If you love a cool glass of lemonade, you might really enjoy the Lemonade Diet. Then again, this strict regime that allows you no food but eight glasses of maple-sweetened lemonade a day might be more harmful than beneficial. This popular fad diet promises detoxification and rapid weight loss, but doctors and dietitians are quick to point out the dangers of such a strict fast.
Diet Plan
Lemons and maple syrup are indeed the primary food sources for this plan. Dieters drink eight to 12 glasses of maple-sweetened lemonade a day, often adding cayenne pepper. This lemonade provides all your caloric intake. Many dieters drink a laxative tea in the evenings, following it with a "salt water flush" -- 25 to 35 oz. of warm salt water -- in the mornings. The laxative tea is meant to stimulate digestive movement, while the salt water is not digested but passes quickly through the system. This process is thought to cleanse the digestive system, and the diet is often referred to as the Master Cleanse.
Benefits
There is no scientific evidence that the lemonade diet has any physical benefits; it is based purely on theoretical science. Registered dietitian Karen Crawford writes that some proponents of this diet believe it will detoxify the body, removing traces of toxic chemicals left behind by processed and unhealthy foods. There are many personal testimonials and informal surveys attesting that dieters feel healthier, and almost everyone who follows this diet loses weight. For these two reasons, the New York Times reported in 2006, the lemonade diet is popular among celebrities and performers
Dangers
The greatest danger of such a strict dietary regime is depriving your body of necessary nutrients. Always talk to your doctor before making drastic changes to your diet. As the Harvard Medical School HealthBeat points out, this diet lacks protein, fatty acids and many essential nutrients. Much of the weight loss is due to extremely low carbohydrate intake, which causes fluid loss. In addition, the frequent bowel movements can cause dehydration, deplete electrolytes and even impair normal function of your digestive system. If you perform this diet process repeatedly, you risk developing metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the blood pH becomes overly acidic.
Weight Loss
The lemonade diet is well-known because of it can cause radical weight loss. The New York Times reports that singer Beyonce Knowles lost 20 pounds on this diet. While such large weight-loss numbers are seductive, they belie the truth of the diet: that a dehydrated and depleted body naturally weighs less. According to the Harvard HealthBeat, once you stop dieting, you rapidly gain back the weight as your body replenishes its nutritional stores. In addition, Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University told the New York Times, fasting can slow your body's metabolism and make it more difficult to lose weight in the future.
References
- The Diet Channel: The Master Cleanse Detox Diet Dissected; Karen Crawford, MS, RD, CSP; July 19 2007
- The New York Times: I Heard It Through the Diet Grapevine; Lola Ogunnaike; December 10 2006
- Harvard Medical School HealthBeat: The Dubious Practice of Detox; July 22 2008
- SignOnSanDiego: Celebrities Boost Lemon Detox Fad, But It May Not Be Good for Your Health; Karen Matthews; May 2007
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