Rapid weight loss diets go against the first rule of good nutrition, according to the American Heart Association, or AHA. A healthy diet requires eating a variety of foods that guard against nutritional deficiencies and keep your body functioning at its best. Extreme calorie restriction due to crash dieting or eating disorders can cause hair loss, fatigue and place undue stress on your heart.
Considerations
The heart is a muscle that supplies blood throughout your body. The blood gives your body the oxygen and nutrients it needs to operate smoothly. Your heart requires nutrients to stay healthy and perform its job correctly.
Effects
Crash diets are designed to lose weight in a very short period of time. Quick weight loss plans may lack the vitamins and minerals needed by your heart to keep your body running at peak performance.
Extreme diets are generally defined as consuming less than 1,100 calories per day, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. It is generally regarded as unsafe to severely reduce calories for longer than 16 weeks.
Eating Disorders and Heart Disease
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that causes an obsession with food and being thin. People with anorexia may severely limit their calorie consumption to the point of starvation, which can eventually lead to heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Possible long-term complications of anorexia can include high or low blood pressure, irregular heartbeats and a possible heart attack, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC.
Crash Dieting and Heart Stress
Crash or fad diets may play a dangerous game with with your heart. A single crash diet may not hurt your heart, but repeatedly going on diets that severely limit calories can increase the risk of heart attacks, according to Cardiologist Isadore Rosenfeld, professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
In rare cases, crash diets have led to death from heart arrhythmias or irregular heartbeat when liquid formulas failed to provide adequate nutrients, reports the UMMC.
Prevention/Solution
The AHA recommends following a nutritionally balanced diet when embarking on a weight loss plan. A heart-healthy diet includes four to five daily servings of fruits, vegetables and nuts and a minimum of three daily servings of whole grains each day. The AHA also suggests eating fish at least twice per week.
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