Seven Bogus Health Trends You Shouldn’t Waste Your Time On

Of course it’s important to be thin and fit, but it’s not about taking the quickest and often most dangerous way to get there. Every year people buy into more and more health trends in an attempt to lose weight and feel healthy. But all too often they buy into the wrong things. Here are seven health trends not worth your time.

1. Eating All Organic

The organic food market makes billions every year, even though organic foods can cost up to three times as much for consumers as conventionally produced foods. Though organic foods are great in that they generally help consumers eat better overall, it’s important to note some myths about them. For example, organic foods are actually treated with pesticides (just different ones), they’re no healthier than conventionally produced food, and the farming process is no better for the environment. Overall, organic eating has its upsides, but there’s no need to eat all organically, since traditionally produced foods often produce the same results.

2. E-Cigarettes as a Way to Quit Smoking

Those trying to give smoking a rest often buy into the e-cig route as a safer alternative to smoking. However, a recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that e-cigs actually have little to no effect on changing smoking habits. Furthermore, these devices aren’t regulated by the FDA, so there’s no guarantee that what you’re vaping is safe.

3. Foregoing Gluten to Lose Weight

Those with celiac disease or a negative reaction to gluten should continue to subscribe to this trend, but if you’re only jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon to lose weight, you might want to look into other alternatives. Those who give up gluten entirely often experience constipation and deficiencies of essential nutrients due to the lack of fiber in their diet.

4. Juice Detox

Some swear that drinking nothing but juice for several days is the best way to lose weight and rid the body of toxins. However, though you will definitely lose weight, you’ll regain it quickly as soon as you begin eating again. What’s more, the juice diet will deprive you of essential nutrients necessary for your body to function. It’s better to eat simple clean foods and let your kidneys, liver, and intestines do their jobs.

5. Water Fasting

People have also tried simply drinking water for a few days to quench their hunger and lose weight. However, this diet is incredibly dangerous. The risks include dizziness, fatigue, cardiovascular issues, electrolyte imbalance, and extreme malnutrition. It isn’t worth the risks when there are healthier alternatives to losing weight.

6. Buy Everything Fat-Free

This trend that began more than 20 years ago says if you restrict your diet to low-fat foods, you’ll be able to lose weight, protect your heart, and prevent cancer. However, this notion has been disproved. In fact, the right fats are healthy for your body.

7. Cutting Too Many Calories

While the secret to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in, this shouldn’t mean eating a salad with one tablespoon of dressing for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many go to the extreme on their calorie cutting, eating the wrong foods at inconsistent times which leads to malnutrition. It also sends the body into starvation mode, which slows the metabolism considerably. It’s best to cut the unhealthy, empty calories and load up on healthy, nutritious calories that will actually do your body some good.

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