Those celebrity diets can be dangerous, say experts

In the run up to Christmas, it can be tempting to try anything to shift a few pounds.

But wacky diets endorsed by celebrities don’t live up to the hype – and can be downright dangerous, experts have warned.

The British Dietetic Association says that despite endorsements by the rich and famous, fad diets are not the best way to lose weight.

Its annual list of the worst celebrity diets includes the popular Paleo or Caveman diet.

Said to be followed by stars Matthew McConaughey and Megan Fox, it advises eating like our stone age ancestors and avoiding ‘modern foods’ such as bread, pasta, cereal and dairy products.

But The BDA says this is little more than a ‘Jurassic fad’.

It warns that refusing to eat any dairy products could leave people dangerously low in calcium and weaken their bones.
The BDA also says that eating like a caveman is time-consuming and socially isolating.

Perhaps the strangest-sounding trend on the list is people swallowing a spoonful of clay a day in the hope of detoxing the body and staying in shape.

But the practice not only doesn’t help you slim, the BDA warns, but can cause serious problems, from constipation to arsenic poisoning.

It warns: ‘The danger is that post-6pm becomes a window of opportunity to hoover up a myriad of foods high in calories, saturated fat and packed with added salt and sugar, undoing your healthier choices.

‘The reality is, eating different food groups at different times of the day doesn’t matter.

‘In terms of your health, it’s the nutritional balance that’s important.'

The association, which counts more than 7,500 dieticians as members, also advises against trying to cut out all sugar.

Although some celebrities claim to have done this, it is almost impossible to do.

Plus, it would mean avoiding vegetables, fruit and nuts.

BDA spokesman and consultant dietician Sian Porter said: ‘It seems that as a nation we are constantly on the search for the magic bullet approach to losing weight, wanting a quick fix to give us the bodies we see so often on TV, in glossy magazines and adorning billboards up and down the UK.

‘The truth is that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’

(dailymail.com)

ANN.Az