Years ago, while teaching a class of third-year medical students about the dangers of FAD diets, I was quite surprised to hear many students talking about this trend. Rather unsettling was the fact that [1] “on average, students in medical schools across the country spend less than 1 percent of lecture time learning about diet, falling short of the National Research Council’s recommendation for baseline nutrition curriculum.” Straightaway, I knew my material on this subject needed to be thorough!
One thing is certain about FADS, they come in and go out for no apparent reason—and can span from fashion to food. Countless numbers of people fall victim to trendy FADS every year, and are unknowingly the driving force to the creation of more FADS.
What is a FAD diet anyway, and what’s the big deal if you follow one?
A FAD diet is defined [2] “as any number of reduction diets that either eliminate one or more of the essential food groups, or recommend consumption of one type of food in excess at the expense of other foods”.
FAD HISTORY
The history of FAD diets is documented to begin in 1820 with the “vinegar and water diet” [3] in which starch foods were doused with apple cider vinegar to promote rapid weight loss and/or health improvement. Fast forward to the 1900’s with similar loosely-claimed FADS emerging, such as the grapefruit diet, cabbage soup diet, liquid protein diet, the Scarsdale, Beverly Hills and Atkins diet. Continuing on into the 2000’s, we have the liquid juicing-detox diet, Keto diet, intermittent fasting and dry fasting.
While some have sounded promising, beware—as the common theme amongst all is deprivation. Are these unique ways of eating teaching us that extremism is the key to healthy living?
From a Dietitian’s perspective — I think not!
Militant food menus, severe nutrient restrictions and unhealthy periods of time without food certainly cannot be considered healthy. Consequently, short term weight-loss “success” usually rebounds with rapid weight gain in the long term and dependence on an inflexible, unrealistic lifestyle.
A little known secret is that trendy FAD diets unfortunately lead to nutrient-deficiency related health issues!
Who really wants that?
We’ve all heard it said that there is no “one-size-fits-all” diet plan. The key to any successful healthy lifestyle is a balanced, nutritious eating plan with flexibility, satisfaction, enjoyment and long-term results.
So what’s a person to do when tempted by the latest FAD diet? As always, refer your questions to the experts in the field of food and nutrition. Registered Dietitian Nutritionists provide evidence-based nutrition counseling and education to help set realistic goals with a proper eating plan.
If you are still tempted by the newest FAD trend, then ask yourself these questions:
- will I have energy to continue my current lifestyle of work and play while on this diet?
- will I need to buy equipment or special food for success?
- how much prep time will this require of me during the day?
- will I be bored eating or drinking this restricted plan
- will I fall off the band wagon when my friends/family gather to eat?
- how will I replace the nutrients that are being eliminated while on this diet?
- have I learned anything about how to eat nutrient dense, whole foods?
In case you haven’t figured this out yet, I’m not a fan of FAD diets, and I’m hoping the medical students captured my passion for this controversial debate amongst the health and wellness community.
[1] https://newfoodeconomy.org/medical-schools-lack-nutritional-education/
[2] https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/fad+diet
[3] https://www.eatright.org/health/weight-loss/fad-diets/fad-diet-timeline