5 Diets to Avoid in 2014

Every year, millions of us make New Year’s resolutions, and according to a recent survey, around 40% of those resolutions relate to weight loss. Getting in shape not only enhances our appearance, but makes us healthier and feel better about ourselves too, so it’s not surprise that losing weight is the most common resolution. However, with so many diets available nowadays, it’s important to make sure you don’t get roped in by some Mickey Mouse diet that may be completely ineffective and actually quite dangerous for your health.

So, to give you a heads up, we've listed below 5 of the most useless diets that you’re likely to come across in 2014.

1. The Fast Diet/The 5:2 Diet

Basically, with this diet you fast for 2 days of the week and eat what you like for the other 5. Sounds good, right? On the 2 fasting days you can only consume a maximum of 500 calories if you’re female and 600 calories if you’re male, which you can eat in one meal or spread out between breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening. The problem with this approach to dieting is that it encourages people to eat more junk on their non-fasting days and doesn’t promote portion control. It has also been suggested that this diet may have a negative effective on fertility and can mess with a person’s blood sugar levels, therefore increasing their risk of developing diabetes.

2. Paleo Diet (Caveman Diet)

Described as the hunter-gather diet, the Paleo Diet cuts out all foods sourced from farming, and puts a large emphasis on lean meat and eggs. The problem many professionals have with this diet is that it completely restricts the intake of dairy and grains, which are 2 major food groups. Not getting an adequate intake of these 2 key groups could lead to a calcium deficiency. Plus, the extra intake of meat means you’re putting more saturated fat into your body, which could lead to obesity and heart disease.

3. Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet is simple; cut out all carbohydrates and eat lots of meat and fats. There’s no denying the short-term benefits of such an approach to dieting and weight loss, however, the long-term benefits and overall safety of the Atkins Diet leaves a lot to be desired. Studies show that over a long period of time, weight loss becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain, and blood cholesterol levels begin to rise, which could lead to serious cardiovascular disease.

4. Raw Food Diet

Unlike the other diets mentioned in this post, the Raw Food Diet promotes both short and long term weight loss. The problem lies in its difficulty to follow and commit to, and its overall nutritional effect. With a raw food diet, you cannot eat any cooked food, and must eat much more fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts. This is not only an expensive approach to dieting, but requires you to sacrifice a lot of the foods you enjoy too. There are plenty of other diets out there that are better for your health and require much less sacrifice, so go for one of those instead. Such an increased consumption of raw foods can put stress on the digestive system too, especially in people who already have digestive problems.

5. Acid Alkaline Diet

Much like The Raw Food Diet, The Acid Alkaline diet requires a lot of sacrifices and is difficult to commit to. The theory behind this approach to dieting is that sugar and processed foods produce acid in the body, which is bad for you. Instead, the diet states that you should eat foods that make your body more alkaline, such as fruits, vegetables and water to balance out the acid-alkaline ratio. The diet also restricts you from eating meat, eggs and most grains too, which doesn’t promote a healthy, balanced diet.

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