Just because a diet is trendy, doesn’t mean it’s effective. Just because your favorite celebrity does it, it doesn’t mean it’s safe. Let’s get real. This isn’t really news to any of us. Still, we fall for these diets, products and off-the-wall tactics now and again.
Some trendy diets may look miraculous, but they’re often associated with some pretty scary negative health effects. Now that we’re getting well into swimsuit season, it’s easy to start feeling desperate to look our best.
After all, we want to be able to feel great at the pool and the beach before we have to start wearing sweaters again! The pressure is on! It’s at exactly these moments that we need to take a step back and control ourselves. There is a limit to how far we should take things.
A bit of self-love and self-respect go a long way. Before you think about trying one of these diet trends, think again. These may be fun to hear about but give yourself enough respect to stop there and move on to a much healthier strategy.
You’ll thank me for this talk when all is said and done. You’re welcome, in advance!
• Skippable diet trend 1 – Gluten-free dieting.
If you have celiac’s disease, you need to keep gluten out of your diet for some important health reasons. If you don’t have a gluten allergy and your doctor hasn’t told you that you need to avoid gluten, stop avoiding it! Research has found that going gluten-free can actually cause your weight to rise. Moreover, some very solid studies have shown that gluten-free dieting increases your risk of heart disease!
• Skippable diet trend 2 – Missing meals.
Make a priority of eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a couple of light snacks in between if you’re hungry. People who miss meals (especially breakfast) are two and a half times more likely to build up fatty deposits in their arteries. In time, these can cause clogs that can be health threatening.
• Skippable diet trend 3 – Extremely high protein diets.
A great macronutrient balance can be great for your health and help you lose weight. That said, when you go too high with protein, you can risk accidentally consuming far too much saturated fat. Furthermore, this can lead to nutrient deficiencies when you don’t eat a broad enough variety of foods.
Instead of hopping on board each new diet fad, it’s a good idea to watch out for ourselves. This means keeping up with studies, talking to our doctors and using good old common sense!
