Fasting diets — A dangerous new obsession
FASTING periodically for religious reasons is not foreign to us. However, increasingly more people are embracing fasting diets as part of their health and weight loss plan. And while proponents of these diets swear by their ability to not only help them to inch closer to their weight loss goals but to improve health, enhance their quality of life and boost mental clarity, nutritionists Janique Watts and Jenelle Solomon said that these diets may come with some consequences.
“These fasting diets indeed induce weight loss, which is the aim of these diets, but unfortunately research has also linked them to several long-term health issues and unhealthy eating practices,” Solomon told All Woman.
Watts pointed out that the new trend of intermittent fasting is one of the most recent trends or fad diets, now modified and called the “Dubrow Diet” after the famous cosmetic surgeon from the reality TV show Botched. Dr Dubrow dictates that proponents of this diet have a specific window of eating which is supposed to facilitate anti-aging responses in the body.
Watts notes that the three-phase dieting technique, which is also endorsed by Dubrow’s wife, Heather, who stars in another famous reality TV show, has received a lot of attention in the media which has influenced the masses worldwide especially because of the reported benefits.
“The diet has proven to be successful due to the combination of restrictive eating (which improves metabolism and curbs appetite) and a healthy diet. It emphasises whole foods, veggies, lean proteins and healthy fats. Carbs, not so much, but they do not have to be eliminated,” Watts explained.
Watts said the diet, which based on established guidelines is low in calories though the developers do not recommend counting calories, is not for everybody — and in particular those with specific medical conditions.
“A lot of people seem to be hopping on to trends without researching or consulting medical experts about adopting or not adopting these fasting diets into their health programmes. For example, people who have conditions such as advanced diabetes, a history of eating disorders, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not attempt to or practise fasting because of increased need for nutrition,” Watts advised.
But Solomon said that the medical concerns do not end there, noting that researchers have also found where these diets can also have other lasting health effects, including a significant increase in unhealthy LDL cholesterol, which could, in turn, affect the heart and increase your risk of diabetes since fasting every other day could interfere with the blood-sugar regulating hormone known as insulin.
Other individuals may develop other complications such as eating disorders, an unhealthy obsession with food, chronically elevated cortisol levels (stress hormones) as well as food tolerance and inflammation risks.
She said that while not much attention is given to it, there are also social consequences for many participants of this diet. For one, you might want your friends to always accommodate your mealtimes since you are not allowed to eat outside a particular window of time, while others tend to become judgmental of their peers’ eating habits which can make dining uncomfortable for some people.
Have you managed to transform your body through weight gain or weight loss? Want to share your story with us? E-mail clarkep@jamaicaobserver.com
