The two diets that I chose were the Paleo and Juice diets as I have heard and seen a lot about them, but have always wondered what they were and wether they were effective.

Paleo:

The Paleo diet is basically when a person takes on the eating habits of a "hunter-gatherer", and effectively cutting out all the modern food creations which have high levels of sodium, preservatives and fats, and instead mimic living off the land. It emphasizes eating fruits and vegetables, and basically whatever can be found in nature in the pre-agricultural era of humanity. This means no diary, crops foods (potatoes), bread, or alcohols. Research has been found that when done correctly can be very effective, especially for women. However, some of the issues that come along is following the "rules" of the diet. Often times what some think as natural, others do not. The foods are usually very pricey with little variety and often times causes problems for people who aren't used to going from eating whatever to having strict rules to follow. It is pretty healthy considering you will be consuming a lot of fresh produce and meat and seafood which provide a lot of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, omega-3 and more. However the strict and "up to interpretation" rules make it hard to follow, and if not followed correctly can cause over eating of certain foods and lack of nutrients like whole grains and calcium found in other food groups.

Juice (Juice Cleanse):
There are many different juice cleanse programs available out there, however they all follow pretty much the same idea. The body goes through a period of "detoxification" by only drinking fresh juices, water and eating fruits. It can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the program. The idea is to add more vegetables and fruits into your diet, which provides all the health benefits that come with eating fruits and vegetables. Many claim to have increased energy and lose weight. Whilst it is a healthy choice for a short while, it can be dangerous for certain groups of people. For example in those undergoing chemo and diabetics with the increase in sugar and other vitamins in the body. The higher amounts of sugar in fruits and vegetables can cause problems with blood sugar in the long term. Many also argue that by juicing the fruits and vegetables takes out much of the fiber and some of the nutrients that come with eating a whole fruit. If you go for too long on just juice, common sense would point to the lack of balance that other foods can provide. A lack of sodium and carbohydrates can cause a lot more problems, and the claims about to detoxification are mostly false as all detoxification happens in the liver and kidneys and the body is already really good at detoxifying the body so there really isn't anything drinking juice can detoxify.



Often times many of these diets promote a healthy body, weight loss, and other things. However it is usually a way for companies to sell more products and to make clients pay the higher prices of their fresh pressed juice or organic whole products. In the end eating a balanced diet with regular amounts of excersize is truly the way to lead a healthier lifestyle.


http://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/does-the-paleo-diet-work
http://thepaleodiet.com/paleo-diet-faq/

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/22/do-juice-cleanses-work_n_1372305.html
http://www.buzzfeed.com/carolynkylstra/detoxing-juice-cleanse#.hqrQopEDR

@Ana: love how you are always the first one to be done! way to stay on top of the game
@ Nobody, because not enough people to comment yet

1. The Grapefruit Diet

Followers of the "Grapefruit Diet" focus all of their meals around grapefruit or grapefruit juice. This fad is based on a false claim that grapefruits contain fat-burning enzymes; dieters will supposedly lose 10 or more pounds in as little as 12 days. In fact, this weight loss is a result of minimal calorie intake, ranging from around 800 to 1,000 calories a day depending on the version of the diet. Incorporating fruit into your diet is beneficial to a healthy lifestyle and the water in grapefruit may help you to feel fuller, but any weight lost will most likely be regained later. Plus, this fad diet is impractical unless you really really love grapefruit.


2. The HCG Diet

The HCG diet consists of extremely low levels of calories and a hormone that allegedly suppresses appetite(HCG). Any weight lost through this diet is due to limited calories and has no health benefits. The strict cutoff of 500 to 800 calories a day borders on self-imposed starvation. HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin is used to treat fertility issues in women and has not been approved by the FDA as a weight loss supplement. There is no evidence that this hormone works, and the difficulty in acquiring necessary nutrients through such little amounts of food means that this diet is both dangerous and ineffective.


Sources:
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20833428,00.html
http://www.livescience.com/35625-4-fad-diets-dont-really-work.html
http://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/grapefruit-diet

Replies:

@18amasarikova I can't believe the lengths people will go to in order to lose weight! I like the way you organized your fad diets by asking specific questions and then answering each one.

@18dlee I'm glad that you emphasized both the pros and cons associated with each diet. I've also wondered about the efficacy of the Paleo Diet and Juice Cleanse; your information was very thorough and helpful!

Choose two "fad" diets. Compare the two diets, and discuss why or why not each of these diets is/is not a healthy choice. The diets you choose do not have to be "weight loss" diets, but could also include "healthy lifestyle" diets.

Fad diets don't usually result in long term weight loss but only rapid weight loss.

The master cleanse diet:

No solids allowed to be consumed, only lemonade, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. The duration of this diet is 3-10 days. The creator claims that it is the best weight loss diet and that it detoxifies the diet, these are not true! There are non nutrients being absorbed into the body so this diet is not helpful.

HCG diet:

This diet expects you to eat extremely less amounts of food and hormones that make you less hungry. This diet has no health benefits. This diet is both dangerous and has no benefits. It is not approved by the FDA as a weight loss supplement and is used by women for fertility.

Sources:
http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/251.cfm
http://www.livescience.com/35625-4-fad-diets-dont-really-work.html

18ethakran wrote: »

A fad diet is a diet that promises dramatic results. They usually don't result in long term results and are very unhealthy. The two fad diets i will be discussing is the Alkaline Diet and the Five-Bite Diet.

Alkaline Diet:

The Alkaline Diet is also commonly known as the alkaline ash diet. This strict diet requires you to cut out sweets, dairies, meats, caffeine, alcohol, artificial and processed foods. It demands a large consumption of fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, and seed. This diet is very beneficial as it needs a high intake of fish products, other healthy, satisfying foods while eliminating processed fare, which in itself may spur weight loss. There is no need to worry about your body changing pH balances while doing this diet. In the end, this diet is strict, complicated, and bans bad foods for your body that will have a negative affect.

I would say this diet is not unhealthy because it does cut out all processed foods and other impure foods that put our health at a risk everyday. Having said that, I feel no diet to an extreme is good for our body, cutting everything out leaving your body cold turkey.


The Five-Bite Diet:

The five bite diet created by MD Alwin Lewis consists of the dieter skipping breakfast and only eating dinner. You can eat what ever you like in this diet, but the catch? YOU CAN ONLY EAT 5 BITES OF THE MEAL YOU CHOOSE. This is incredibly unhealthy, because no matter how big of a bite you take, the max calorie intake you will get per day will be around 900-1000 calories. This is very unhealthy and puts a large amount of stress on your body since the average grown man needs 2000 calories a day to properly function. Your body needs a well rounded meal with nutrition and vitamins to make it through the day and function, and 5 bites isn't enough for this to happen.

I WOULD NOT try this diet, and would never recommend it to anyone. It is extremely unhealthy an it will lead to a eating disorder or becoming malnourished.


In my opinion I would only ever try the Alkaline Diet just to cleanse by body of toxins and impurities, not as a weight loss diet.

Wow so interesting you can choose any foods nice!

Comments: Ethan: The five-bite diet sounds really extreme, I wouldn't ever imagine anyone to ever be able to do that without dying.

Sara: The south beach diet seems very interesting and definitely one of the more reasonable fad diets here.

The Five Bite Diet:

On this diet, you skip breakfast, but eat whatever you want for lunch and dinner, but only five bites of it. You’re basically depriving yourself of food to lose weight and although eating food in smaller portions is okay, but you should round out your diet with nutrient-dense foods and you need to give your body the fuel it needs by eating meals.

The Sleeping Beauty Diet:

This diet goes off the fact that as long as you’re sleeping, you’re not eating. This diet consists of taking medication in order to stay asleep for days at a time. This diet not only starves your body, but it also causes muscle deterioration from the lack of movement in the time that you are on this diet.

Both of these diets are used for weight loss, but they are both centered around simply not eating which is extremely unhealthy. As well as starving your body and yourself the nutrients you need, it is likely that the weight you lose while on this diet will come right back.

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20833428,00.html

Comments:
Ethan: I like how you included your opinion in your response.
Ana: I've never heard of those diets before! I liked how you organized your response with the questions.

There are many fad diets that are extremely dangerous for your health, and most of them will lead to malnutrition with varying degrees of seriousness. That beeing said however, there are some that are good, and the two im talking about are a couple of those ones.

Baby food diet:

This diet involves eating exclusivley pureed baby food for a certain period of time, it is good because baby food is naturally made to have all the things the body needs to grow, and when eaten in larger quantities, can be great for an adult as well.

Paleo Diet:

This diet is one that has people eat only raw and natural foods. This means cutting out all proccesed foods and all grains, while subbing in lean meats and raw vegatables. This is good because you can loose weight and supplement a good workout plan as well, but also make it hard for you to get your carb intake down.

Overall both diets are good for you, and if done right, will leave you looking and feeling better.


Comments:

Ana: Those diets sound maaad sketchy def will not try

Zeefan: That master cleanse stuff sounds like it would suck lol

The raw food diet- The raw food diet is more of a philosophy and lifestyle choice than a conventional weight-loss diet. A raw food diet is one in which 75% or more of the food a person eats is uncooked. Generally, raw foodists believe that the closer a person can come to eating a diet that is 100% raw, the better that person's health will be.

Alkaline diet- The alkaline diet—also known as the alkaline ash diet and the alkaline acid diet—requires you cut out meat, dairy, sweets, caffeine, alcohol, artificial and processed foods, and consume more fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, and seeds. The diet certainly has positive points; it's heavy on fresh produce and other healthy, satisfying foods while eliminating processed fare, which in itself may spur weight loss. But your body is incredibly efficient at keeping your pH levels where they need to be, so cutting out these foods really won't affect your body's pH

http://www.diet.com/g/raw-foods-diet
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20833428_3,00.html

Comments: Anna- the amputating your body part sounds crazy! but it's still interesting
Zefaan: The master cleanse diet sounds awful!