To have a slim and toned body, women, men, and even teenagers often resort to fad diets. The desire to lose weight for your wedding, graduation or vacation is natural - we all want to look perfect at one of the most important moments of our lives. Moreover, the Internet is replete with recommendations on how to lose extra pounds in five, ten or thirty days. But most resources are silent about the dangers of diets and the associated health hazards.
What happens to the body during a diet
There are many types of diets: Kremlin, Japanese, kefir, single-product, etc. In most cases, they imply a sharp reduction in the amount of food consumed, as well as the complete exclusion of certain foods. If you cut your usual portion by more than 20%, the body will perceive this as stress. And during times of stress, the hormone cortisol is released into the blood.
Cortisol affects the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates. This hormone destroys protein molecules, increases sugar levels, and also provokes the formation of adipose tissue. That's why extra pounds always return after a person switches to their usual diet. But due to the stress suffered, the human body triggers a mechanism for more intense weight gain than before the diet.
In addition, sudden hormonal fluctuations do not have the best effect on our metabolism. Therefore, one of the dangers of diets is metabolic disorders. This can lead to various consequences: from excess weight to serious disorders that require long-term drug treatment.
What is eating behavior
Eating behavior is a person’s interaction with food and eating in general. Eating behavior is formed on the basis of a person’s personal experience with nutrition, starting from a very early age, and can subsequently change under the influence of various factors, such as family and society.
Ideally, the body receives the necessary nutrients in the optimal combination and quantity, and the person himself recognizes the feeling of hunger and satiety, takes into account his tastes and preferences in food, the rhythm of life, etc. In addition, eating behavior is influenced by attitudes towards food and acquired habits and forms of behavior.
Disturbed eating behavior can be a mental disorder, and then the lack of treatment can lead to serious consequences, even death. The sooner a person receives qualified medical care, the higher the likelihood of avoiding serious disturbances in the functioning of the body.
Disturbed relationships with food can be in a form where they do not yet cause harm to a person’s health, but at the same time they can already qualitatively influence his life, relationships with himself and other people. In these cases, it is also important to acknowledge the problem and seek professional support.
An eating disorder will not be, for example, periodic deviations from a person’s usual diet, one-time overeating, or a temporary passion for any product.
The harm of a low-carbohydrate (no-carbohydrate) diet
It is also called the protein, Kremlin or Atkins diet. Perhaps today this is almost the most popular way to lose weight. The essence of the method is that you need to almost completely eliminate any carbohydrates. But proteins and fats can be consumed without restrictions. There are also variations that require eating only low-fat cottage cheese and lean meat.
This low-carbohydrate diet works as follows: when there is a lack of glucose, the body itself begins to synthesize it, breaking down fat reserves. But such a condition is already a metabolic disorder, which will subsequently have to be treated. The main disadvantages of this diet:
- an abundance of protein foods overloads the kidneys, which can provoke their dysfunction;
- the digestive system cannot cope with large amounts of protein, rotting and fermentation may begin in the gastrointestinal tract;
- Due to the abundant production of ammonia, a person’s mouth constantly smells characteristically unpleasant.
The insidiousness and harm of diets that exclude carbohydrates is also that many of their adherents appeal to the recommendations of doctors. Indeed, for metabolic syndrome, diabetes and other similar diseases, endocrinologists recommend limiting the consumption of sugar and other carbohydrates. In such cases, the person already has a disorder that requires immediate treatment and a special diet.
The other extreme is the keta diet, designed specifically for epileptics. In this diet, the body is constantly in a state of ketosis due to the exclusion of both carbohydrates and proteins. The keta diet was originally created for patients with serious disorders; it is not suitable for a healthy body.
“Jumps” in blood pressure and memory problems
This is precisely the condition that should be expected during long-term carbohydrate-free diets, if you consistently follow them for more than three weeks. In particular, we are talking about well-known dietary methods:
- Dukan diet;
- Atkins diet.
It is important to remember that there are different types of carbohydrates: simple (“fast”) and complex. Simple carbohydrates contain just the so-called “harmful” foods for your figure:
- buns;
- all types of white bread;
- cakes;
- candies.
With their uncontrolled and regular use, a person will constantly suffer from excess weight. The substances contained in these products are quickly deposited in problem areas of the body in the form of fat. Complex, or “slow” carbohydrates contain:
- grain bread;
- brown sugar;
- cereals;
- roots.
It is complex types of carbohydrates that are the source of energy for our brain. Consequently, with low-carbohydrate diets, the brain begins to starve, and vascular tone sharply weakens. The result is a decrease in memory functions, even for the simplest things, and fatigue occurs even from minimal load. As for blood pressure, in the morning it can be very low, and in the evening, on the contrary, it can jump to critical numbers.
Low-fat diet
In contrast to the previous approach, fats are completely eliminated in this way of eating. Some recommend removing only harmful animal fats from the diet, while others recommend eliminating vegetable fats as well. How dangerous and what harm does this diet cause?
- Fats are a source of vitamins, so with this method of nutrition the body is at risk of hypovitaminosis.
- Lipids are needed for the normal functioning of the reproductive and hormonal systems; if they are deficient, there is a high risk of hormonal disorders.
- Vegetable fat is a source of “slow” carbohydrates, which help maintain stable blood sugar levels.
The harm of a diet that excludes lipids manifests itself quite quickly: a person’s hair and nails become dull, brittle, and there is a lack of essential vitamins. If the elimination of fats becomes a dietary habit, the risk of developing atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases increases over time, and a disruption in the production of sex hormones may also occur. As a consequence - hirsutism, ovarian dysfunction, infertility.
Where is the balance?
The amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates required by a particular body is determined by a person’s age, level of constant physical activity, lifestyle, gender and other factors. Nutritionists always take them into account when creating an individual diet. It is precisely this that can be considered correct and truly healthy. Since people often associate a diet with losing weight, it is worth considering that you can lose weight without harm to your health only on a healthy diet, which allows you to get sufficient amounts of 13 essential vitamins, about 20 different salts and more than a dozen vital minerals every day - such as , like iron, calcium and zinc. And the balance of the diet itself should be based on the consumption of dairy, meat, grain and vegetable products. If this does not happen, very serious problems arise in the functioning of all body systems. In this article we would like to address the issue of the consequences of neglecting healthy eating and being carried away by dubious advice and diets.
Single food diets
Most often we are talking about cereals. Other options are to eat only cottage cheese, only fruits, only raw foods, etc. One of the variations is a drinking diet, when you can eat liquid and semi-liquid foods: for example, tea, juices, milk, kefir, cream soups. This method of losing weight is considered one of the most effective, because almost from the first day weight decreases sharply.
But you shouldn’t be happy about this - first of all, water leaves the body. The same thing happens with a salt-free diet. Rapid weight loss occurs due to fluid, adipose tissue is still in place. The harm from constantly sitting on cereals or yoghurts is obvious:
- the digestive system experiences an unusual load, which can provoke its disorder;
- a lack of salt and microelements will very quickly have a detrimental effect on the functioning of the heart and other organs;
- Fluid deficiency is a severe stress to which the body will react with a new portion of cortisol.
The opposite effect
The vast majority of people go on a diet to achieve greater attractiveness.
But in this case, you can achieve the opposite effect: instead of a beautiful, slimmer figure, you will get brittle nails, falling hair and dry skin. Is it worth such sacrifices? Obviously not. That is why nutritionists urge everyone to eat healthy food all the time, adopting such a diet as the main eating habit that accompanies you throughout your life. Photo: flickr.com Tags:
- Diets
- Chekhonin
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Harm of any diet: salt-free, drinking, kefir
Of course, when limiting certain foods is necessary according to doctors’ indications, it is better to adhere to the recommended diet. Doctor's orders are designed for long-term changes in your eating habits. And all the restrictions are related to helping the patient avoid serious conditions such as acidosis or hyperglycemia, but in no way helping the patient fit into his favorite dress.
The main harm of diets that involve extreme dietary restriction is that they cannot become a full-fledged habit. You cannot constantly live without vitamins, proteins, or on a thousand calories a day, while doing sports. This will lead to exhaustion. In addition, after returning to your usual diet, the weight will return, and in 80% of cases, it will also be in excess. The next diet will no longer be so effective, although the kilograms you lost with difficulty will return in double size. All this is a natural reaction of our body to stress.
Decreased immunity
The weakening of the body's immune defense is a direct consequence of many mono-diets. By depriving your body of extremely important nutrients, you risk depleting it, the consequences of which will be difficult to reverse. As a result, your body will “surrender” to the first virus it encounters, and you yourself will provoke the beginning of a whole chain of diseases, starting with ARVI and ending with all kinds of inflammation. Such a terrible disease as tuberculosis can also actively develop precisely as a result of poor nutrition. In addition, an unbalanced diet can lead to heart problems - in particular, arrhythmia.
Healthy diet for weight loss
And yet safe diets do exist. In order not to harm yourself, you need to review your eating habits and change them. Not for five days or a month, but for a long time. Eating healthy will help you stay in shape without extra effort. Balanced and healthy food can be tasty and nutritious. With a properly formulated diet, you will not experience a deficiency of vitamins, microelements and essential nutrients.
One of the dangers of diets is the high risk of failure due to the fact that the food is too bland and monotonous. The way out is a ready-made menu from LetBeFit. The best nutritionists are working on creating the optimal diet. The food is not only natural and healthy, but also delicious. In addition, you don’t need to constantly count calories on a calculator - specialists have already done everything for you.
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Loss of muscle mass
Have you tried to lose weight, but in the end new fat deposits appeared despite some weight loss? This is quite natural for the body, since nature has programmed it in such a way that it switches to an “energy-saving” mode of operation with a sharp restriction in the intake of fats and carbohydrates. This mechanism stimulates the burning of muscle mass to obtain the necessary calories. In addition, the body begins to store fats for future use. It is logical that after such a diet you will not only not lose weight, but also gain new centimeters around your waist and on your hips. And for women, sudden breast reduction can be extremely distressing.
What happens to teeth if there is a lack of fat?
Tooth enamel will simply begin to deteriorate, and the gums will become inflamed. Such consequences inevitably result from the lack of fat in the daily diet, as well as “fat burner” drugs. This also includes mono-diets: for example, eating only buckwheat or low-fat kefir, when a serious imbalance in fat balance occurs.
In order for our body to constantly produce calcium, which is necessary for teeth and bones, we need vitamin D. It is a fat-soluble vitamin, that is, its absorption occurs only if a sufficient amount of fat enters the body. There are diets with a complete refusal of dairy products, due to which a lack of calcium occurs.
The danger of strict diets for the kidneys and liver
There are many cases when people from the category of severe hunger strikers were admitted to hospitals in serious condition. Their body was in a state of deep intoxication due to kidney failure. Causes:
- dry fasting:
- copious intake of dubious pills that help reduce appetite.
Such “medicines” are full of components that disrupt metabolic processes (in particular, water-salt balance). As a result, there is a total blow to the “filtering” systems and organs in the form of the liver and kidneys.
The harm of fasting to the stomach
The consequences of severe fasting often overtake those who overdo it in losing weight in the form of:
- gastritis;
- duodenal ulcer.
Unfortunately, the method of severe fasting is again being intensively promoted by various sources of information. You should be aware that during this “approach”, a copious amount of juice is produced in the stomach, intended for processing food that does not enter the body. As a result, the stomach, in the literal sense of the word, begins to eat itself, that is, digests its own mucous membrane.
One of the possible options (of course, with good tolerance and the absence of serious health problems) is to abstain from most food for a short period of time, in other words, a fasting day. If you decide to take such a measure, adhere to the following recommendations:
- drink more liquids that have neutral acidity (for example, still mineral water, mint infusion, chamomile, juices consisting of a mix of fruits and vegetables);
- do not drink too strong tea or coffee;
- Eliminate too sweet and sour drinks from your diet.
