easy crash diets that work fast

conventional wisdom about diets, including government health recommendations, seems to change all the time. and yet, ads routinely come about claiming to have the answer about what we should eat. so how do we distinguish what's actually healthy from what advertisers just want usto believe is good for us? marketing takes advantage ofthe desire to drop weight fast, and be stronger,

slimmer, and brighter. and in the big picture, diet planspromising dramatic results, known as fad diets, are just what they seem:too good to be true. so where do diet fads even come from? while the ancient greeks and romans rallied behind large-scale health regimens centuries earlier, this phenomenon began in earnestin the victorian era

with crazes like the vinegar diet and the banting diet. since then, diets have advised us all sorts of things: to excessively chew, to not chew at all, to swallow a grapefruit per meal, non-stop cabbage soup, even consumption of arsenic, or tapeworms.

if the idea of diet crazes has withstood history, could this mean that they work? in the short term, the answer is often yes. low-carbohydrate plans, like the popular atkins or south beach diets, have an initial diuretic effect. sodium is lost until the bodycan balance itself out, and temporary fluid weight loss may occur. with other high-protein diets,you might lose weight at first

since by restricting your food choices, you are dropping your overall calorie intake. but your body then lowers its metabolic rate to adjust to the shift, lessening the diet's effect over time and resulting in a quick reversalif the diet is abandoned. so while these diets may be alluring early on, they don't guarantee long-term benefitsfor your health and weight. a few simple guidelines, though,can help differentiate between a diet that is beneficial in maintaining long-term health,

and one that only offers temporaryweight changes. here's the first tipoff: if a diet focuses on intensely cuttingback calories or on cutting out entire food groups, like fat, sugar, or carbohydrates, chances are it's a fad diet. and another red flag is ritual, when the diet in question instructs youto only eat specific foods, prescribed combinations,

or to opt for particular food substitutes, like drinks, bars, or powders. the truth is shedding poundsin the long run simply doesn't have a quick-fix solution. not all diet crazes tout weight loss. what about claims of superfoods, cleanses,and other body-boosting solutions? marketing emphasizes the allure of products associated with ancient and remote cultures to create a sense of mysticismfor consumers.

while so-called superfoods,like blueberries or aã§aã­, do add a powerful punch of nutrients, their super transformative qualitiesare largely exaggeration. they are healthy additions to a balanced diet, yet often, they're marketedas part of sugary drinks or cereals, in which case the negative propertiesoutweight the benefits. cleanses, too, may be great in moderation since they can assist with jumpstarting weight loss and can increase the number of freshfruits and vegetables consumed daily.

scientifically speaking, though, they've not yet been shown to haveeither a long-term benefit or to detox the body any better thanthe natural mechanisms already in place. everywhere we look, we're offered solutions to how we can look better, feel fitter, and generally get ahead. food is no exception, but advice on what we should eat is bestleft to the doctors and nutritionists

who are aware of our individual circumstances. diets and food fads aren't inherently wrong. circumstantially, they might even be right, just not for everyone all of the time.

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