From eating parasites to absolutely nothing at all! Just when you thought you’d heard about the strangest fad diet, another even crazier one comes along! Would you risk your health in an attempt to “look good”? Here are a few of the weirdest – and most dangerous – diets we’ve come across this year.
The Tapeworm Diet
Yuck! If you’re going to swallow a parasite just so that you can lose weight, weight-loss may not be your biggest problem. If you are this desperate, please rather seek professional help.
How it works: You swallow tapeworm eggs. The tapeworm eggs hatch and they make their home in your gut, (yes, in your intestines!) and they begin to ingest the food that you eat.
The problem: Your body is not receiving any of the nutrients from the food! As if that isn’t creepy enough, the worms are also able to move to other parts of your body, which can trigger a variety of medical problems: they can even spread to your brain and cause seizures!
The Clay Cleanse Diet
How it works: Yup. You did read that correctly. A bit of clay a day, will keep toxins and fat away – at least that is what this diet claims to do, calling a ‘diet’ is a bit of a stretch, though.
The problem: While there may be no sugar or fat in the clay, the British Diabetic Association looked at the clay products available for followers and found that they contained, “high levels of lead and arsenic.” The bottom line is that you’re swallowing poisonous, toxic substances that will harm your body, not make it healthier. Basically, it’s poisonous sand.
The Blood-Type Diet
How it works: The basis of this diet is that your blood-type determines the food that you should (or shouldn’t) eat. So, what can you eat? Well, if you are:
- A-Type: you will need to become vegan because any type of meat is not allowed. Your diet is based on fresh fruits and veggies.
- B-Type: Oh no! No wheat, peanuts, tomatoes and even chicken for you. You’re only allowed to eat certain meats. Your diet will consist of eggs, vegetables and low-fat dairy.
- O-Type: If you love meat, you’ve hit the jackpot. Your diet needs to be protein-rich, but low in all types of grains.
- AB-Type: Apparently you have low stomach acid; so, seafood, veggies and dairy are on the menu. You need to stay away from alcohol, caffeine and smoked meats.
The problem: your choices are very limited and there is no scientific proof that your blood-type and the food you eat are linked in any way. You are starving your body of essential nutrients, which can lead to serious medical conditions.
The Breatharian Diet
How it works: Just Breathe. This is something you would say to someone having a panic attack, not as the foundation of a diet, and yet, it’s true. This diet claims that your body doesn’t need any food or drink at all, just air and sunlight.
But, just to make it seem a little less crazy, followers do enjoy a very “light” meal by sitting down to an empty plate, pretending there’s food on it…and gulp it down. The actress, Michelle Pfeiffer, was a follower of this diet.
The problem: You’ll most likely die from starvation and dehydration. But before that happens, you can probably look forward to hair-loss and loose teeth.
So, don’t listen to anyone who tells you that these diets are effective. They are dangerous and there is no medical evidence to back them up. Only hard work, determination and consistency will get you the results that you want.
Sources
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20833428_4,00.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/10472726/This-years-most-dangerous-fad-diets.html
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/top-10-most-popular-diets-review.aspx
http://www.cheatsheet.com/life/5-diet-fads-to-stay-away-from.html/?a=viewall
http://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/blood-type-diet?page=1