Health Risks of a Liquid Diet

Losing weight is one of the primary reasons people choose to go on a liquid diet. The diets on the market promise fast results for those seeking to shed some pounds. Problems with these diets go far beyond their lack of nutritional guidance and eventual failure to keep off the pounds. Some people may experience health problems as a result of consuming a liquid diet to lose weight.

Lean Muscle Loss

• The dramatic reduction of calories on liquid diets will cause your body to burn lean muscle for energy. The body responds to severely low-calorie diets by slowing down the metabolism and storing fat for energy. This response is a survival mechanism to protect against starvation.
  Eat a healthy diet to maintain muscle while burning fat. When the body has enough nutrients and calories to survive, it will burn stored fat and not necessarily muscle.

Gallstones

• Crash diets such as liquid diets that cause you to lose weight at a rapid rate contribute to the formation of gallstones. On these diets, your liver will produce more bile that is not eliminated properly. A very low-calorie diet can also affect the gallbladder's ability to empty properly. A healthy weight loss is only 1 lb. or 2 lbs. per week. Eat a well-balanced diet that is not high in fatty foods to avoid gallstones.

Electrolyte Imbalance

• Electrolytes are in your blood, tissue and all body fluids. These important salts are essential to maintaining the healthy function of the body. On a low-calorie liquid diet, nutrients may be missed that are important to keeping a balance of electrolytes in the body. Some of the symptoms of an electrolyte imbalance are dizziness and an irregular heartbeat.
  All functions of the body are dependent on your electrolyte balance. Some of the common electrolytes in your body are sodium and potassium. Make certain you are eating a diet rich in vitamins and minerals to keep your electrolyte balance in check.

Organ Damage

• The kidneys can be damaged when following a liquid diet without medical supervision or for an extended time period. This type of diet is not maintained for longer than 12 weeks, in most cases without the guidance of a physician. Electrolyte imbalances may lead to kidney disease just as kidney disease leads to electrolyte imbalances.
  A lack of nutrients for a long time can lead to kidney disease, congestive heart failure and gallbladder disorders. The body requires vitamins and nutrients to function properly, and when they are denied with a liquid diet, organ failure can be the result.

Weight Gain

• Obese patients are ideal candidates for a medically supervised liquid diet. Patients who have had bariatric surgery such as a gastric bypass eat a liquid diet in the weeks after the surgery. These diets are supplemented with vitamins and minerals to ensure that proper nutrition is used on a liquid diet.
  Those who use liquid diets to lose a small amount of weight are unlikely to keep that weight off in the long term. The caloric intake is so low on some diets that as soon as normal eating habits are started again, the weight comes right back. The sensible approach to weight loss should include a balanced eating plan that eliminates 3,500 calories from the diet in a week. This will result in a 1 lb. weight loss. Only plan to lose 1 lb. to 2 lbs. per week with diet and exercise for long-lasting weight-loss results.