There are a variety of different "fad" diets that claim to help people rapidly lose weight. These diets are often only allow you to eat certain foods. These types of diets can be dangerous, however, particularly because they can deplete your body of essential nutrients, including glucose.
Crash Diets
Crash diets are diet plans that typically require dieters to consume less than 1,200 calories per day, Health.com explains. Diet plans that involve a daily caloric intake of less than 1,200 calories per day can be dangerous. Although these diet plans may be able to cause short-term weight loss, the calorie restriction slows down the metabolism so that you will begin gaining weight once you stop the crash diet. The short-term nature of these plans also can lead to weight gain once the diet is stopped.
Crash Dieting and Hypoglycemia
One of the major risks associated with crash dieting is that they can result in dangerously low levels of certain nutrients, including glucose. The body uses glucose as its primary energy source because it can easily be used by muscle and fat tissue. The liver maintains a reservoir of glucose in the form of glycogen, but crash dieting can cause these reserves to become depleted as well. This can rapidly lead to there not being enough glucose for your brain and other organs to function properly.
Hypoglycemia Symptoms
Many of the symptoms of hypoglycemia are a result of the brain not having enough glucose available to run properly. This can cause abnormal behavior, confusion and problems completing routine tasks, MayoClinic.com notes. Vision may also be affected, leading to blurred eyesight or double-vision. Low blood sugar can also cause heart palpitations, anxiety, sweating, tremor and hunger. If your blood glucose levels become dangerously low, you can have a seizure or lose consciousness.
Other Risks
Crash dieting can also cause you to develop deficiencies in important minerals, such as magnesium, potassium and sodium. This can cause you to develop an irregular heartbeat or have dangerously low blood pressure. Crash dieting can be especially dangerous if you combine it with exercise, diuretics or the use of laxatives. All three of these activities can further deplete your body of vital compounds which are needed for your cells to function properly, further stressing your body and worsening your health.
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