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SCORES of people worked really hard at achieving perfect summer bodies, but two weeks of festive overindulgence would have undone the efforts. Next stop, crash diet. Or is it?
Experts have long warned of the dangers of crash dieting. Not only do they have serious health implications, the diets often lead to people being worse off.
Dietician Kelly Lynch says that by crash dieting, the body’s metabolism is slowed down, “which means you’ll fight your weight forever”.
She adds that when cutting out whole food groups, dieters become nutritionally deficient and energy levels may be affected. “This prevents sustainable weight loss. A balance is necessary – all food groups with the correct portion sizes is all you need.”
The ubiquitous low-carb, highprotein diet is once again circulating on e-mail and by word of mouth. Variations of this diet claim participants could lose between 5kg and 10kg in a matter of weeks.
Last year, the Health Professions Council of SA warned against taking this course of action.
Professor Edelweiss WentzelViljoen, chairwoman of the Professional Board for Dietetics and Nutrition, agrees that a balanced diet and overall healthy lifestyle is the best way to lose the weight, and keep it off.
“Although people experience weight loss in the short term, they will gain the weight again as it is not a healthy, balanced diet.”
More than the expected weight gain, there could be serious health implications.
According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, the regular use of a low-carb, high-protein diet is associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The study followed 43 000 Swedish women, aged 30 to 49, for more than 15 years. Researchers found that a 20g daily decrease in carbohydrate intake, and 5g daily increase in protein intake, corresponded to a 5 percent increase in the overall risk.
Wentzel-Viljoen pointed to a 2010 study which linked the risk of heart disease in women and the consumption of red meat.
But the promise of rapid weight loss still lures many people to try crash diets, despite the risks.
Wentzel-Viljoen further states that researchers have found the rapid weight loss is due to the lower energy intake, and not necessarily the lack of carbs in the diet. The low carb diet does, however, deprive the body of vitamins A, E and B6, calcium, magnesium and potassium. This in turn could lead to dehydration, hypoglycaemia and raised blood uric acid. She says long-term effects could include an increase in the bad LDLcholesterol, a decrease in the good HDL-cholesterol, and a risk to bone health.