“Have you heard of this diet?” “What can you say about this diet?” I get these a lot when clients come for consultation. Sometimes I come across weird diets that are just unheard of. Curiosity aside, I had to make sure that these diets are safe and nutritionally balanced before giving my feedback. After thorough research, I was surprised to come up with quite a number of the weirdest diets in the world.
BABY FOOD DIET – Baby foods from tiny jars are eaten as a substitute for regular meals and snacks. One word: “Disgusting!” This diet will not meet nutritional requirements for adults.
MORNING BANANA DIET – Popular among the Japanese people. Eating one banana and concentrating on its taste every morning while eating other foods without restriction for the rest of the day will not make you lose weight.
SLEEPING BEAUTY DIET – Popular in the 1950s. Elvis Presley was reported to have taken sedatives as part of his weight loss plan. When one is asleep, one cannot eat. This could lead to drug addiction and whoever adapts this diet while surely be hungry when he wakes up from that induced and prolonged sleep.
FRUITARIAN DIET – Only fruits that fall naturally are eaten because it will not cause the plant any harm by harvesting or killing it. They eat fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Some fruitarians don’t eat seeds because they believe that they contain future plants.
HALLELUJAH DIET – This is a type of vegetarian diet that is largely based on eating raw foods and taking expensive dietary supplements. Aside from not meeting nutritional requirements, this diet is also not economical.
CABBAGE SOUP DIET – Seven days of low calorie unlimited cabbage soup. Flatulence is just one of the many side effects of this diet, not to mention malnutrition.
LEMONADE DIET – Also known as The Master Cleanse. Water, lemon, tree syrup like maple and cayenne pepper. Yup! that’s all you’re having for seven days. No food allowed. Two words: Starvation and Deprivation.
GRAPEFRUIT DIET – A very low calorie diet that may cause drug nutrient interaction with some hypertensive and cholesterol-lowering drugs. This has been popular since the 1930s among Hollywood stars.
THE SHANGRI-LA DIET – Emphasizes appetite suppression by eating flavorless foods one hour before mealtime. Total caloric consumption is only 100 to 400 calories per day.
L’AIR FOODING – You got food on your plate, you may slice it up and bring it close to your mouth then stop! You instead eat “water soup.” Pretending to eat food is not only a crazy idea but it is also detrimental to your health.
FLETCHERISING DIET – Chewing your food 32 to 100 times to reduce food intake will not only be boring but could actually make your jaw sore.
ISRAELI ARMY DIET – Popular in the 1970s but denied by the Israeli Army, this diet is very restrictive and unbalanced. You eat apples for the first two days, cheese on day three and four, chicken on day five and six, salad on day seven and eight with coffee all throughout the eight days.
GRAHAM DIET – Believed to fight sexual desire, prevent impure thoughts and masturbation. This diet is composed of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole-wheat foods, no meat and spices. This diet was created by the maker of “Graham Cracker,” Rev. Sylvester Graham. There is no scientific evidence that restricting a certain type of food can combat sexual desires.
TAPEWORM DIET – Swallowing a pill of tapeworm to help eat food in your stomach is not only disgusting but also harmful. Why would you want to put a parasite inside your body?
ALCOHOL-ONLY DIET – Alcoholism will lead to liver failure and other health problems that are fatal.
These diets may be effective in weight loss and may sound interesting too. You even might want to try them for curiosity’s sake but always remember, there are consequences in adapting a diet that is not well-balanced, not sustainable, restrictive and impractical. After all, dieting does not mean having to starve and deprive oneself. Eating should be pleasurable. Dieting simply means eating the right amount of food coming from a variety of foods sources strategically distributed throughout the day.
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