Following a healthy and fully balanced diet is key to maintaining a good state of health. When it comes to losing weight in an effective and safe way, it is best to follow a specific type of diet that is free of harmful foods for the body.
But you have to be especially careful with the so-called miracle diets. It is a type of diet that promises what it may be able to deliver, but it is too harmful to our body. The loss of kilos in a fast, simple and effective way can bring quite negative consequences, and for this reason it is necessary to learn very well the reasons why you should not do miracle diets. We tell you! Although, yes, remember that the most important thing of all is to go to a nutritionist or an endocrinologist if what you want is to lose weight. They will be the ones who best advise you in all cases.
What is a miracle diet?
- The first thing you should know about miracle diets is that they do not teach those who follow them to eat correctly. In other words, the promise may be fulfilled (loss of kilos in the short term) but, in the long run, the person who returns to his normal life after the diet has a high probability of recovering all his weight.
- Hence the importance of knowing what a miracle diet is to avoid falling into it. And the main thing about these diets is that they promise magical or miraculous results, as the name suggests. They prohibit the consumption of certain foods or even groups of them, and they usually recommend some diet products with certain benefits when it comes to losing weight quickly.
- In addition, you can identify a miracle diet by the appeal they make to the deepest and most personal feelings. To do this, they use testimonials, photographs or stories that bring realism to the diet. It is common for this marketing to include the image of a face known to society that provides that greater degree of truthfulness.
Examples of so-called miracle diets
- Although there are thousands of miracle diets (and every so often a new one comes to light) we can point out some of them to give an example of what they are and the risks involved in following them. In none of the following cases is there scientific evidence to support or support them, and hence the risks and dangers that may exist for health.
- One of the best known examples is the Dunkan diet, a method with different phases in which people who follow it eat more protein than carbohydrates. Another miracle diet, and in turn one of the most dangerous, is the probe. This diet consists of admitting the patient to a hospital and feeding him through a tube and then gradually introducing solid foods.
- The blood group diet promises that each of the blood groups that exist has to follow a specific diet and do without certain foods when, really, this fact has nothing to do with it. Another well-known diet is the artichoke, followed for a period of at least 3 days. It promises weight loss, but you actually lose fluids that are usually very easily recovered.
Dangerous consequences of miracle diets
Following this type of miraculous but unhealthy diets has a series of quite negative consequences for the people who try them. Let’s see them carefully:
The rebound effect
One of the most well-known dangers of miracle diets is the so-called rebound effect. It occurs when a person has managed to lose a few kilos, but over time they recover them again or their weight may even increase a little more than it was before following the diet. So, ultimately, it’s back to where it was.
Disease proliferation
Following a miracle diet can cause a drastic loss of minerals, vitamins and nutrients that are very necessary for the body. This deficit can cause major gastrointestinal problems, osteoporosis and even blood clotting problems.
As if this were not enough, changes in taste and appetite may also appear in people who follow these diets, so they will eat even less food than they need. And, in the most serious cases, cardiovascular diseases or diabetes can appear.
Ketosis
Ketosis is a disease that can be caused by following one of the miracle diets that prohibit eating carbohydrates. The reason? The body will stop using glucose for energy, and will use fat instead. This way you will lose a lot of weight, but it will have very negative consequences.
This disease, which usually occurs in diabetics, produces toxic substances called ketones that have numerous side effects if they have a high content of them. From dizziness and headaches to bad breath, nausea, loss of calcium, heavy sweating, strong-smelling urine, or certain arrhythmias.
Amenorrhea or loss of menstruation
- Generally, miracle diets are aimed at women, since society indicates that they are the ones who care the most about their physical appearance. And since they are aimed at women, they are the ones who can suffer the most from the side effects of this type of diet with a loss of menstruation.
- Amenorrhea is caused by the fact that these diets are quite prohibitive with calories, and make an exhaustive cut of certain vitamins or minerals. The loss of certain nutrients leads to the withdrawal of the rule and, with it, to the hormonal malfunction of the organism. This can alter the fertility and calcium deficit of women.
Negative psychological effects
- Being hungry often causes irritability and even mood swings. But, in addition to that, miracle diets usually cause even more serious problems, such as anorexia or bulimia.
- Not being comfortable with the body that one has leads to a miracle diet, and this in turn can lead (in the most serious cases) to suffer a quite severe eating disorder. Diseases such as anorexia or bulimia usually start in people who follow this type of diet.
- On the other hand, as we have said, this type of diet has certain restrictions or prohibitions in specific food groups. Being too strict in following this diet can cause obsessions and even anxiety problems due to a bad relationship with food.