Losing weight and keeping it off can be hard work that requires a lot of determination. To shed pounds quickly, people will go to extreme lengths and take extraordinary measures. Unfortunately, many of these methods are dangerous. Before embarking on any weight loss regime, it is important to consult with your physician and to learn as much as you can about which diets can have disastrous and even fatal outcomes.
The Tapeworm Diet
The tapeworm diet requires you to travel to Mexico to swallow beef cysts. The logic behind the diet is that these cysts will grow into tapeworms and make you too ill to eat. Once you reach your weight loss goal, an antibiotic will kill the tapeworm. This diet is dangerous because tapeworms can make you extremely ill. Secondly, RNCentral notes that cows are often infected with the pig tapeworm, which if ingested can make you even sicker than you would be with a beef tapeworm. Lastly, once the tapeworm has been killed, there is no guarantee that you won't gain back every ounce lost.
The Grapefruit Diet
The grapefruit diet requires you to reduce caloric intake drastically while eating grapefruit with every meal. Not only is this diet difficult to sustain, evidence suggests grapefruits can interact with medications. According to the British Nutrition Foundation's Dr. Elisabeth Weichselbaum in an interview for the UK Daily Mail, grapefruits interfered with one woman's medications and accelerated the formation of an almost fatal blood clot.
Master Cleanse
Also known as the Lemon Cleanse or the Maple Syrup Diet, the Master Cleanse 10-day program has been around since the 1940s. By following a strict diet of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne peppers for 10 days, the Master Cleanse eliminated harmful toxins and resulted in weight loss. The risks of this diet are many. Not only does the Master Cleanse lack many important vitamins and nutrients, side effects include huge headaches and diarrhea or constipation. MSNBC notes that this starvation diet can also lead to muscle breakdown, blood sugar problems and a weakened immune system. Before beginning any drastic diet, including those like the master Cleanse, it is critical that you consult with your doctor.
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