Every year, there are new, trendy ways that promise health benefits and some may even sound preposterous. There’s also another side to these health trends that could be detrimental to your health.
Blindly following a trend just because you follow someone famous on social media who says that this trend ‘changed their life’ could spell out trouble for you.
It must be said that some of these people push products and practices that they themselves may not understand and sure, it’s great that it works positively for them but we are all built differently.
Here are some health trends that you need to take with a pinch of salt.
1. Juice Cleanses
Juice is healthy… right? We’re quite sure you’ve heard of a juice cleanse and probably thought about doing it to reap its ‘benefits’ such as eliminating toxins from our bodies.
What we must understand is that our bodies are made up of organs and micro-organisms that work together to digest food, filter waste and get rid of waste.
There’s no need for juices and pills in order to detox our bodies because our organs are already doing just that. These juice cleanses where a person has only juices for a period of a few days or up to a week.
Do be warned that these cleanses can cause bloating, diarrhoea, muscle loss and diminished immune function, not to mention nutrition deficiency.
2. Fat-Free Diet
It was a popular belief that a low-fat diet would prevent weight gain, various cancers and heart disease but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
A healthy diet is composed of a moderate amount of fat which should be 20 to 35 percent of a person’s daily calorie intake and from a nutritious source. Great sources of fats include nuts, avocadoes and fatty fish.
Completely cutting out fats from your diet could cause memory problems, skin problems and fatigue.
In addition to this, fat-free food in the supermarket may sound healthy but in order for these foods to taste good, more sugar needs to be added along with other unhealthy food additives.
3. Cutting Calories
Before you swear that it worked for you, hear us out. We mean extreme calorie cutting where you exist on the absolute minimum amount of calories needed to survive.
An extremely low calorie diet could throw the body into starvation mode which is when it slows down your metabolism, which works against you if you’re trying to lose weight.
This can lead to rapid weight gain when you go back to eating normally, nutrient deficiencies, bingeing episodes, increased stress and worst case scenario, problems with your internal organs.
Instead of completely cutting down on calories, go slow and switch out the processed foods in your diet to whole foods such as whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats.
4. ‘Natural’ Remedies
It is a common misconception that natural remedies are all safe. Herbal remedies have long been promoted to better health and cure illnesses for centuries.
However, it must be said that although herbal remedies have been around for a long time, they aren’t regulated for safety or even efficacy.
Herbal supplements when taken for example, with medication could have adverse effects on someone especially if they have a pre-existing condition.
Certain herbs promoted as weight loss supplements such as ephedra has been linked to high blood pressure, seizures, irregular heartbeat and possibly death.
Always seek the advice of a dietitian or pharmacist before you take any natural supplement to ensure that it is safe.
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