Could you stomach these diets?
WOULD you deprive yourself of solid food for 10 days, consuming only a concoction of lemonade, maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper? Beyoncé did. Or what about scouring the local market for purple or dark red food — red grapes, apples, plums, beetroot — and allowing nothing else on your plate for at least three days each week? Mariah Carey opted for this.
We ask the experts to comment on some of more drastic diets we dabble with.
Also known as the KEN diet (Ketogenic Enteral Nutrition), a very fine flexible nasogastric tube is run up through the nose and down to the stomach. A bag containing a protein-rich, carbohydrate-free formula is attached to a small portable pump, which drip-feeds the patient through the tube directly into the stomach – this goes on right through the day, generally for a 10-day period.
In the US, brides-to-be desperate to shift weight are reported to be using it. Last year, the British Dietetic Association (BDA) said catwalk models in the UK were on the diet and the organisation was worried ordinary dieters would opt for it too.
It slashes calories – down to 800 a day. “There are reports that some people are having as little as 265 calories compared to the recommended daily intake of 1,800 to 2,000 calories,” comments consultant dietitian Aveen Bannon.
Because you’re depriving your body of carbs, glycogen normally stored in liver and muscles is just not there when you’re in a fasting state, so the body is forced to break down fat in an unusual way. “Unlike with normal fat-burning, an energy source called ketones is created. This is something you don’t see occurring naturally apart from in the early stages of famine,” says Dr Daniel McCartney, lecturer in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at DIT.
“We don’t know the long-term implications of ketogenic diets, warns McCartney. Such low-carb diets carry potential hazards, he says. “Fluid and electrolyte shifts can cause heart palpitations – not good for people with a history of cardiovascular disease. You also get blood glucose yo-yoing up and down, which isn’t favourable, particularly for people with diabetes.”
He questions claims by diet proponents that patients won’t feel hunger pangs. Bannon says women on the diet need to use laxatives – lack of fibre causes constipation. In the US, it costs $1,500 for 10 days. Plus there’s the added issue of walking about for days carrying a bag of formula, a pump and with a tube up your nose.
Using key-hole surgery, an inflatable ring is placed around the upper part of the stomach. When inflated with fluid, the ring tightens around the top area of the stomach, creating a small pouch with 100-150ml food capacity, about half a cup.
“Guidelines stipulate those with a BMI of over 35,” says Sarah Keogh, dietitian with Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI).
You lose weight for two reasons – the physical barrier preventing you taking in more than half a cup of food at any one time – plus you feel full faster. “Sensors at the top of the stomach send a satiety signal to the brain. With the gastric band, once the pouch fills up, you get that satiety signal,” explains McCartney. Most patients get a good result. “Weight loss of four to eight stone would be typical in the first year. People think it’s cosmetic surgery – for many, notwithstanding potential side-effects, it’s life-saving.”
Because the procedure is done laparoscopically, it’s not as invasive as other weight loss surgeries – a big benefit for very overweight patients who’d be high risk under general anaesthetic, says McCartney. Most common side-effects include gastritis – irritation of the stomach lining – or stomach ulcers.
Choose carefully where you get it done, advises Keogh. Ireland’s only public obesity clinic – St Columcille’s in Loughlinstown – offers it. Keogh who urges potential patients to ensure their package includes two years aftercare with a nurse (band has to be inflated and deflated at various stages) and with a dietitian. “Many people think they just have the surgery and that’s it. You still have to watch what you eat. With a gastric band, your food has to be very textured and crunchy.” Watch calcium, iron and vitamin levels, which can get very low — supplementation may be required.
You extract the juice from fruit and vegetables and subsist on this alone for anything from three days to about a week.
Beyoncé, Sarah Jessica Parker and Katie Price are all fans. So was Gwyneth Paltrow, though she slated it in the press after reportedly suffering hallucinations following a 10-day juice kick. “Juicing isn’t going away. It’s been around for 15 to 20 years,” says Aveen Bannon, who every year witnesses its popularity in the pre-Christmas sprint to fit into the LBD, as well as in January after the Christmas binge.
It’s a calorie-slashing, crash diet so you lose weight, says INDI dietitian Sarah Keogh. “A major problem is you become so extremely low in protein you start metabolising muscle for protein. This slows metabolism – when you revert to a normal diet you put on more weight than you had in the first place.”
One advantage is you’ll get a vitamin and mineral surge, but Bannon warns about the dangers of not getting your daily protein requirement. “Muscle is live tissue. We need protein daily to replace muscle we’ve lost. We don’t want people losing muscle mass because 60% to 70% of it is smooth muscle, functioning muscle – the heart, around the diaphragm and around the spine.” Bannon advises those embarking on juicing diets to add protein sources – yogurt, almonds, peanut butter, almond milk.
McCartney’s concern is that you’re getting most of your energy from sugar which includes fructose. “High intake of fructose can have adverse metabolic effects that impact on your blood lipid levels such as cholesterol. Also, juicing provides lots of potassium and calcium – ordinarily good things – but there’s hardly any sodium. So there’s a shift in electrolytes, which can cause heart palpitations and headaches. This type of diet isn’t suitable for anybody with underlying kidney disease.”
And with no fibre, such diets cause constipation and don’t satisfy hunger.
You eliminate carbohydrate-rich foods – grains, starchy vegetables and fruit. The big focus is on protein and fat intake.
Madonna, Jennifer Aniston and Renee Zellweger have all embraced this type of diet. “It’s very common in the 30+ age group,” says Aveen Bannon, who insists carbs aren’t bad unless you eat too many or the wrong type.
You lose a lot of water weight because carbohydrates hold onto water in the body. “One gram of carbohydrate will hold onto two grams of water,” says Bannon. “Also, without carbs, your body will have to use fat in the body as an energy source.”
“Certain parts of the body, such as the red blood cells, renal medulla in the kidney and the brain rely on carbs for energy,” says McCartney. Just as with the nose drip diet – which also cuts out carbs – the body responds by breaking down fat differently, producing a back-up fuel called ketones, the long-term effects of which are unknown.
Bannon says people vastly underestimate the brain’s need for six grams of glucose an hour for proper functioning. When the brain’s not getting glucose as an energy source, people can get headaches, she says.
“ It can make thinking more rigid so things become overwhelming and stressful.”
You substitute most meals for jars of baby food – you’re allowed one light adult-sized meal a day. The basic plan is 14 jars of baby food daily over two weeks.
It was started by celebrity fitness trainer Tracy Anderson and has been followed by stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Aveen Bannon has come across “very successful, driven, focused business women”, who eat an evening meal with their family but consume only baby food during the day.
Reducing calorie intake to between 1,000 and 1,400 a day means you’re going to lose weight.
A baby’s energy and nutrition requirements are only a small proportion of what a healthy adult needs. Your body’s not going to get adequate protein, fibre or iron.
It’s expensive. And it’s just not that satisfying to eat pureed, mushy food. “You’re taking away the pleasure of food, the tasting, the chewing. This is worrying in terms of your relationship with food. Food is fuel but we should also enjoy it – we shouldn’t feel guilty about it,” says Bannon.
McCartney says there are very few guidelines as to the type and amount of baby food you should take. “A jar of baby food can contain anything from 20 to 100 calories.” The food may also have other unwanted added ingredients, such as sweeteners. “This diet isn’t really sustainable. Even if you lose weight, once you revert to adult eating, you’ll put it back on,” says McCartney.
Individuals who follow it believe they don’t need to consume food or liquid because they can achieve sustenance from air and sunlight alone. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer reportedly believes she was involved in a cult that followed the diet.
By choosing only certain foods, cutting out others, adding a training programme and taking supplements, it promises to ‘spot reduce’ fat. Singer Boy George reportedly cited it as contributing to his weight loss. The BDA says: “Bio-nonsense! This diet relies too heavily on supplements and pseudo-science.”
Cutting out gluten — protein found in wheat, barley, rye, oats and foods containing these — is healthier for all and can lead to weight loss. Gwyneth Paltrow is said to endorse it. The BDA says: “While important for those with coeliac disease, there’s no credible published research showing a gluten-free diet leads to weight loss.”
Followers eat very few calories during the day or week and ‘bank’ these ‘saved’ calories to binge-drink alcohol over the weekend. The BDA says it’s widely thought many top models follow this diet. BDA verdict: this diet could end up causing immense damage to the body. “You’ll most certainly not be getting the calories, vitamins and nutrients your body needs to survive and function. At the end of the week when you’re tired and weak, you subject your body to an onslaught of alcohol.”
It’s a complicated high protein, no/low carb, four-phase diet that promotes rapid weight loss. Kate Middleton’s mum, Carole, and Jennifer Lopez have reportedly followed it. The BDA says even the diet’s creator has warned of issues with it, such as lack of energy, constipation, need for vitamin and mineral supplement and bad breath.
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