The five popular celebrity diets you should never do, according to the British Dietetic Association
If December is the month for eating chocolate before 9am, drinking one too many cups of mulled wine every night and scoffing a mince pie every hour, January is the time when many of us feel like we want to nourish our bodies with foods that have slightly higher nutritional value.
We all know that crash diets aren’t a good idea, but that doesn’t stop many of us getting sucked into marketing claims and celebrity testimonials that sound too good to be true.
Now, however, the British Dietetic Association has released a list of the diets they advise the public not to try in the new year - or ever, most likely.
The four diets to avoid are: raw vegan, alkaline, Pioppi and ketogenic (AKA keto). They also warn the public not to take Katie Price’s nutritional supplements.
As Sian Porter from the BDA explains, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
The diets to avoid:
Raw vegan
Advocates of serious ‘clean eating’ often follow raw vegan diets, eschewing all food that comes from an animal or anything that has been heated to above 48C.
Megan Fox, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sting have all praised the way of eating.
The rationale is that heating food destroys some of the natural enzymes it contains, meaning the body has to work harder to break down and digest it.
But heat can also bring out the nutrients in some foods, and others cannot be eaten raw.
And according to Porter: “People think that vegan is shorthand for healthy, but it requires careful planning to make sure you don't miss out on important nutrients.”
Alkaline
Popularised by Natasha Corrett of Honestly Healthy, the concept of the alkaline diet is eating foods that are meant to change the pH balance of your body - there is no scientific evidence that this works though.
High-profile fans include the Duchess of York and Tom Brady, and it entails largely avoiding gluten, refined sugar and dairy.
