Top Ten Fad Diets

There is lot of false information on the subject of nutrition and diets. Fad diets may have opposite or undesirable effects compared to what they are claimed to achieve. Fad diets may make unrealistic claims. They may require you to restrict or avoid certain food items. They may promise fast almost magical results. They may require you to eat some food items at specific times in the day. They may also advocate consuming dietary supplements. Some good reasons why they should be avoided is dehydration, nutritional imbalance, kidney failure and osteoporosis.

Some of the top fad diets are listed below:-

Lemonade diet

You have to stay away from solid food. You cannot consume plain water. You have to take water mixed with lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. You need to drink six to twelve glasses of this lemonade mixture daily. If you are overweight, you should use less maple syrup. If you are underweight, use more quantities of maple syrup. If you feel hungry, have another glass of lemonade.

3-day diet

The reasoning behind the 3-Day Diet plan is that if you eat a specific mix of foods you will create a chemical reaction in your digestive system, boosting your metabolism and causing the body to burn fat at a faster rate than usual. Dieters are to be on the diet program for only 3 days and must take a 2-day break before repeating it again. The reason behind this weight loss plan may sound interesting, but has no scientific basis whatsoever.

Cabbage Soup diet

You have to consume only cabbage soup for seven days. It does not furnish the essential nutrients for a well-balanced diet. Cabbage does not reduce weight by itself. Concentrating on only one food and excluding the others is probably the reason for weight. You'll eventually develop a distaste of the soup and eat less and less of it. Less food means fewer calories, and fewer calories lead to weight loss.

Atkins diet

You eat only high protein and high fat foods thereby consuming fewer calories. Carbohydrates are severely restricted like bread, potatoes, rice, chocolate, cereals and sugar. The carbohydrates are added back little by little into the diet. As the diet is nutritionally inadequate, supplements of vitamins and minerals are required. It is not known what effect the Atkins plan has on health in the long term.

Raw Food diet

It is a vegan diet. Meat, chicken, eggs, dairy and animal products are to be completely avoided. Foods permitted on the diet are uncooked vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains, believed to contain more nutrients and digestion-aiding enzymes than cooked foods.

The Negative Calorie diet

It involves eating foods that burn more calories to digest than you will consume. It is controversial because the theory is not scientifically sound. No foods actually have 'negative calories'.

3-hour diet

It is based on the premise that it doesn't matter what you eat but when you eat it. If more than three hours pass between meals, the body turns on its natural 'starvation protection mechanism', causing the body to consume muscle, and adversely affects one's resting metabolism. The 3-Hour diet recommends eating smaller and more frequent meals to lower the levels of the belly fat producing hormone, Cortisol, and decrease levels of insulin and cholesterol.

The Grapefruit Diet

Its duration is 12 to 18 days. It is claimed that there is an enzyme in the grapefruit which acts as a 'fat-burner'. You are required to eat grapefruit or drink its juice with every meal. Protein rich foods are permitted. Also you have to drink at least eight glasses of water everyday.

The Grape Diet

You should only eat grapes and drink water. You can eat the grapes whole or for variety, slice them up into small pieces. Water can be drunk at all times but not within an hour after eating the grapes as this will only dilute the strength of the natural chemicals in the grapes. The grapes must be washed thoroughly to get rid of any pesticides that might be on the skin.

The Hollywood Diet

Its duration is two days. You have to consume a special juice.You are prohibited from drinking or smoking. It claims to reduce weight by 10 pounds in 48 hours. The juice is a mixture of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential oils.