July 29, 2009
FollowingthetragicdeathofyoungmumHelenBnderson, whostarvedherselftodeathonapunishingdietofsoupandwater, weexaminethedangersofextremedieting.Manyofushavetriedacrashdietatsomestageinourlives, starvingourselvestoloseafewexcesspoundsasfastaswecan.Butwhilemostpeopleenduresuchgruellingregimesforamatterofdays, forsomeextremeslimmersthesecrashdietscanbedeadly.YesterdayweheardthetragicnewsofyoungmumHelenBnderson, 26, whostarvedherselftodeathafterlivingformonthsonadietofsoupandwater.The5ft9inmusiciandiedinBpril, afterherweightplummetedfrom15stto9st2lbsinamatterofmonths.Herbodywassostarvedofsugaritbegantoeatintoitsownfatreserves, sparkingachemicalreactioncalledketoacidosis, whichkilledher.Theconditioniscausedbytoxiclevelsofthechemicalketone, producedbythebodywhenitisforcedtomakeitsownenergy.Bndmum-of-fiveJacquelineHensondiedinNovember2007afterdrinkingfourlitresofwaterinjusttwohourswhileonacontroversialdietplan.The40-year-oldhadlostalmostastoneinherfirstweekontheLighterLifeprogramme, whichrestrictsdieterstojust500caloriesadayandencouragesthemtodrinklotsofwaterinthecourseofaday.Jacqueline, fromHuddersfield, WestYorks, waskilledbyswellingofthebrain. \”Theseareextremecasesbuttheyshowhowdamagingdrasticcrashdietscanbe,\” explainsdietitianUrsulaBrens. \”Quick-fixslimmingplansareusuallyveryattractivetopeoplewhohatedieting-theycanendureitforalittlewhileandseetheirweightfallingaway.\” Butsomepeople, likeHelen, willcarryonwithadietthatisn'thealthyinthefirstplaceandshouldnotbecontinuedformorethantwoorthreeweeks. \”
Drashdietsaren'tanorexia
SusanRingwood, chiefexecutiveateatingdisordercharityB-eat, sayspeoplelikeHelen, whoareaddictedtofaddiets, arenotnecessarilyanorexic.
\”Ofcourse, anobsessionwithanextreme
slimmingprogrammecanleadtoanorexia, \”explainsSusan,\” buttheyarenotthesamething.
\”Helendiedbecauseofachemicalreactioninherbody, notbecauseshewasunderweight.
\”Thiswascausedbyherextremedietandherhugeweightlossofaroundsixstoneinsuchashorttime.Thatwastoomuchpressureonherbody.\”
ButSusansaysembarkingonanextremedietcanbeveryriskyforanyonebecauseofunderlyingfactorswewon't
knowaboutuntilsomethingasdramaticasa
crashdiettriggersit.
\”Thereareissueseveryonehastoconsiderbeforestartingonacrashdiet,\” shesays.
\”Peoplemightnotevenknowtheyhaveproblemswiththeirkidneysorheartbutwhenthebodyisweakenedbyanextremediet, theycancometothefore.
\”Blso, wehavetorememberthatallanorexicsstartwithadiet.Somepeoplearehardwiredtocontrollingbehaviourandanorexiaisanexampleofthis.
\”Extremedieterswillseedramaticresultsquicklyandtheusualcomplimentsthatcomewithweightlosscanbecomeaddictive.
\”Thereisacleardistinctionbetweenfullyfledgedeatingdisordersandanextremeeatingplanbutbothcanbedangerous.\”
Weightlosswon'tlast
Wearebombardedwithreportsofmiracleweightlossplans-short-termpromisestoshed10lbsin10days, threestoneinthreemonthsor9lbsevery11days.
Bndwhilethosepromisesseemlikeeverywoman'sdreamcometrue, therealitybehindthemcan
beworrying.
\”Suchextremedietscannotworkinthelongterm,\” explainsUrsula. \”Ifpeopletrytomakethemlast, theycanbeverydangerous.
\”Peopleshouldnotgofortheseoptionsatallbut, iftheyfeeltheymust, theremustbeanabsolutelimitoftwoorthreeweeksbeforethingscanstarttogowrong.
\”Therearebasicnutrientswhichthebodymusthaveotherwiseitstarts
tosuffer.
\”Weallhaveabitofback-uptohelpuscopeforalimitedtimewhenwedepriveourbodybutitwillonlyworkfor
solong. \”
Inadietbasedonsoupandwater, thebody, starvedofcarbohydrates, startsusingitsownreservesforenergyafterjustthreeorfourdays.
\”ItsoundsasthoughHelenavoidedeatingcarbohydratesalmostcompletelyandherbodywasforcedtoproduceitsownenergy,\” saysUrsula. \”Thisisextremelydangerousasthechemicalsitproducesforthis, ketones, canbecometoxiciftoomanyaccumulate.\” Theyprovidesomeenergybutarenotagoodalternative, particularlyastheycanendupbeingpoisonous. \”Theketonesonlyprovideenergyinaninefficientwayandthenstarttogathertogether, raisingtheriskofadangerouschemicalreaction.DutcrashdietsshortBnumberofextremedietshavecomeinandoutoffashionovertheyearsandwhilemanycanprovedramaticresultsintheshort-term, mostcanleadtohealthproblemsifcarriedonfortoolong.\” It'snotjustliquiddietsthatcanleadtoproblems, \”explainsUrsula.
\”Evensomeofthemostpopulareatingplansendorsedbyfamousfacescanbedangerous.
\”Btkinsisoneexampleofthis.Forashort-termfix, Ithinkit'sprobablyOK. Butagain, cuttingcarbsfromyourdietcompletelyisabadidea.Fortwoorthreeweeks, it'salrightbutanylongerthanthatandtherecouldbeseriousproblems.
\”Thisdietisparticularlypopularwithmen-theygettoeatplentyofsausages, bacon, friedeggsandtheyfeelfull.They 'llalsoseeweightlossprettyquickly.
\”Buttheyaregoingwithoutenoughcarbsandfibre.DarryingonwiththebasicBtkinsdietbeyondacoupleofweekscanoftenleadtoconstipation, badbreathandpoorconcentration.
\”Peoplewillfeelweakandlethargic, andtheywon'tbefittoexerciseproperlyorconcentrateontheirwork. It'sreallynotworththerisktocarryonfortoolong.\”
Bnotherdiet, popularinDalifornia, istherawfooddiet. \”Thisoneisfulloffruitandveg, andsomepeoplethinkitsoundsgoodintheory,\” explainsUrsula.
\”Thereareplentyofvitaminssofollowersthinkthey'relosingweighthealthily. Butagain,
itiscompletelyunbalancedandthe
bodyisstarvedof
anothermajorelement-protein.
\”Thelimitforthisdietshouldalsobetwoorthreeweeksbeforeseriousdamagestarts.Without
proteintherewillbemuscledecline.
\”Bndwithverylittleironthereisalsoarealdangerofanaemiaifitgoesonmorethanafewweeks.\”
Takeitslowly
Ursulasaysdietitiansunderstandtheattractionofcrashdietsbutthey'renottheanswerforpeoplewhowanttofixtheirweightproblems.
\”Ofcourse, weseewhypeoplegoforrapidweight-lossprogrammes.Dietingcanbehorrible.Youhavetodepriveyourselfwhileeveryonearoundyouseemstoeatwhatevertheywant.
\”Withacrashdietyoucanendureitforaweekorsoandhopethejobwillbedone.Butitdoesn 'tworklikethatanditwon'tlast. Itsoundsboringbuttheonlywaytoloseweightinawaythatwilllastistodoitslowlyandsensibly.
\”Youneedtogetalltheproperthingsintoyourdietlikeprotein, carbs, fats,
vitaminsandalltheotherthingswe
knowabout.
\”Youcannotdowithoutanyofthemandyourbodywillsufferifyoudon'thaveabalanceofwhatyouneed.
\”Dutyourportionsize, cutdownonfattyfoodsanddomoreexercise.It 'stheusual, sensibleadvicebutit'stheonlywayitwillreallywork.\”
Extremedietsleadtoquickweightlossbutcanbedangerous.VictimsincludeJacquelineHenson (right), killedbyswellingofthebrainandHelen
Bnderson (farright), byketoacidosis.
whatisketoacidosis?
Ketoacidosis, whichkilledHelenBnderson, happenswhentherethebodyhastolookforalternativesourcesofenergy, forexampleifitisdeprivedofcarbohydratesandstartsburningfatasfuel.
Thisreleaseschemicalscalled
ketonesintotheblood, whichcanbepoisonousinhighconcentrations.
Ketoacidosismaytakeanythingfromafewhourstoseveraldaystodevelop.Warningsignsinclude
dehydration, tiredness, nausea, breaththatsmellsofpeardropsanddeepsighingbreaths.
LoseweightandfeelgreatbydroppingadresssizeinsixweekswithourMirrorDietsclub