6 of the Most Dangerous Ways to Try and Lose Weight

By Joe Pietaro
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Updated: June 10, 2016

By Benita Lee of LabDoor.com – It’s surprising how many common diet trends can cause serious harm. If you’re tempted to quickly drop some pounds in time for summer beach season, here are 6 diets to avoid:

1. Unverified Weight Loss Pills

Diet pills have gained popularity since the 1800’s despite being notorious for toxicity and accidental deaths.

Risks: Some of these pills have caused stroke, liver injury, kidney failure, heart palpitations, seizures, and even death.

2. The Grapefruit Diet

Created in the 1930’s with the misleading claim that grapefruit enzymes boost fat burning.

Risks: Malnutrition, photosensitivity, medication interactions. Grapefruit interacts with about 43% of all meds, causing severe effects like arrhythmias, kidney damage, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

3. The Cotton Ball Diet (warning; extremely dangerous)

Popularized in the YouTube videos and pro-anorexia websites around 2013, in which cotton balls are consumed in an effort to stop hunger.

Risks: Choking, malnutrition, increased risk for eating disorders, life-threatening intestinal obstruction.

4. The Caffeine Diet

Made popular through marketing hype and celebrity endorsements of caffeine-related supplements like green tea extract.

2 cups of coffee may help you burn about 14kcal/hr, but this doesn’t work on people used to caffeine, no matter how large the dose.

Risks: Stomach ulcers, accelerated bone loss, arrhythmias, muscle tremors, cardiac arrest.

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5. The Master Cleanse

Originally developed in the 1940’s by Stanley Burroughs, and recently made popular by celebrities like Beyoncé. Salt water, laxative tea, and “lemonade” made of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cyan pepper are taken. No evidence supports that lenses lead to long-term weight loss.

Risks: Mood swings, nausea, lean muscle loss, suppressed immunity, heart palpitations, and low blood pressure.

6. The Cabbage Soup Diet

First appeared as a diet in the early 1900’s and reappeared in the 1990’s in trending fax and email messages. Limit of 1,000 calories per day as cabbage soup, mainly causing water weight loss.

Risks: Stomach ulcers, accelerated bone loss, arrhythmias, muscle tremors, cardiac arrest.

The Takeaway

There is no quick fix for long-term weight loss. It takes a minimum of lifestyle changes that include healthy nutrition and regular exercise.

For the full infographic, visit: https://labdoor.com/article/6-dangerous-ways-to-lose-weight

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Source: LabDoor.com