Ridiculous -- and Ineffective -- Diets

Many diets are ridiculous, ineffective, and even dangerous. RNCentral.com has compiled 25 such diets ranging from those that merely don’t work, to those that are somewhat effective but deceptively advertised, to those that can cause you physical harm.

Some of the most astonishing include:

1. The Tapeworm Diet: This one involves swallowing cysts that you've dissected out of beef carcass. You allow the tapeworm to live in you for up to 10 weeks. One of the most dangerous diets, it requires you to swallow a parasite and encourages unhealthy eating habits.

2. “The Weight Loss Cure They Don't Want You to Know About”: The “cure” consists of ingesting the urine of pregnant women. Whether or not this is effective, there are simply better ways to lose weight.

3. The Wu-Yi Tea Diet: Wu-Yi tea is simply oolong tea, offering no more benefits than the tea you can pick up at your grocery store.

4. The Subway Diet: Eating at Subway for all of your meals is not inherently healthy; it depends on what you order. Plus, this diet is useless because you can just as easily make your own sandwich and take a walk.

5. The Cabbage Soup Diet: Eating a low-calorie cabbage soup for one week has been purported to help you lose up to 10 pounds. However, there’s the problem of high sodium content, extremely low protein, feelings of weakness and increased flatulence.

6. The Low-Fat Diet: Low-fat products aren’t any healthier than regular products, as they typically trade fat for more sugar, sodium or calories. Meanwhile, serving sizes are often skewed to make unhealthy food seem healthier.

7. Slim Fast: You may lose weight drinking Slim Fast shakes, but the products are not satisfying enough to subsist on long-term. This diet offers nothing more than ineffective substitutions.

8. Russian Air Force Diet: This diet allows you to put all kinds of herbs, sauces and spices on your meals, but the “meals” are incredibly tiny, leaving you hovering near starvation.

For 17 more silly diets, click the link below.

Sources:

• RNCentral.com February 26, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you have been a student of natural medicine and been a subscriber on this site for awhile, you will instantly recognize the foolishness of the diet options in this article. and been a subscriber on this site for awhile, you will instantly recognize the foolishness of the diet options in this article. Nearly anyone can eat cabbage soup or grapefruit for a week and lose a few pounds -- although I am sure that there are a few of you out there that could actually gain weight doing this as well. But is this something that you want to do for the rest of your life? Of course not (nor would it sustain you from a nutritional perspective). But the idea of losing weight quickly is a powerful one that coerces otherwise logical people into subsisting on diet shakes, apple cider vinegar, fast-food sandwiches and a host of even crazier diet foods and “tools” like tapeworms and urine from pregnant women. Let’s face it, most people need and want to lose weight, so these approaches do have great appeal. In 2007 alone, up to 70 percent of Americans altered their diets in some shape or form to help them lose weight, a report by the International Food Information Council found. Yet, whether or not these changes made them healthier is another story. As the survey found, whether or not food is healthy is not the top priority among Americans when it comes to buying food. What is? For 88 percent of Americans, taste, and for another 72 percent, price. Only then does the health factor come in. Yes, the health aspect of the diet choice placed a distant third for most people. Yet, as I said, the majority of people in this country want to lose weight (it’s always among the top New Year’s Resolutions). But not one of the diets mentioned above, nor the popular Atkins diet or South Beach diet, will help you to shed pounds in a healthy way -- and then keep them off. Why? Because … Dieting Does Not Work Last year, UCLA researchers rigorously analyzed 31 long-term diet studies. They found that while people initially lose 5 percent to 10 percent of their weight, they almost always gain it back, often with some additional pounds as well. In the end, they concluded that most people are better off not going on a diet at all. Another study, this one published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, will also make you think twice about going on a diet. After assigning 78 obese women to either a dieting group that had to count calories, restrict food consumption and monitor their weight, or a non-dieting group that listened to their internal body cues about hunger and let go of restrictive, diet-like eating habits, here’s what happened: Non-dieters maintained their weight, while dieters lost weight and then regained it Non-dieters lowered their bad (LDL) cholesterol levels, while dieters’ levels did not change Non-dieters engaged in nearly four times more physical activity than dieters Non-dieters increased their self-esteem and had improvements in depression, while dieters felt worse about themselves A key problem with many diets is that they do not provide you with the tools you need to keep the weight off over time. So after an initial weight loss, people often end up putting the pounds right back on. Yo-Yo Dieting Weakens Your Immune System This cycle of constantly gaining and losing weight, or “yo-yo dieting,” is common among people using weight loss shakes and bars in place of real food. Over time, no one wants to eat artificial shakes every day, so most inevitably revert back to their old eating habits, and regain any weight they lost. This is dangerous for a number of reasons. First, studies have found that the more times a woman attempts to lose weight, the lower her immune function is. On the flip side, women who stay at the same weight for many years have higher natural-killer-cell activity, which is a measurement of how well your immune system is working. It’s also been found that women who lost at least 10 pounds three or more times had good HDL cholesterol levels that were an average of 7 percent lower than women who maintained a stable weight -- and this could increase your risk of heart disease. Frequently gaining and losing weight may also influence a hormone called leptin, which helps to regulate your appetite and, if thrown off balance, can cause you to put on more body fat. This is one reason why people who diet frequently may actually have higher percentages of body fat than those who do not. You Can Lose Weight Without Dieting Your body will naturally reach the weight it is meant to be if you gradually start to change your perceptions about food and eating. Here are the keys you need to know: 1. Weight loss is not about depriving yourself of food. It’s about giving your body plenty of healthy foods so that you feel satisfied. To tailor this even further, you can find out your Nutritional Type, and indulge in the foods that are right for yours. Nutritional typing is without doubt the single most important consideration in effectively losing weight. The exact same food that will cause one person to lose weight will cause someone else to gain. Your optimal foods are determined by your individual genetics and biochemical tendencies. 2. Listen to your body’s internal cues, not external ones. It’s been said that a key reason why the French don’t get fat is because they listen to their bodies and stop eating when they feel full (rather than when their plate is empty or their TV program is over). 3. Your emotions can cause you to overeat or eat foods that are not good for you. Removing these often unconscious emotional blocks can help you to lose weight. 4. Eat slowly, and savor every bite. This will help you to eat less while more thoroughly enjoying your meals. 5. Cook your food from scratch. This way, you control the ingredients and the portions, and you eliminate all those unhealthy “extras” like MSG, corn syrup, preservatives and trans fats. 6. Exercise. In some form or another, you need to stay physically active to lose weight. But this doesn’t mean you need to be a slave to the treadmill either. Vary your workouts, incorporating weight training, interval-type workouts, and things you find enjoyable (like yoga or dancing), and you’ll meet your exercise requirements before you know it. Strength training that increases your muscle mass is another powerful way to help burn fat stores more effectively. 7. Use Your Unconscious Mind to Make Being at a Healthy Weight a Lifestyle Choice. Medical hypnosis can help you remove the programming that is causing you to remain at an unhealthy weight and replace it with the eating and exercise behaviors of a thin person. Click here to read about the hypnosis program I recommend. Dr Mercola.com

Weston A. Price Foundation to FDA: Soy is No Health Food

The Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit nutrition education foundation, has submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking them to change a rule that currently allows soy protein to carry a heart disease health claim.

Manufacturers of soy products have been able to label them “heart healthy” since 1999. The Weston A. Price Foundation’s 65-page petition was filed in response to the FDA’s request for public comment on the issue.

"We have filed this petition because there was never a sound basis for a soy health claim and the heavy marketing of soy as a 'miracle food' has put American men, women and children at risk," said Kaayla Daniel, lead author of the petition that was officially filed by Sally Fallon, president of the foundation.

The petition documents longstanding concern in the scientific community -- including the FDA’s own Laboratory for Toxicological Research -- regarding soy’s possible role in:

• Carcinogenesis
• Thyroid disease
• Reproductive health problems including infertility
• Other illnessesFurther, the Foundation claims that the evidence on soy protein and heart disease is "contradictory and inconsistent, and no standard of scientific agreement has been met."
  

Sources:

Weston A. Price Foundation Soy Petition (PDF)
Physorg.com February 19, 2008
Beat the Wintertime Blues – In Just Ten Minutes a Day…

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

As of 2007, 85 percent of people in the United States perceive soy as healthy (this is according to the Soyfoods Association of North America). This incorrect assumption has, in large part, been propagated by the FDA’s 1999 approval of this health claim for soy foods:

“Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease."Sound familiar? If you eat any processed soy foods, it would be hard to miss this claim, as soy manufacturers took it and ran, adding it to every so-called soy health food they could create.

Yet, as is typical when industry marketers dip their hands into a traditional food, the resulting soy burgers, soy ice cream, soy cheese, soy milk (need I go on?), are not even close to the fermented soy foods consumed, with good health results, by many cultures for countless generations.

And so I say … Excellent Work by the Weston A. Price Foundation!They are taking matters into their own hands and asking the FDA to do what it should have done long ago: get rid of the preposterous claim that processed soy is good for your heart.

Even the conservative American Heart Association knows better. In 2006 they told physicians that soy is unlikely to prevent heart disease.

Yet, walk into any supermarket, and even health food store, and you will be inundated with “heart healthy” soy products. How did things go so very wrong?

It all started when the food industry, presented with a quandary over what to do with the byproducts of their ever-growing soybean oil industry, had an idea.With some processing, and some added flavorings, preservatives, sweeteners, emulsifiers and synthetic nutrients, they turned soy protein isolate, “the food processors' ugly duckling,” as Sally Fallon put it, “into a New Age Cinderella.” What they did not know is that their processing could not come close to the traditional fermentation process that took place before any ancient cultures would consume soy.

You see, fermenting the soybeans makes an otherwise inedible food quite nutritious. But the food industry knew they did not have the time to create traditionally fermented soy foods, nor the market to sell them to.And, as a result, most of today’s soy foods are loaded with anti-nutrients and are a nutritional nightmare linked to:

• Malnutrition and digestive problems
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Cognitive decline
• Reproductive disorders
• Immune system breakdowns
• Heart disease and cancer

If you would like to know more, Dr. Kaayla Daniel's groundbreaking book, The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food is an excellent place to start. She authored the Weston A. Price Foundation’s FDA petition, and is a definite expert in the field.But before you swear off all soy foods for good, there is something you should know.

Fermented Soy Foods ARE Healthy.

You may recall me talking about the wonderful health benefits of traditionally fermented foods. Well, this is true of ALL varieties, including fermented soy.After a long fermentation process, the phytate (which blocks your body’s uptake of essential minerals) and antinutrient levels of soybeans are reduced, and their beneficial properties become available to your digestive system.

So am I opposed to eating soy? Absolutely not -- as long as it is in one of the fermented forms that follows:

• Natto, fermented soybeans with a sticky texture and strong, cheese-like flavor. This one is my favorite, and I personally eat it nearly every day (it has the highest concentration of vitamin k in the human diet) and is also loaded with nattokinase, a very powerful blood thinner.
• Tempeh, a fermented soybean cake with a firm texture and nutty, mushroom-like flavor.
• Miso, a fermented soybean paste with a salty, buttery texture (commonly used in miso soup).
• Soy sauce: traditionally, soy sauce is made by fermenting soybeans, salt and enzymes, however be wary because many varieties on the market are made artificially using a chemical process.

Dr Mercola.com

Why Don't The French Get Fat?

The French dine on baguettes, cheese, pate and pastries, all washed down with plenty of wine -- so why don’t they seem to get fat?


This so-called “French paradox redux” that allows French people to eat all the “forbidden” foods and stay thin while Americans get fatter has been demystified by a new Cornell study.


Researchers found that while the French use internal cues -- such as no longer feeling hungry -- to stop eating, Americans use external cues -- such as whether their plate is empty, whether their beverage has run out and whether their TV program is over.


The study, which analyzed questionnaires from 133 Parisians and 145 Chicagoans, also found that the heavier a person is, the more they rely on external cues to tell them to stop eating, and the less they rely on whether they feel full.


Over time, the researchers concluded, instead of relying on external cues, using your body’s internal cues to tell you when to stop eating may improve your eating patterns.

Sources:

• Eurekalert February 15, 2008

• Obesity October 2007 15:2920-2924

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If only we all were born in France, we would all be blessed with the inherent ability to eat fattening foods to our heart’s content, and still stay lean and trim. I am, of course, using sarcasm. A French person has every chance to get fat as an American does (just ask any French exchange student who comes to the United States -- they probably ended up going home at least 10 pounds heavier). What is it about the French culture that seems to favor thinness, even in the midst of all of that bread, cheese, butter, wine and heavy sauces? In a sentence: they eat real food, and they savor it. Allow me to explain. French People Eat REAL Food Unlike the United States where mega-supermarkets are the norm, many people in France still shop for fresh unprocessed food every day or two. They have access to wonderful farmer’s markets, specialty food shops, and butchers that sell fresh produce, hand-made cheeses, high-quality meats, and fermented, sourdough breads. (And many of them WALK to get there.) Whereas an American may sit down to a breakfast of a cheese omelet made with processed cheese and store-bought eggs, a similar French-made omelet would include naturally fermented cheese made from raw milk from grass-fed cows, and eggs that came from a small farm, and were not refrigerated but simply left out on the counter (which is the best way to store your eggs, assuming they are of high-quality). Now I am not one to recommend eating cooked eggs at all, but my point is that the difference in food quality is quite extraordinary. Though Americanized junk food and fast food is slowly infiltrating France, it is still not the norm, at least for the older generations. The majority of their food comes fresh, without preservatives and food colorings, and without synthetic ingredients. And did I mention the butter? French people eat this regularly, along with a host of other full-fat foods. Contrast this to the United States, where many seek out fat-free or low-fat versions that are often pumped full of corn syrup or artificial sweeteners as an alternative. These low-fat, artificially sweetened foods are a complete disaster, ruining your body’s ability to count calories or even sense when you are full. Not so with traditional French fare, that is so rich you’ll likely feel full after just a few bites. And that is part of the secret, which contrasts quite remarkably with the United States. My Recent Grocery Store Experience I typically don’t go grocery shopping but my living arrangements have recently changed, and when I was in the grocery store yesterday I was behind an attractive young woman who was clearly not overweight. I just about fell over when I saw what she put on the conveyor belt: a loaf of white bread, two-pound packet of cookies, crackers, poor-quality highly processed lunch meat and processed American cheese. There wasn’t a shred of real food in her entire order. She probably is one of the multitude that have been successfully brainwashed by the food industry and doesn’t realize that in a few short years her choices will slowly but surely steal her health, cause her to age prematurely and join the two-thirds of the United States that is overweight. French Food Satisfies A common complaint of people who come to my wellness center near Chicago is that they don’t feel satisfied after eating. Many of them are even eating what would be considered healthy foods, yet they are still not satiated. In France, no one is leaving the table hungry. Yet they’re not leaving it feeling stuffed, either. As this Cornell study found, the French do something that I often recommend: They listen to their bodies. When they feel full, they stop eating. Unfortunately, in America many have lost the ability to sense when they are full. This comes from a combination of things, but a major one is leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone that communicates to your brain, letting it know how much energy your body has stored, and whether or not it’s full. Once full, one of leptin’s functions is to reduce your appetite and induce fat burning. Low leptin levels (leptin resistance) in your brain, however, will signal your body to keep eating and storing more fat. How do you become leptin resistant? By eating the typical American diet full of sugar, refined grains, processed foods and not a whole lot else. In France, where they eat a minimal amount of processed and refined foods, leptin levels are probably much closer to where they need to be, lest their body’s natural ability to regulate appetite, and weight, remains intact. French meals are also more satisfying because they are savored. It takes about 20 minutes for your food to be digested enough, and a signal sent to your brain, telling you that you are full. In France, you would still be working through your first course at this time, while in America you could easily polish off way too many calories in the 15-minute span you give yourself for lunch. Wait: French People DO Get Fat The obesity rate in France has doubled in recent years and has now topped off at 12 percent. In the United States, for comparison, the obesity rate is about 34 percent. What is causing the French to get fat? A change in their eating habits, which are increasingly departing from traditional ways and succumbing to the modern world of fast food outlets, processed convenience foods, and junk-food snacks. And so, it seems, no one culture is immune to the temptations of junk food, fast food and processed “meals” that you can have ready in five minutes. But YOU certainly can be, and your health, and weight, will thank you for it. Here are some tips that will help: Rather than depriving yourself of foods you love, find out which foods are right for your body by learning your nutritional type. Indulging in these foods will make you feel satisfied, and help you lose weight. Ditch the supermarket and, as much as possible, get your food from local farmer’s markets, food coops and specialty shops. Invest some time in preparing meals for your family. Food made from scratch is always better for your health and your waistline than processed versions. Eat slowly. Enjoy your food and mealtime with your family, savor every bite of nourishing food you put in your mouth, and if possible, never eat on the run. Remove the unconscious blocks that might be causing your urges to eat junk food.

Dr Mercola.com

Cleaning Your Home Naturally

The cleaner your home is, the unhealthier it may be, because of toxic cleaning products made from petroleum-based chemicals.

Many of these commercial cleaning products contain dangerous chemicals that are not listed on the label. A manufacturer can omit any ingredient that is considered a secret formula from its label, and many of these secret ingredients are toxic and carcinogenic.

Beware that many cleaning products are now saying they are “Green” or “Eco Friendly,” and are now on the Green bandwagon. This is called Green Wash, but make sure you read labels and research all product claims.

You can reduce your chemical exposure by eliminating chemicals in your home, and using only natural cleaning products that are plant based. There are many safe cleaning products like Ecover, Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation, Sun & Earth, and Orange Plus. Even though they are more expensive, they are more concentrated, and worth it because they are safe.

Another alternative is to make your own natural cleaning products. Using homemade natural cleaning products makes “cents,” because it is cheaper, healthier and non-toxic, and it is fun.

To clean with natural products all you need is:

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Borax
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Liquid castile soap
• Organic essential oils (optional)
• Mixing bowls
• Spray bottles
• Micro fiber cloths
• Vodka (optional)

Baking Soda is great to scrub your bath and kitchen. Put it in a glass grated cheese container with a stainless steel top that has holes in it, and just sprinkle the baking soda on the surfaces and scrub. You may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to this. Lavender and tea tree oil have anti-bacterial qualities.

Baking soda mixed with apple cider vinegar is a bubbly combination that has many uses. As a drain cleaner, sprinkle baking soda down the drain then add apple cider vinegar and let it bubble for 15 minutes, then rinse with hot water. This is a safer alternative to dangerous drain cleaners. Baking soda and apple cider make a wonderful spa-like bath for soaking away aches and pains and detoxing. It also cleans the tub and the drain.

Baking soda can also be used as a fabric softener in your laundry.

To polish silver, instead of using toxic silver polish, fill your kitchen sink with hot water, add a sheet of aluminum foil and baking soda, and let the silver pieces soak until clean. It is an easy and fun way to clean silver.

Vinegar can clean almost anything in your house; you can add liquid castile soap, essential oil (optional), and filtered water, then clean floors, windows, bath, kitchen, etc. Vinegar can also be used as a fabric softener. Never use dryer sheets -- they are toxic too. In the laundry, use vinegar in the wash cycle to prevent fabrics from fading.

Commercial window cleaners contain butyl cellosolve -- a toxic ingredient that is not listed on the labels, so vinegar and water is much safer. Use a micro fabric cloth, not newspaper, which contains toxic dyes.

Borax is a good laundry booster and cleaner (it can even remove mold) -- and is safe and non-toxic.

Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant, and is safer to use than chlorine bleach for disinfecting and whitening. Lemon juice is also a natural whitener.

Liquid Castile Soaps can be found in health food stores and are safer than commercial liquid cleaning products.

Organic essential oils may be used in homemade cleaning products depending on your personal preference and tolerance to these scents. Never use synthetic fragrances or air cleaners.

Commercial fabric refreshers also contain dangerous chemicals, therefore, use vodka in a spray bottle to freshen up chairs and upholstery. The vodka is cheaper, non-toxic and the alcohol evaporates, and is not harmful. The alcohol in hand sanitizers is harmful, however, and should not be used on children since the alcohol absorbs into your body via your skin.

Therefore, use only hand sanitizers that are plant based from the health food store, or just good old soap and water.

Making your own natural cleaning products is rewarding and fun, and you can use the natural scents that you prefer while ensuring that your home is safe from dangerous chemicals that are harmful to your, and your family’s, health.

Sources:

• Jeanne McLaughlin, International Institute for Bau-Biologie and Ecology

Dr Mercola.com