Shane Warne: Do liquid diets work and are they safe?

Shane Warne, who died of natural causes on FridayShe had reportedly been on a liquid diet for 14 days – to try to lose weight quickly.

days before he died He tweeted an old photo and said: “The aim is to return to this form of a few years ago by July.”

Friends said it was a regime he had tried several times before, although there was no evidence linking it to his sudden death.

How safe are these diets and how do they affect the body?

There are many different types of liquid diets, but they all have the same goal – to lose weight fast by eating fewer calories.

They range from trendy fruit and vegetable juice drinks that promise detoxification and cleansing of the body to low-calorie shakes and soups.

However, experts warn that these extreme diets carry health risks and are unsuitable for most people.

The NHS only recommends its 800-calorie-a-day diet to certain groups, particularly obese or severely obese people treating type 2 diabetes.

Tried and tested, it comes with plenty of support and medical oversight – but that’s rarely the case with other liquid diets found online.

“Juice diets appeal to people because they want a quick fix – but diets are really tough,” says Aisling Pigott of the British Dietetic Association.

“There’s a role for her – but it’s not one size fits all.

“It’s worrying if they’re being marketed to people who are of a healthy weight.”

Fruit and vegetable juices provide many minerals and vitamins – but very little protein or fat.

Even fiber would be in short supply unless the whole fruit, including the skin and seeds, was crushed and added.

“You would feel drained and exhausted after a week,” says Dr. Gail Rees, Associate Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Plymouth.

A diet that isn’t nutritionally balanced won’t give the body everything it needs – and “could be very harmful in the long run.”

Iron reserves would be depleted, which could lead to anemia in women, muscle mass would be reduced and the intestines, lungs and liver would have to work harder to maintain normal body function.

Other possible side effects include headache, dizziness, extreme tiredness, diarrhea or constipation.

Fruit juices, which contain a lot of natural acids, can also attack tooth enamel and a lack of calorie intake can lead to a different breath odour.

Fast weight loss is possible with a liquid diet, but the biggest challenge, according to Ms Pigott, is “yo-yo risk” – the risk of gaining weight again once food intake returns to normal.

Trendy diets are “part of a toxic food culture” that encourages negative attitudes about food and often leads to weight gain, not weight loss, she says.

And she recommends listening to your body, going back to basics and setting achievable goals that work over the long term, not just a week.

“Extreme dieting isn’t a sustainable solution to long-term weight loss because a lot of the weight lost is likely to be water or muscle mass,” says Dr. Simon Steenson from the British Nutrition Foundation.

“These types of crash diets can also lead to some health risks, such as: B. a higher risk of developing gallstones.”

dr Steenson also warns against “weight cycling” — a pattern in which weight is lost and regained through dieting — which can itself have negative health effects.

A better option for losing weight, he says, is to eat a varied and balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, and opportunities to be active throughout the day.

dr Rees recommends eliminating alcohol, chips, cookies and takeout from your diet, all of which provide unwanted calories, rather than focusing on a quick “liquid diet.”

And if you have any underlying health conditions, always consult a GP or nutritionist before beginning any diet.

Done right, liquid diets can work for the right people – but for most people they are very difficult to follow and can be unnecessarily risky.