressing questions.

Harm of diets: mono-diets and express diets

The fastest and most impressive results can be achieved with popular monocomponent diets. But, unfortunately, they are the most harmful to health, which is why it is impossible to observe any of them for more than a few days. There are a great many options for mono-diets: rice, kefir, buckwheat, watermelon, banana, cabbage, cottage cheese and many others. The harm of such diets is that they are not balanced.. Every day, the body needs to receive the norm of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, as well as vitamins and minerals. The effectiveness of any mono-diet lies in the fact that the body experiences stress from a sharp depletion of the diet. Weight loss can amount to about a kilogram per day, but such weight loss is by no means healthy. Moreover, each mono-diet is harmful in its own way.

One of the most dangerous is the chocolate diet, as excessive consumption of chocolate adversely affects the nervous system, causing headaches and increased blood pressure. In addition, chocolate contains a lot of sugar, which increases the level of insulin in the blood. Consequently, when choosing a diet without harm to health, this option should be abandoned.

The watermelon diet, which seems to "wash" the body, is also harmful, especially for people suffering from kidney disease. Carrot mono-diet can take a toll on the liver. Rice diet leads to indigestion and constipation. The harm of diets can be very different.

But how to quickly lose weight without harm to the body using a mono-diet? It is best to give preference to the kefir diet, as it is the least harmful compared to the rest. The main thing is not to follow it for more than three days.

Not only mono-diets, but also any fast diets designed to lose a few kilograms in the shortest possible time are harmful to the body and can only be used once every few months. When choosing a method of losing weight, it is important to consider the harm and benefits of the diet, trying to give preference to balanced nutrition systems.

Harm of protein diets

Recently, protein diets have been very popular: they are quite effective and do not involve starvation. The diet is based on protein products: meat, fish, chicken, cottage cheese. And carbohydrate food is reduced as much as possible, but basically we are talking about simple carbohydrates. Unfortunately, the harm of protein diets can also be significant. The fact is that the basis of human nutrition should be precisely carbohydrates - energy suppliers to the body. Many doctors and nutritionists believe that up to 70% of the daily diet should be carbohydrates. The body does not need an excess of protein, it leads to intoxication of the body, constipation, poor health and impaired carbohydrate metabolism. In addition, protein diets adversely affect the condition of the joints and kidneys. You can enjoy a protein diet without harm to health if you follow it for less than two weeks and do not exclude carbohydrate foods completely.

The dangers of liquid diets

Thinking about it how to lose weight quickly without harm to health, it is better to forget about all kinds of liquid diets. The only option in which such a diet can be used without harming yourself is a fasting day (in extreme cases, a three-day diet). Firstly, any liquid diet has a strong diuretic effect, which negatively affects a person's lifestyle. Secondly, solid food is essential for the proper functioning of the digestive system. Prolonged absence of it will lead to intestinal diseases. In addition, liquid diets are contraindicated for a number of health problems.

The harm of diets on low-fat foods

Not quite correctly evaluating the harm and benefits of diets, many try to minimize the consumption of fats. In fact, completely giving up fats is very harmful, since they are simply necessary for the normal functioning of the body. Oddly enough, the constant consumption of low-fat foods will lead to an unexpected effect: an increase in body fat caused by metabolic disorders. It is important to note that unsaturated fats found in olive oil, nuts, oily fish and other foods are beneficial to the body. Saturated animal fats should be reduced, but they should not be completely eliminated from the diet.

Harm diets: dietary supplements for weight loss

Many losing weight try to help themselves by purchasing all sorts of teas, kissels, powders and diet pills. Manufacturers most often assure that the composition of the preparations contains exclusively natural natural ingredients. But, unfortunately, most of them are just laxatives and diuretic herbs that flush out beneficial substances from the body, put a great strain on the heart, blood vessels and kidneys. In addition, many drugs are addictive and have many side effects. For weight loss without harm to health, it is better to abandon such food supplements..

Choosing the right way to lose weight, you should think not only about getting rid of extra pounds, but also about the safety of each diet. It is better to avoid extreme "fast" diets, as well as any unbalanced nutrition systems that adversely affect the metabolism, digestive and cardiovascular systems. In order to avoid the harm of diets, it is recommended to give preference to a balanced diet, accompanied by physical activity. Any rigid diet should not last more than a week, otherwise it can cause serious damage to the body. In the presence of health problems and any chronic diseases, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

Dangerous diets, let's make a reservation right away, the concept is conditional. Any diet can cause harm to health if it is chosen solely on the principle of “how to lose weight quickly” without prior consultation with a nutritionist, gastroenterologist, endocrinologist or therapist.

The harm of diets is that almost every one of them is, as a rule, stressful for the body: the usual diet and diet, the balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, microelements and even liquids that come with food are changing.

Ekaterina Belova, a nutritionist, therapist, member of the National Association of Dietitians and Nutritionists, head of the Center for Personal Dietetics "Palitra Nutrition", will help us understand the most dangerous diets and their harm to the body.

Harm of mono-diet, fast diet and starvation

Mono-diets offer to limit your diet to one food item for a while (less often with a minimal addition of several foods). There are many such methods: we all heard about watermelon, grapefruit, kefir, rice, buckwheat and even chocolate diets. Fast diets and fasting also promise to get rid of 5 to 10 kilograms in just 4-7 days. The result is achieved due to the fact that the body experiences a shock from a sharp change (impoverishment) of the diet, so it is recommended to sit on mono-diets and express diets no more than 2-3 times a year and preferably after consultation with a specialist.

What is the harm of such diets? Our body needs a daily complete set of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins. Mono-diets, express diets and starvation deprive us of this, causing stress, decreased immunity, and indigestion. The body, not getting the necessary substances from food, begins to literally “eat” itself: the condition of the teeth, gums, hair and nails, and muscle tissues worsens. The body reacts to the exit from the diet with an increase in appetite, so the lost kilograms can return as easily as they left, and even with an increase. Fans of fast food should always remember that if abused, the harm from such diets is very fraught with health.

Commentary by nutritionist Ekaterina Belova: “Mono-diets, express diets and fasting involve rapid weight loss due to a sharp restriction of nutrition in favor of one or more products. When the body does not receive the necessary substances, it cuts costs. This usually happens due to the loss of water and muscle mass. Thus, the body loses weight incorrectly, and in these cases, the lost weight quickly returns. The main harm of such diets is a lack of nutrients, which greatly affects the body and manifests itself in the form of poor health, weakness and other ailments. It is very important not to abuse these diets, since serious violations can lead to an exacerbation of chronic diseases, including hereditary ones, not to mention indigestion.”

Harm of the "green" diet: vegetarianism

It implies a complete rejection of animal products or partial, when eggs and dairy products are allowed (the so-called ovo-lacto-vegetarianism). This is one of the most ancient nutritional systems, about the dangers of which ethical and medical disputes continue to this day. Official medicine is still against vegetarianism as a type of nutrition for the long term, especially for children, adolescents and pregnant women.

Commentary by nutritionist Ekaterina Belova: “It is difficult to say unequivocally that vegetarianism is harmful, since it has different forms - from extreme to completely acceptable. For example, ovolacto-vegetarianism involves the use of dairy products and eggs, it is less dangerous than, for example, veganism - strict vegetarianism (refusal of egg and milk proteins), which Natalie Portman professed before pregnancy. This form is already more harmful to the body, since a person must consume a lot of different foods a day in order to get the required amount of nutrients. Strict restriction in meat and protein products leads to a lack of B vitamins and many trace elements - iron, zinc, calcium and others.

Vegetarianism can cause health problems ranging from anemia to more serious illnesses. It is very important to understand why a person does this. If these are religious or other beliefs, this is one thing, and if it is a tribute to fashion, then this is a completely different question, and here it is worth thinking about the dangers of such a diet for the body.

The dangers of a detox diet

The detox diet, or the Hollywood Star Diet, encourages you to achieve slimness by cleansing the body of toxins. It prohibits refined products containing fats and synthetic ingredients that have undergone strong heat treatment. You should consume no more than 1,300 calories per day and drink a cleansing cocktail, which includes maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.

"Black Panther" Naomi Campbell, singer Beyoncé, actress Gwyneth Paltrow and other stars choose a detox diet. It is effective, but harmful: kilograms go away, because the body is under severe stress. Cocktail "nutrition" without full-fledged hot breakfasts and lunches cannot be called balanced, and here problems with the gastrointestinal tract are not far away, so Hollywood beauties should think about the dangers of this diet.

Comment nutritionist Ekaterina Belova: “This diet is individual and depends on the weight of the person. In addition to reducing calories, it is necessary to ensure that the diet is balanced. And food cannot be replaced with cocktails, except to reinforce the body with vitamin cocktails, and also depending on which ones. Try this diet should only be prescribed by a doctor.

Harm diet by blood type

The blood group diet is an invention of the American doctor Peter d "Adamo. According to his theory, the owners of the first blood group are meat eaters, the second are vegetarians, the third are omnivorous lucky ones, the fourth are exotic lovers (seafood, algae, tofu).

Doctors around the world are perplexed: the relationship between blood types and type of nutrition has not been confirmed by anything, and experiments with diet can adversely affect physical and even mental health. However, fashion is fashion: even the stars, supermodels Miranda Kerr, Natalia Vodianova and actor Matthew Perry, tried the blood type diet without thinking about its harm.