Life
The 5 Worst Diet Fads of 2013 According to the British Dietetic Association
The British Dietetic Association has released its annual list of the year's five worst celebrity-endorsed fad diets. This year's losers include going gluten-free and something called "The Breatharian Diet," which sounds like starvation with a dose of hippie. "The simple fact is, there is no ‘wonder diet’ just as there are no ‘super foods,'" said Sian Porter, chairman of communications for the BDA. "What is super is the way many marketing machines coin certain phrases to make you think there is some magic wand approach to losing weight."
#5: The Dukan Diet
The Dukan Diet topped the BDA's worst fad diet list in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Created by French physician Pierre Dukan, it's a variation on low-carb dieting that's been advocated by Jennifer Lopez and Kate Middleton's mom. Dukan dieters cycle through a four-phase high-protein, low-carb plan (similar to Paleo or the Atkins diet) designed to lead to rapid weight loss. But initial weight-loss is all fluid, said the BDA, and the risks/side effects aren't worth it. "Even the creator of the diet, Pierre Dukan, who, in 2013 was banned from practicing as a GP in France, has warned of associated issues with the diet such as lack of energy, constipation, the need for a vitamin and mineral supplement (due to lack of variety/cutting out food groups), and bad breath."
#4: Drunkorexia
The BDA describes drunkorexia or alcorexia as eating very few calories during the day or workweek in order to "save" these calories for nighttime or weekend binge drinking. A lot of college girls have done this at some point, and subsequently figured out that drinking a lot of alcohol on an empty stomach is a terrible idea. Habitually doing so isn't a "diet," it's an eating disorder.
#3: Gluten-Free Diet
Gluten-free does not signify healthy, natural or low-calorie. All it says is that a product wasn't made with gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and oats. People with celiac disease can't tolerate gluten, and people with a gluten sensitivity should mostly avoid it. But for everyone else, eating gluten is just fine. Cutting it out probably won't make much of a health difference. And "there is no credible published research showing that a gluten-free diet per se leads to weight loss," the BDA said.
#2: Biotyping
Earlier this year, singer Boy George attributed his weight-loss to "biotyping," a system that looks at body composition to identify the right diet and exercise plan. But biotype diets rely "too heavily on supplements and pseudo-science," according to the BDA. "Many people will lose weight on this type of approach because it restricts certain foods" and overall calorie intake, but this weight-loss doesn't have anything to do with the biotyping aspect.
#1: Breatharian Diet
The "Breatharian Diet" is so absurd it sounds made-up, but apparently not. "Individuals who follow the Breatharian Diet can believe that they do not need to eat food or drink any liquids because they can achieve sustenance from air and/or sunlight alone," the BDA notes. Obviously, this isn't possible. This is just anorexia with a suntan and too many yoga classes. Michelle Pfeiffer recently said she was once a part of a cult that believed in breatharianism.
