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Dangerous Fad Diets

Diets and exercise can improve a person's physical well-being and increase the chances of weight loss. In order to limit calorie intake, a diet may require participants to follow unorthodox eating patterns. Fad diets take this concept to the extreme, and often impose eating requirements that are potentially dangerous.

  1. Apple Cider Vinegar Diet

    • In the "Apple Cider Vinegar" diet, people are supposed to consume multiple teaspoons of apple cider vinegar before every meal. Dieters believe that the acidity in the vinegar combined with the pectin in apples would trigger increased weight loss. In actuality, the diet may do more harm than good. The vinegar content, according to WebMD, may cause bone loss and potassium deficiency. Additionally, the vinegar may cause nausea, which would deter dieters from eating full, healthy meals.

    Cookie Diet

    • In the "Cookie" diet, people are given special recipe cookies that contain added nutrients and amino acids. The cookies are to be eaten as a replacement for one or more meals throughout the day, which theoretically reduces daily calorie intake. Unfortunately, cookies do not fully replace all the nutrients gained by eating a full meal. Therefore, participants in the diet may be deficient of essential vitamins. Any temporary weight-loss benefits may be lost upon returning to a normal, non-restrictive diet.

    Baby Food Diet

    • Baby food usually contains no added fats, fillers or additives and is easier to digest. The food with the small containers are pre-portioned and low in calories. Baby foot diets take advantage of these facts by requiring dieters to eat baby food for all of their meals. This diet does not provide the heart protective fiber or Vitamin D that adults need. Purchasing organic food and vegetables and removing fast food from the diet will allow dieters to keep their calorie intake low without resorting to baby food.

    HCG Diet

    • Another diet involves daily injections of a pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and a daily 500 calorie intake. The fertility drug is said by advocates to create a more appealing distribution of body fat, while reducing the hunger or discomfort associated with dieting. The FDA has included a label with the drug that stresses that the drug does not increase or enhance weight loss. Moreover, HCG has side effects including swelling, depression, blod clots and breast pain.

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