Celebs using Twitter to sell scary diets

Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Boost your diet
Demi Moore is a fan of the "Clean Program"
From juice cleanses and fasts to raw food diets, it seems there is no scary diet fad that celebrities won't try in their quest for a size-zero figure.

And now the rise in celebrity Tweets and blogs has made it easier than ever to follow celebrity crash diets — but dieticians say the fact is very few (if any) are worth following.

Demi Moore recently took to Twitter to boast about the Clean Program, developed by cardiologist Dr Alejandro Junger, which consists of a shake for breakfast and dinner and a lunch that consists of one vegetable, one grain and one source of protein.

"There is no starving involved! It is all about nourishing the body!" she tweeted.

Gwyneth Paltrow, who is a well-known follower of the macrobiotic diet, is also a fan of the Clean Program, using her website Goop to gush about the benefits.

"I feel pure and happy and much lighter (I dropped the extra pounds that I had gained during a majorly fun and delicious 'relax and enjoy life phase' about a month ago)," Paltrow wrote.

"I also really enjoyed learning about the incredible health benefits of resting your digestive system, etc. This thing is amazing."

While her figure is certainly enviable, Paltrow was recently diagnosed with a brittle bone disease, which some experts believe may be due to years of extreme dieting.

Actress and former Jenny Craig spokeswoman Kirstie Alley is also using Twitter to promote her new Organic Liaison weight-loss program. "I've lost over 50lbs [23kg] ... and I'm having the time of my life ... 30 more to goooooooooooooooooooooo," she tweeted.

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Like many rigid fad diets, detoxes often advocate restricting certain food groups in order to perform a clean-sweep of your system.

"If a detox diet suggests you cut out breads, cereals and meat and only eat fruit and vegetables for a couple of weeks, you should avoid it," dietitian Dr Trent Watson told Health & Wellbeing.

He says that while you may lose weight in the short-term, the kilos will accumulate again when you resume eating normally — and the detox has put your body through the wringer for nothing.

"I wouldn't suggest doing a diet like that ever … If you restrict protein or carbs or fat, it's all restricting your energy intake and that has the effect of weight loss," Dr Watson said.

"But if the diet demands you restrict a core food group like breads and cereal, I'd certainly recommend steering clear of it because it's not going to be nutritionally adequate. You can't sustain it in the long term and you're just setting yourself up for failure."

Dr Watson also doesn't believe the hype that detoxes can cleanse your body. "I don't believe any short-term adjustment will do good things for your body and if you make it a long-term adjustment, you could perhaps become nutritionally deficient in something," he said.

"The basis of health is to do something on a regular basis, ie, eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables, wholegrain breads, cereals and with a balance of meat and dairy."

Registered dietician Dr Janet Helm warns not to be lured in to the promises of celebrity tweets.

"We may have an insatiable appetite for the eating styles of the slim and famous, but don't be swayed by the tweets, blogs or promotions of a dieting celeb," she wrote on MSNBC.com.

"You don't know how much extra support (like personal trainers or private chefs) they've had to help them stay trim."

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