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Faddish, foolish and futile: why detox diets don’t work

Daniela Elser

by Daniela Elser

03 Feb 05:45am

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Filed under: Detox, Diets, Food, Gwyneth Paltrow, Health, New Years Resolutions

82 comments

Cookie diets, lemon detox diets, juice fasts, vegan weeks, the master cleanse.

Some people get so obsessed about this kind of food, they name their kids after it. Right, Gwyneth? Pic: AP

Magazines are full of them, friends bang on about them, and every celebrity worth their size zero britches will happily rave about their benefits.

Is there anything more frustrating, galling, idiotic, and yet somehow tempting than a detox?

After all, it’s a given that after several months of shovelling an ever-increasing volume of guacamole, party pies and warm champagne into ourselves, we’re in desperate need of not only elasticised pants, but a bit of an overhaul.

But rather than say, excluding Cheezels from your day-to-day food pyramid and embracing the occasional spot of exercise (going to the bottle shop does not count), vast swathes of people abandon their better judgement and the capacity for rational thought when they realize their pants don’t fit.

Detoxes, or whatever name you want to call these ridiculously prohibitive, misery-filled regimes, have become a social menace.

Any event this time of year is guaranteed to have a small clique of pious proselytisers ranting about the benefits of dietary masochism.

It’s a lazy, quick fix way of trying to address our slovenly lifestyles and penchant for Kettle Chips.

It has seeped into the public consciousness in recent years that a hellish burst of deprivation can undo your dietary crimes in a matter of days.

As women more frequently, and publicly, reject the notion of the no-carb, no-fat, no-sugar diets once the popular fodder of magazines and office kitchens, a more insidious, and potentially more dangerous, food fad has taken hold.

Now you can label whatever restrictive meal plan you are following as a detox and subsisting only on leafy greens and peppermint tea can be fashionably rationalised as a ‘cleanse’.

The worst perpetrator of all is Gwyneth Paltrow.

In 2009 the actress launched GOOP, her online lifestyle project all about sharing her unique take on the important things: where to stay in Paris (The Ritz); what brand of salt to use (the rare hibiscus-flavoured Majorcan variety); to her tips for balancing career and motherhood (personal trainer, iPad, acupuncture, a weekly blow dry, expert makeup lessons and be happy to run through your ‘call sheet’ on the school run).

Paltrow urges readers to “eliminate white food,” “nourish your inner aspect,” and “police your thoughts”. It’s like a Stella McCartney-clad, vegan cult for the upwardly mobile.

She encourages readers to put themselves on an elimination diet that essentially consists of pureed vegetables and juices and a variety of powders and shakes.

“I will be suffering along with you to kick-start my year a bit lighter,” she cheerfully tells readers.

Life isn’t all sugar-free coconut water and mantras for Paltrow. She is said to have needed medical attention after eleven days drinking lemon water and recently revealed she suffers from bone-thinning disease osteopenia, a condition strongly linked to excessive dieting and over-exercising.

Research has proven that detoxes are waste of time, and like any crash diet, the weight piles right back on once you’re back on solid foods.

No pill, juice, tea or algae is going to fantastically whip you back into shape and no matter if you steadfastly slurp on kale juice for the week. The only thing you are going to lose is your social life.

The entire detox industry, worth hundreds of millions globally, is a farce according to scientists, a marketing monolith not a physiological fix.

We also don’t need to do them because, the liver and kidneys break down and remove, with great efficiency, toxins from the bloodstream.

“Even if you drink an almost lethal dose of alcohol (which I don’t recommend) your liver will clear it in 36 hours,” Sir Colin Berry, Professor Emeritus of Pathology at Queen Mary, University of London told The Times.

Put down the cucumber juice. Glass of wine anyone?

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82 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • bec says:

      06:35am | 03/02/11

      Yep. And low-fat doesn’t work either. My new year’s resolution was to stop eating anything with the words “lite”, “low fat” or “diet” in them and finally eat real food after 15+ years of following low-fat and low-calorie diets. I refuse to waste another moment of my life eating sugary processed dreck which doesn’t come close to being satisfying or tasty.

      Reply

    • Erin says:

      10:00am | 03/02/11

      Bec - Good for you.  Did you know that when they take the fat out, they just add more sugar to it to try and compensate for the flavour?

      Fat is not the enemy.  Your body is perfectly adapted to dealing with fat and telling you to stop eating when it has had enough. Certain components of sugar, however, prove a challenge for your body.  I cut out refined fructose (eg fruit is okay, a mars bar is not) and have lost seven KG’s since last july. 

      IF you are interested in learning more read David Gillespie’s “Sweet Poison”.  The science behind it is sound and you dont have to give up all sugars, just fructose based ones (eg table sugar / sucrose)

    • bec says:

      10:33am | 03/02/11

      Erin, I particularly recommend Dr Robert Lustig’s “The Bitter Truth about Sugar”, which you can download in its entirety on youtube (all hour and a half of it!).

      The weight is coming off slowly, but you’re right about satiety; I am done after about five or six mouthfuls with full-fat food, whereas I am ravenous only an hour after eating something full of sugar or unrefined carbs.

    • Quack of Watch City says:

      12:50pm | 03/02/11

      Just speaking from my own experience.. I gave up fat free and light foods (I too was tired of the processed crap) approx 6 years ago and for the past 2 years I’ve been experiencing quite a a lot of chest pain/tightness that comes and disappears out of nowhere. Mind you I’m only in my late 20’s so my cardiologist wasn’t too concerned, but it makes me wonder about the fat/heart disease hypothesis.

    • bec says:

      01:08pm | 03/02/11

      Were there any measurable changes in cholesterol/circulating tryglicerides/blood pressure? I’ve only been at it a month and all looks good at the moment. Mind, I am usually told that my blood pressure and HDL cholesterol are too low, so ymmv.

    • Erin says:

      01:28pm | 03/02/11

      I’ve not had those things checked myself but there was a lot of anecdotal evidence in the book from people who had trialled it and found their triglycerides decreased after going low/no fructose.

    • Quack of Watch City says:

      01:45pm | 03/02/11

      @bec, my total cholesterol sits at about 3.0. Tri’s were good, low. HDL/LDL ratio I didn’t pay attention to. That was 2 years ago tho.. Need to update it soon. I did go a little overboard at times though.. I have an affinity for butter wink I’ve decided to cut back on the butter as much as I can but keep eating everything else just the same. I also gave up bread/most grains for a long period and the doctor handling me at the time thought that was causing the low cholesterol and tri test results.

    • The Badger says:

      02:36pm | 03/02/11

      bec
      be careful
      you want your LDL to be low, not necessarily your HDL.
      general rule:
      HDL - good
      LDL - bad

      Look into it.

    • JulesG says:

      04:21pm | 03/02/11

      @bec 10.33am post: Sugar is bad because it stimulates insulin and insulin is a hormone that absolutely blocks the correct metabolism of fat and protein and forces the body to burn sugar. This in turn lowers the blood sugar and your body’s response is hunger to replenish the sugar that your body needs. This then is a triple whammy! Lots of refined sugar = insulin, which = hunger, which = more eating! To cap it off sugar is very calorie dense and super fattening. Fat is not the enemy! Sugar is!

      We don’t need refined sugars of any kind. We do need carbohydrates however, in fact it’s the body’s fuel. Carbohydrates are complex sugars that require complex metabolic processes to metabolise. This is where your low and high GI comes in. Eaten sensibly, they will not cause you to be hungry or eat too soon because you’re not in mild insulin shock as is the case with simple refined sugar.

      Here’s something else to ponder. When they remove fat from food it’s generally replaced with carbs and sugars, making the low fat variant of the food more fattening than the original full fat version. How sneaky is that?

      The best thing is to dump processed food of all kinds because they actually put sugar in just about everything. Eat fresh and stay away from refined processed food like white sugar, white bread and white flour’.

      The main se.cret of weight loss is hard work and exercise and that’s why it’s been a secret for so long

    • Macca says:

      07:11am | 03/02/11

      “Glass of wine anyone?” No, but I’ll take a Coopers, and it’s only just past 8am.

      The best way to lose weight is to exercise and eat in a wholistic, healthy manner. Cereal, fruits, Veggies, Bread and something that used to be a cow or pig and your fine. Pile on a hour of exercise 3 - 4 days a week and you should notice a gradual improvement over a period of weeks and months (half an hour when you wake up, half when you get home).

      You don’t lose weight and keep it off in a matter of weeks. It takes Months. It is possible to lose 10kgs in 2 months, but keeping yourself at that level over the following 4 months is the real challenge. That’s the problem with fads; they promise a quick fix, when in reality, there is no such thing.

      Anyway, off to preseason training tonight, got 2 months before the football season to shed the few thousand beers and prawns I’ve enjoyed since 23rd December.

      Reply

    • Grumpy says:

      09:26am | 03/02/11

      Diet is the ONLY way to lose weight. Most people can lose weight without exercise With a strong clean diet. bread is bad mmkay….its probably the worst thing to eat if you are trying to lose weight along with drinking alcohol. Its good to avoid even wholemeal breads, eat brown rice instead once a day if you have to eat a starchy carb or sweet potato is yum and good, no more than a hand full in portion, vegetables and lean meat and one piece of fruit a day is plenty and 1.5-2litres of water minimum.  one fruit a day, not including avocado, olives, a few nuts, apples are good for fibre and carbs…its misleading to say lots of fruit, if you ate fruit all day, youd get end up with higher bf %. essentially moderate fat (essentials i.e. olives, oils, avocado,nuts), high protein (steak, chicken breast, fish eggs), low/no carb is the only way to do it. Eating Carbs depends on activity levels but most bodybuilders and fitness junkies would avoid them.

      The body is constantly detoxing. its what it does….Women will buy anything if its in a magazine.

    • Stephy says:

      09:47am | 03/02/11

      Alternatively, you could just watch to make sure your kilojule intake is less than your kilojule output.

    • Tim the Toolman says:

      10:18am | 03/02/11

      “1.5-2litres of water minimum. “

      Double check this one…it’s a mis-reported quantity based on an old report from the 50’s in the US.  Unless you’re including water you obtain from food in that, in which case, carry on! smile

      As for the carbs, I have some for lunch (usually rice) but otherwise skip them at dinner.  Works for me! (well within the healthy range, minimal body fat and always have plenty of energy).

    • Grumpy says:

      10:31am | 03/02/11

      its more important to eat the right macro-nutrients and control the portion than worry about the actual figures. you could say to someone eat 2000 calories a day, but if they went and ate 2000 from carbs and fat they wouldn’t get any leaner, they would just turn catabolic and lose muscle..but you’re right basically that you have to consume less than your body will naturally use.

    • Grumpy says:

      10:50am | 03/02/11

      im talking about weight loss…You wouldn’t get the same result if you didn’t drink alot of water. its recommended to drink 5-6 glasses a day by most health pro’s, thats about 1.5 litres. Id drink a litre and a half during a single work out , alot of people drink 1-2 glasses a day. if your body is 90% water and you lose 3-4 litres a day when you are sleeping, training, urination theres no way you will be hydrated from a glass or two, plus put some coffee and a glass of wine in the mix and you will be very dehydrated after a week of doing it. you dont include water in foods, once their cooked its not measurable. For any diet to be effective it has to be measurable, or you cant correct it if its not working. Its a system that will work for the most genetically un-gifted and the gifted become Mr Universe with these principles. carbs before 3pm is the best way to eat them…but they still gotta be the right ones..

    • braunman says:

      11:07am | 03/02/11

      @Grumpy

      2000 calories is simply the energy content of food. It doesn’t matter if it’s fat, carbs, protiens ect. It’s like that old riddle, “what is the weight difference between 12 kgs of lead and 12 kgs of feathers?”, the answer being nothing because they both weigh 12 kgs.

    • Grumpy says:

      12:37pm | 03/02/11

      @ braunman, it does matter for weight loss because its whats in the calories that counts. Sure its a measurement but if you ingest “empty” calories they do nothing for your body in terms of nutrition. So you will still require nutrients from the correct foods that are portioned into those 2000 calories…as i said above, if you eat 2000 calories from carbs and bad fats you wont lose FAT you will lose muscle weight, which is more or less your metabolism…Less muscle = more fat. Your body wont function in the way it should if you ingest calories that are from the wrong macronutrients that make up the calories you eat. You may lose weight if you did, but it wouldnt be fat. it would be muscle and water and if you are lucky a small percentage of that will be fat…

    • Lesley says:

      01:04pm | 03/02/11

      Macca, are you making that bread yourself? Otherwise, you might want to read the label and read up on hydrogenated vegetable oils. Commercially bought bread is not healthy, regardless of whether it’s white or whole-grain, all supermarket bread is full of junk.

    • braunman says:

      01:55pm | 03/02/11

      @ Grumpy

      Whether or not the weight loss was healthy is a seperate issue entirely. If you want a good example regarding the calorie intake have a look at this case:
      http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
      To summerise it involves a nutrition professor going on a diet exclusively of twinkies (albiet with vitamin suppliments and a few veggies). He lost weight by sticking to the daily reccomended calorie intake, no more. I’m not saying it was healthy, but it does prove the point. In terms of pure weight loss the calorie intake is the most important aspect compared to what you use. If what goes in is more than what you use, you put on weight, simple as that.

    • Macca says:

      02:00pm | 03/02/11

      @Lelsey, no, I am not making my own bread, however I still managed to lose weight despite having a sandwich of ham and vegetables for lunch.

      @Grumpy, you’re an idiot. 2000 calories is the same regardless. There is difference in the way that Fat, Sugar, Carbs and Nutrients are broken down by the body and the speed of which those are released as energy. Protip, Fat often has more energy but takes longer to burn off.

      @Tim, the more water the better, just means you pee more. Not very scientific, most 3 year olds have worked that out.

    • Diets don't work says:

      02:18pm | 03/02/11

      I lost 60kg’s with the simple energy in vs energy out (of course, nutrition also plays an important factor).. I have recently taken up exercise as well, going to the gym at least 5 days a week for the last year has also assisted. I do think low carb (ie. no breads etc) is a good way to do it, unfortunately I enjoy rice and pasta far too much to give them away permanently. I’d rather just eat smaller portions, get good nutrition and exercise and actually be happy with my diet than try and deprive myself of stuff I enjoy.

    • Grumpy says:

      03:08pm | 03/02/11

      i understand what calories measure.it is the issue because this article is about detoxing and fad diets and i was trying to point out the importance of getting those calories from the correct macronutrients.

      “To summerise it involves a nutrition professor going on a diet exclusively of twinkies (albiet with vitamin suppliments and a few veggies). He lost weight by sticking to the daily reccomended calorie intake, no more. I’m not saying it was healthy, but it does prove the point”

      did he measure lean mass at the beginning and end?

      Its called starvation…there was a guy who went on a Beer diet and lost weight…its all good if you want to look like an Ethiopian, no offense, but no good if you actually want lifelong weight management..I agree 100% that you must reduce calories,in vs out, all im saying is you wont get the same results, and as soon as you give in and eat normally the weight will come back, faster and more than you started with because of the reduces muscle/lean mass, unless you started eating correctly and worked out with weights once you lost weight.

      I’m confident that anyone who started eating nothing but carbs and fat at 100kgs and loses weight through starvation would still be around 20-30% body fat when they get to 70kgs. All they would have lost would be 15kgs of water, 10kgs of muscle, and 5kg of fat if that.

    • braunman says:

      04:28pm | 03/02/11

      @Grumpy

      If you read my last post I mentioned that it wasn’t a healthy thing to do. I also fail to see how he was starving himself. He was eating the reccomended daily energy intake for an adult male, so his body was getting exactly the amount of energy that it needed. The article talks about fad diets, many of which provide the body with no energy. *That* would be starving yourself*.

      He didn’t lose muscle mass, only fat. And on that note, why would his body lose 15kgs of water?

    • Mind Over Matter says:

      07:22am | 03/02/11

      The easiest diet of all - don’t eat convenience food and eat less of everything except fruit and veg.  Overeating is all in the mind, so mind over batter is a good axiom.  And another thought, when hungry suck on your water bottle.  It’s much cheaper and think what you can do with the money saved from food fads.

      Reply

    • E says:

      10:03am | 03/02/11

      Not true.  Studies have shown that consuming large amounts of sugar acts to inhibit the hormones that tell you when to stop eating (leptin).  So eating more than your body needs is often a consequence of how much sugar we add to our diet these days and not just “all in the mind” as you put it.

    • Budz says:

      07:50am | 03/02/11

      Things like these lemon detox diets are hilarious! They say they will help you lose weight in conjunction with a calorie controlled diet and regular exercise. Well duh! You don’t even need the stupid diet if you eat well (and also not too much!) and exercise regularly.

      Reply

    • Stephy says:

      09:46am | 03/02/11

      That’s like a product being advertised on TV currently. Fat Blaster I think it is. “Just take one of these with a glass of water half hour before your meal and you’ll want to eat less!”

      Duh. It’s the water that’s filled you up. The tablet in question does bugger-all.

    • Elphaba says:

      10:09am | 03/02/11

      @Stephy, I’ve got one better - Rapid Loss.  It’s a gel that expands in your stomach, filling it up, and is supposed to be like you’ve had a stomach stapling.

      All I can think when I see that ad is that there must be people calling plumbers to remove a monster clog from their toilet…

    • Jayne says:

      07:54am | 03/02/11

      So true! I had a friend tell me she was eliminating pasta and cereals for a week as part of her ‘detox’.  I pointed out that pasta and cereals are not, in fact, toxic.  She had no response!

      Reply

    • rudy says:

      07:58am | 03/02/11

      That Gwyneth Paltrow is a prize dill was made obvious to the world years ago with a foolish, tizzy Oscars acceptance speech. You should know that and not waste any time on her drivel. I only write this in the hope of passing on some wisdom to you that appears to be lacking. Then you might be able to see through even more scams such as detox diets.

      Reply

    • Elphaba says:

      08:10am | 03/02/11

      I love how the Lemon Detox website says “It’s entirely normal to feel lethargic and dizzy whilst on the program, that’s your body purging all the toxins.” (I’m paraphrasing)

      No, that’s you, starving yourself.  But people will always look for a quick fix, because diet and exercise does take a while to show that it’s working.  People will believe anything if it means they have to do less work.  So long as they’re aware of the avalanche of health problems waiting for them, let them be stupid, I say.

      Like you said, Danilea, we have an on board detox system, and if you look after it, it’ll work just fine.

      I don’t know how people could give up carbs altogether.  They’re my happy food.  What a miserable existence without a bowl of pasta or some freshly baked bread.  Booooooring….

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      11:34am | 03/02/11

      Yes, those ads crack me up. What about the ones that promote fullness and have the ‘mild’ side effect of horrible diahorrea? Lovely!

      My boyfriend follows this weird all meat, no carb diet - except when he decides it’s a cheat day and goes on a carb rampage. He is constantly talking, thinking and obsessing about food and hasn’t lost much weight. I much prefer being free to eat pasta and drink Coke without having a guilt fit about it.

    • Elphaba - sleep-ins are a thing of the past :-( says:

      12:02pm | 03/02/11

      Ooh, Kate… like Atkins?  Are there any fruit and veg included?

      Whatever he’s doing, it’s not good for him, I’m afraid.  A friend of mine did Atkins at uni (when ‘Atkins was a buzz word) - bacon and eggs for breaky every morning, lots of meat, no carbs.  She lost a ton of weight, but her cholesterol and BP went through the roof.  Not good.

      I’ve struggled a bit with food, I just find keeping a food journal is good (just writing stuff down makes me think “I really don’t want to write ‘bag of Doritos’ down on this list”), and eating all my stuff out of smaller bowls/plates. All my cheese and yoghurt is low fat, but I naturally eat less of it because it’s not as yummy.

      I also shop on a full stomach, and do my exercise early in the morning before work, so I can come home and flop on the couch, without feeling guilty. I think this is what people who look for a quick fix know when it comes to an exercise program - you do have to overhaul your life.  I HATE getting up in the morning - but it’s a damn sight easier to walk and stairclimb at 5:30am than it is at 5:30pm.

    • Tara says:

      09:42am | 04/02/11

      @Elpheba - check the sugar content of all your “low fat” food options. They add a heap of sugar to replace the fat. Seriously - put two yoghurts side by side in the supermarket and see what the differences are. Sugar is BAD! Eat full fat, just eat in moderation, and exercise. I cut out sugar(fructose IE from High Fructose Corn Syrup, sucrose) and replaced it with Stevia. I still drink beer, and spirits(with diet- no sugar - softdrink) - and I lost an extra 5 kilos with out doing anything extra, and I eat full fat cheese, yoghurt, and milk, and butter. I went from 63 kilos down to 56 kilos. and I missed a few weeks at the gym due to family illness.

    • hermes says:

      08:17am | 03/02/11

      Simple rule of thumb, if it has an expiry date longer than about a week, don’t eat it. Avoid the middle aisles; eat fresh fruit, veggies, lean meat and dairy products. I laugh every time I see idiots in my office chowing (yeah, right) down on diet shakes, whilst going on and on about preservatives, while I have a very large salad, with lean meat, olives and other goodies…and I am slim and they are not.

      Reply

    • Tim the Toolman says:

      10:19am | 03/02/11

      “olives”

      I love olives…delicious, healthy and if you crave salty tastes, they’ll fix that too!

    • Grumpy says:

      12:26pm | 03/02/11

      nothing wrong with shakes…theyre a good way to get protein and are low in fat and carbs. Theyre just made from cheese.

    • HT says:

      02:25pm | 03/02/11

      Agree with Grumpy - nothing wrong with shakes.. Some athletes swear by them.. However, they are damn hard to stick to if you’re doing the meal replacement thing and usually people doing them end up “falling off the wagon” and into a pile of doritoes.

    • never hungry! says:

      09:56am | 04/02/11

      nothing wrong with shakes?? shakes are also parts of fad diets. the low carb thing is a fad too.
      trust me, i tried it. had shake replacement meals (low in carbs high in protein) and it worked but as soon as i’d lost the weight (which by the way, was mostly muscle/water and not fat anyway) it slowly crept back on.
      shakes are fine for athletes but they aren’t for health and weight loss. replacing meals is just stupid.
      the rule is simple and i 100% agree with hermes - eat lots of fresh fruit and veggies (anyone who tries to limit your intake of fresh fruit is an idiot), lean meats and dairy. i never go in to the middle isles anymore unless i feel like pasta for dinner (i’m gluten intol so i have to get wheat free pasta anyway). carbs are absolutely fine in moderation and i never deprive myself of anything. if i want a big fat gluten free burger i’m going to have it!!!
      i am 5’7” and weigh 57 kilos. normal weight range and i never worry about my wight. ever.
      the minute everyone stops stressing and searching for quick fixes and realises you just need to get healthy and inject as many nutrients into each meal as possible then you’ll notice a change.

    • Simonr says:

      09:13am | 03/02/11

      2 guys from my office did the lemon detox diet last week.They both wanted to lose weight, and even though I tried to explain to them why these diets dont work, they were insistant. It was for me a perfect opportunity to monitor it’s effects. Heres what happened:

      They weighed in on day 1. Day 1, that is, of drinking only water, tree sap juice, and a tea that made them void their bowels every 3-4 hours. It was clear straight away that the whole premise of the diet is that it makes you expell more fluid than you can put in, hence the weight loss.
      Day 2: wiegh in and dropped about 1.5kg each.
      Days 3-6: although I could see the guys were short tempered, and innefective at their jobs, they claimed they felt great. The consistently lost about half a kilo per day.
      Final day they weigh in, a total of 4 and 4.2kgs lighter. They are happy with the results, and brag to all and sundry they lost 5kgs in a week (always round up)
      Now 1 week later they weigh in again, to find they are slowly but surely creeping abck up. The 4kg weight loss is down to a 2.8kg loss, and the 4.2 loos is down to a 0.9kg loss. In one week. I also plan to weigh them after 2 weeks and then a month. I am sure the only thing lighter will be their wallets

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      12:34pm | 03/02/11

      People should not be allowed to come to work if they decide to go on “no-carb” or detox diets.
      They can’t get any work done because they haven’t eaten anything. All they manage to achieve for the whole week is piss everyone else off.

    • MK says:

      02:19pm | 03/02/11

      I did a fast based loosely the lemon detox,
      Except with a strategic meal for breakfast after 3 days, then low calorie roughage for rest of day then three more days no solid food.
      Detox’s are really just fasting
      not without merit, one of the key beenifts is it does give you a clean slate, get rid of any hormone issues the fodo your eating may have caused
      First week “Detox”/Fast 6kg
      2nd Week solid food, low carb 2 more kg down
      After the fast i could eat a lot differently wihout cravings
      3rd week high carb (expect to get back reatined water) no change in weight

      When fasting, ater inital headaches, (if you have any)
      you acutally end up very alert and with a high energy level for regualr things (not long strenuous exercise)

    • E says:

      10:25am | 03/02/11

      The author discounts the “no suagr” diet as being a fad.  I can tell you from personal experience that it is not, but often people misunderstand the science behind doing so.  This post will go somewhat off topic but I think it is incorrect to discount sugar free, particularly given the science behind it.

      Basically, the human body is not well adapted to handle fructose.  Fructose is one of many kinds of sugar found in foods.  Others include glucose, maltose and lactose.  If you add a fructose molecule to a glucose molecule, you get sucrose, which we know colloquially as “sugar”.

      Your body has difficulty metabolising fructose.  In men it tends to be turned immediately into fatty acids which are distributed into the blood stream, destined to float around until they find a nice comfy artery to get cozy in.  In women of child bearing age, this fat tends to be stored around the internal organs (this is known as “central adiposity”).  Hence bigger tums, bums and hips.  I understand this is due to the effect that oestrogen has on the way we metabolise.  Studies have shown that diets high in fructose are directly linked to heart disease. 

      The second thing fructose does is act to inhibit the hormones that tell you to stop eating.  Put really basically, when you eat food it gets metabolised into fuel for the body in the form of glucose.  Your brain keeps track of the level of glucose in your blood, and when the levels get too high, it releases a hormone called “leptin” to trigger the feeling of fullness.  When those glucose levels get too low, another hormone is released to make your feel hungry.  This is called “ghrelin”. 

      This all works great until you introduce fructose.  Fructose inhibits the operation of these hormones, so that you never feel quite full.  It is this interplay which accounts for that feeling we all have after dinner - “I’m not really hungry, but I could eat dessert”.  This means that we frequently eat more than our body needs to maintain itself.  And when you eat more than you need, the body’s response is to store the excess in the form of fat.

      The theory of sugar free (explained in far better detail in David Gillespie’s “Sweet Poison”) is to avoid foods that contain fructose, thereby allowing your appetite control mechanisms to function properly, and causing you to stop overeating.  I foresee arguments that fruit contains fructose, and while that is true, it also contains high levels of fibre, which will be able to trip your appetite control mechanisms despite the fructose.  Fruitjuice, however, is basically just sugar and water. The fibre gets thrown away.  So it is to be avoided.

      All other sugars are “safe” - that is, your body metabolises them normally and they don’t interfere with appetite control.  So you can still have sweet things - just sweeten them with glucose instead.

      I expect I will get some bashing on here - that tends to happen when people try and share things they passionately believe in.  But my personal experience has been the loss of 7kg in six months without placing any other restrictions on my eating, and with no exercise (due to an injury).  I eat “junk food” when i want to - just nothing sugary.  I drink alcohol whenever I want - just without a sugary mixer.  Sugar free is not a “detox”.  It is not a fast way of losing weight. It takes months to get your appetite control back to normal.  But it is a valid and scientifically sound way of getting your body back to a healthy weight, and should not be referred to as a “food fad”.

      Reply

    • Pete says:

      02:29pm | 03/02/11

      I’ve heard about this. How do you know if there is fructose in your meal? Is it in the ingredients list or on the nutrition panel?

    • Jen says:

      11:48am | 03/02/11

      One of the best things you can do is have breakfast.  For dinner, make sure there are at least 3 different colours on your plate.  Have everything in moderation.  Go easy on salt and sugar.  And go for a walk every day or so.

      This is working great for me so far - several weeks in and I feel so much better.  I know it will take months to show, but it’s about creating a healthy lifestyle.  No such thing as a diet.

      Reply

    • Lesley says:

      12:55pm | 03/02/11

      Nothing with additives or processed vegetable oils. All you need is real food, not the junk dietitians recommend (eg whole-grain bread which is full of additives, spread with margarine which is chemical junk). Natural food is all you need.

      Reply

    • food scientist says:

      01:57pm | 03/02/11

      Humans are carnivores. We don’t need fruit, vegetables or grains.

      The facts:

      There is no evidence that eating fruit or vegetables prevent cancer or any other disease.

      There is no evidence that aerobic exercise prevents heart disease.

      Exercise doesn’t cause weight loss.

      Fat and cholesterol don’t cause heart disease.

      Reply

    • Matthew says:

      02:58pm | 03/02/11

      idiot - read a peer reviewed physiology journal once in a while….

    • marley says:

      06:32pm | 03/02/11

      Humans are carnivores?  Geez, you must have missed the big debate about whether humans are omnivores or vegetarians.  Humans as carnivores is hardly even a side paragraph in the discussion.

      The weight of evolutionary and physiological evidence suggests we’re omnivores by nature (like chimps), but can manage alternate diets.  After all, millions of Indians follow a vegetarian diet, and Inuit tend to be highly carnivorous (they get their veggies by eating the undigested veggies of their prey). 

      But I’ve never heard anyone arguing that we have the anatomy to be pure carnivores.

      No doubt, you can provide references (reputable ones)  for your claim.

    • bananabender says:

      06:39pm | 03/02/11

      I read have read thousands of them since i studied food science in 1986.

      Almost all nutrition research is based on small-scale rat experiments not human studies.

      May I directly quote form the head of the CSIRO Division of Human Nutrition:

      “20 years of ongoing research involving 42,000 people has shown absolutely no evidence that healthy eating (fruit and vegetables) offer any protection against cancer.”

      No clinical large-scale study has ever shown that exercise increases longevity.

      No large-scale clinical study has ever shown that saturated fat causes heart disease.

      Our immediate ancestors turned to carnivory at least 2.4 million years ago.

      No hunter-gatherer society ever studied has obtained less than 50% of calories from meat.  The average is 80%. in Inuits around 98% of calories were obtained from animal foods.

    • marley says:

      10:27am | 04/02/11

      @bananabender - our immediate ancestors became carnivores 2.4 million years ago?  Interesting.  Your proof is what, exactly?

    • food scientist says:

      02:08pm | 03/02/11

      The problem is that most dietitians and doctors don’t know enough basic science (particularly biochemistry) .
      The primary fuel of the muscles is fat. The heart is powered almost entirely by saturated fats (mainly palmitic acid). Glucose is only used by the muscles during sustained high intensity exercise.
      The brain function better on ketones than glucose.

      The body functions perfectly with zero carbohydrate intake after 4-6 weeks adaptation.

      Reply

    • Spanish Girl says:

      04:18pm | 03/02/11

      I lost a shed load of weight on the food combining diet.  No deprivation, no stress and my body loved me for it.  That lasted about 18 months and then my body (again) started to backfire.  With the food combining, I cleaned out a lot of the gunk and badness I’d put into it from years of stupid diets (including the truly awful detox diet). 

      But now my body is ready for the next step:  the raw food diet.  It’s not as extreme as it sounds.  I found a yummy recipe for raw chocolate cake which I will try tonight.  I’ve only been on it for 3 days and my chronic bloating/water retention is gone and I feel like a million bucks.  I’m putting more nutrients in my body than I ever have before and my body is letting me know how great it feels.  I also feel the urge to exercise which has never happened before.  I have heaps of energy, I’m saving money by bringing my own lunch and avoiding whole aisles in the supermarket full of packaged and nasty foods.

      The biggest surprises have been:  absolutely no cravings at all in 3 days (unheard of normally),  no sleepy feeling around 3 pm and I’m satisfied with less food at each sitting and don’t feel the urge to snack on anything in between meals.  I can’t wait to weigh and measure myself next weekend to see how much good I’ve done.

      Reply

    • Mary Monica Roche says:

      04:36pm | 03/02/11

      Affluence,influence,and effluence will kill us all.
      Obesity will cut the fat out of society.
      We exercise so much that we get the car out to travel next door.
      We eat plenty of chicken, chips, hamburgers, cola, beer and alcohol to prove to ourselves at meal times that we earn money.
      We are hopeless lost in a sea of endless technology and change.
      We only retire to take endless bus tours and to die as fast as we can.
      We are a mess!

      Reply

    • marley says:

      06:35pm | 03/02/11

      Yeah, we’re a mess. But we have longer life expectancies than previous generations - and also longer “healthy life expectancies.”  Go figure.  And enjoy your bus tours.

    • Simon Brodie says:

      12:42am | 04/02/11

      Just find out what works for you and know what you want. If it’s running for a bus without breaking a sweat eat what ever you want and run at 80% of what you can possibly do for 20mins a day. If its have the perfect body, do strength training and run as fast as you can for as long as you can , but eat lots of small portions and a mix of carbs and protein in every meal. Be prepared to spend more $ on quality low fat tasty foods you enjoy and put the time in to prepare most of your meals so that you leave home with your next two meals.

      Reply

    • The Cricket says:

      02:28pm | 04/02/11

      At 33, I recently dropped to the leanest and fittest I’ve been since I was 25.
      No magic bullet, just exercising more, and trying to eat more healthily. I reckon weight-loss is a pretty simple equation, it just takes a bit of effort and discipline. You need to change your lifestyle permanently, not make sudden, temporary changes.
      But all the effort is worth it. I feel bloody great.

      Reply

    • Matilda says:

      03:51pm | 05/02/11

      I lost 36kg eating 5 or 6 serves of carbs every day, so I’m walking proof of the fact that low carb is fallacy.

      Its what you eat WITH the carbs.  And how much you get off the couch.

      Reply

    • OchreBunyip says:

      09:44am | 06/02/11

      What I find remarkable is people who believe this week’s fad diet is going to work despite the fact that the last 51 weekly fad diets crashed and burned.

      Reply

    • P. Thornton says:

      09:56am | 06/02/11

      Using the word ‘detox’ and similar words is how the billion dollar well being industry insures its immunity against liability for making false claims. That and playing off the desperation of gullible folk.

      Reply

    • jonn3 says:

      09:17am | 01/05/11

      comment1, 3,  389, 3,  0662, 2,  222772, 2,  :-OO, 1,  :-((, 3,  8-(, 2,  >:-[[[, 2,  hzp, 2,  67204, 2,  8-O, 2,  42279, 1,  953004, 2,  lbkpv, 1,  537, 3,  >:-OOO, 2,  34828, 3,  8786, 1,  :-[, 3,  :-(, 1,  =[, 1,  259345, 3,  nconz, 2,  gbkl, 2,  %-(, 3,  >:-PPP, 3,  502480, 2,  8-(, 1,  :-]], 3,  10116, 3,  :O, 2,  4371, 1,  =-OOO, 1,  ysz, 1,  =-]]], 3,  8136, 2,  2590, 1,  051293, 3,  824, 2,  xsm, 1,  >:[, 2,  :-]], 1,  >:-P, 3,  :]], 2,  qwrd, 3,  68842, 1,  umgztj, 1,  64112, 3,  99523, 1,  hmls, 1,  87111,

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    • Bovie says:

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