As a dietitian I have spent years studying nutrition, health outcomes, and behavior change. The most commonly discussed items when working with people on changing their health comes back to fad diets and supplements. I am writing this article to have an open discussion about the pros and cons of fad diets and supplements. Know that my background, training, and experiences will lead me to have a bias. That aside, I will try to be as open and considerate in this discussion as possible.
The layout for this article will be:
- What is a fad diet
- Advantage of Fad diet
- Disadvantages of a fad diet
- What is a supplement
- Pros and Cons of Supplements
- Final Takeaways
What is a fad diet
When looking at the pros and cons of fad diets and supplements we need to understand what it is we are talking about. Sometimes, there are even wolves in sheeps clothing. In the health industry, sometimes overrun by the diet industry, there can be confusion surrounding terms. Over the past few years most weight loss companies have changed their terminology from “weight loss”, to “lifestyle”. That doesn’t meant that they have actually changed their approaches or practices. Lets lay the groundwork by explaining defining fad diets and supplements.
First, fad diets are going to be popular diets, hence the term fad. However, just because something is popular or well-known doesn’t qualify it for the fad diet status. And not all fad diets are created equal.
Whether you call it a fad diet, crash diet, monthly challenge, or just a diet I want us to be on the same page. The majority of fad diets are sold as get skinny quick schemes. People are told they will see dramatic results if they eliminate/substitute certain food groups, types of food, macros, or reduce caloric intake drastically.
As I have mentioned, the diet industry has pivoted their approach and started using different terminology. Traditionally, a fad/crash diet that would cause rapid weight loss (within a week). However, many fad diets have adjusted towards a more “sustainable” approach, in words but not necessarily in action. Often, they are still just as restrictive.
A few things that you can be told to on a fad diet:
- eliminate all forms of sugar
- eliminate carbs overall
- drink celery juice
- only eat cabbage soup
- focus solely on eating fat
- eliminate white foods
- over consume protein
- restrict eating hours to 4-6 hours a day
- and so many more
With the goal of a fad diet being to help you lose weight quickly, they may be easy to spot. They may often use slogans like, “something your doctor isn’t telling you”, “don’t change what you eat and watch the weight melt away”, or “lose 30 pounds in 30 days”. But it may not always be so clear cut.
Fad diet examples and background
Fad diets may have some science to back up their claims. However, if there’s science behind a fad diet, it is often watered down by the time the consumer gets it. We could use the example of the gluten-free diet that was based on celiac or IBS/IBD patients. It became a bigger deal than that specific medical community. Soon, everyone started looking for gluten-free bread/cookies/desserts because “gluten was the problem”. Many people never understood what gluten was or why it mattered. They were told in the media and by their friends it was bad. They may have known people that lost weight, and so they ventured a try.
A more recent example is the keto diet. Here is a little background on the origin and use of the ketogenic diet. This should allow you to see how the science gets muddled and the claims may get bigger.
Watering down keto
A true keto diet is one where an individual will be in ketosis. This means that an individual is creating ketone bodies to use for energy throughout their body. There body would be breaking down fat to make ketones instead using of the more readily available glucose (which comes primarily from carbohydrates).
The keto diet was originally created for children with epilepsy. It was typically reserved for pateints that had exhausted other treatment methods. The idea was that if you could prevent the brain from getting too much energy (in the form of glucose), you would reduce the amount of seizures a child would have.
Simply put, if you limit how much energy the brain has, it cannot waste energy on being overactive.
Patients tried it and it worked pretty well. This keto diet included eating heavy cream with eggs, custards, as a sauce over steaks, and so on. Most fruits and vegetables were not allowed on a true ketogenic diet because they contain carbohydrates. If the patient consumed carbohydrates the body would revert to using glucose and take the person out of ketosis.
A big thing to note is that when this diet was used the patient was monitored closely by a medical team. Along with this monitoring, the child was only kept on the diet for a specific amount of time.
Keto was never meant to be a forever diet.
By the time the keto diet got to the mainstream, the heavy cream on eggs/steak/bacon was substituted out. Plant foods were incorporated more and it was sold as a “eat all the meat you want” diet and lose weight. So instead of being a true keto we were given a modified keto. It is more of a low-carbohydrate, high protein/fat diet. Likewise, it doesn’t matter if you’re epileptic or not, this diet is sold as a cure-all for anyone.
From there, you have any number of people selling supplements and foods labelled keto. That label is not regulated and anyone can claim anything is keto.
So let’s get to the lists! Here are some pros and cons of fad diets (and supplements will come later).
Advantage of Fad diet
There are some advantages that people will gain when using a fad diet. That is the only reason that they are still around. Here is a list of some of the advantages of fad diets.
- You can lose weight quickly
- Fast results
- Recognition for making changes
- They sell well because everyone wants a quick fix
- Most people can get on board with a change that doesn’t last forever
- There is something to blame – a golden ticket per se
- You can feeling good about yourself because you are doing something
- They can help people to develop confidence that they can change
When solely focused on fast results fad diets can be useful. If you’re looking for long-term outcomes, look elsewhere.
Disadvantages of a fad diet
- It can lead to a mentality that changing this one thing/food/behavior will fix everything else
- They are not always backed by science.
- The ones that are backed up by research are altered for consumer use.
- They are not sustainable.
- It creates a mentality that in order to lose weight you have to give things up
- This is the only approach most people are taught about health (I cannot tell you how many times clients have reached out and provide a long list of the fad diets (10+) they have tried that didn’t last)
- Often they are so difficult to follow that they leave the person feeling like a failure because they couldn’t maintain it
- It leads to people solely focusing their health journey on weight loss. “If weight loss is not achieved then a health change is not worth it.”
- You will need to go on another fad diet
- People will feel like a failure because they could not maintain the diet, when the diet was not meant to be a long-term fix
What is a supplement?
It is a product consumed as a supplement to your dietary intake for a specific purpose or desired outcome. Some examples of supplements include goatweed, deer antler, multivitamins, collagen, pre-workout, creatine, amino acids, energy supplements/drinks, post workout, protein shakes, etc. As of 2016, the supplement industry had a worth of $122 billion. It has only grown since that measurement was taken.
The supplement industry really started to expand after the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 (DHSEA) was passed. The reasoning behind this legislation was that medication can take a substantial amount of time to go through the appropriate testing prior to getting approved for medical use.
The DSHEA allowed companies to forego the testing with the assumption that consumers understood they had not gone through the same level of scrutiny.
The reasoning behind this push for access to supplements was that people who needed immediate medical relief where medication was not currently available would be able to get that assistance through supplements. Some supplements are even medications that failed the clinical testing because of side effects. Because they did not meet those requirements they could not be listed as a medication and instead sell themselves as a supplement.
Lack of Regulation of Supplements
A big consideration within determining the pros and cons of supplements is regulation. Most supplements include the line, “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
While people take supplements like medicine, and to achieve a certain outcome, they are not regulated like medication. That means that supplements do not need to demonstrate the claims they make on how effective they’ll be. They also do not need to verify that what the label as in the supplement is actually in the supplement.
Some supplements are just sawdust and do not have the claimed ingredients in them. As a result of not being tested and safe, there can be experiences like this, or this. Those examples show how individuals consuming supplements in doses that are not available in nature. In each of these cases the body is unable to regulate it leading to liver damage.
If you are an athlete please review the United States Anti-Doping Agency list of prohibited substances.
Misleading Supplement Advertising
Another big point to make is around the claims made by supplements. Their claims are often presented in a misleading way. I will demonstrate with the following images. As you will see, there is a before and after photo for 3 different individuals and underneath there is a statement regarding two research studies.
Three examples of misleading supplements
First, research studies were completed using the “key ingredient” in the supplement. The studies did not use the supplement itself. There is limited oversight regarding what is listed on a supplement and what is actually in a supplement.
If the “key ingredient” produced those results, why not just take the “key ingredient”.
Second, in one study lasting 60-days people taking the the key ingredient lost 10.9 lbs with a low calorie diet. Compare that to a second study where participants took the key ingredient and lost 3.7 pounds. The second used a calorie-reduced diet and moderate exercise. The presentation makes you think 60-days and 8-weeks are very different, but 8-weeks is 56 days. So, these studies show that there is not continuity in outcome. You could lose 11 pounds, or you could lose 3.5.
Finally, the recommended amount of weight loss (without supplements) is around 2 pounds per week. In a 8-week study participants only lost 3.7 pounds taking the supplement. That is less than half a pound a week while also using a calorie-reduced diet and moderate exercise. You’re sold a supplement that melts fat… but the results are no different than just dieting and exercising without using the supplement.
Final words on advertising
The ingredient list can be misleading. As discussed previously, there is limited over-site regarding what is listed vs. what is inside. You have no guarantee that the “key ingredient” that produced these amazing results is even in the supplement.
I have been using this product as an example for the past 6 years. While the name and packaging has changed multiple times, the same claims and info are listed. There are no new studies released.
Pros and Cons of Supplements
Pros of Supplements
- They may produce the desired result
- Usually painless to consume
- Easy to take a pill to treat a problem
- Generally low risk
- They can be cheaper than going to a doctor
Cons of Supplements
- There is no regulation
- There is no guarantee of efficacy
- They can be used in doses that are not safe/studied
- It is easy to over-consume (mentality of, if a little is good, then a little more is better)
- There is limited research performed on the actually commercial available supplement
- They can result in positive testing for illegal substances if participating in sporting events
If you are an athlete, I strongly recommended looking into the United States Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list for supplements.
Pros and Cons of Fad Diets and Supplements – Final Takeaways
To wrap this up, if you are looking for long-term health supplements may not be the best for you. If your friends are pitching to you a new diet, wait a month to see if they can sustain it. Lasting health is about the lifestyle changes that you can integrate into your everyday behaviors.
If you want to try a supplement or fad diet, it may not hurt you. As long as you know what you’re getting into. Set the expectations that this won’t be the golden bullet for you. Don’t take more than the recommended amount and pay attention to how you feel. Finally, when you visit your medical provider make sure to tell them everything you take. This will help them provide the best care for you. They may be aware of case studies, side effects, interactions with medications or even to help you in other ways.
In summary, when weighing the pros and cons of fad diets and supplements you will want to look at what you really want. If it sounds to good to be true, it likely is. Or it’s like the old adage, “be careful what you wish for” because there can be side effects.
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Article written by Zach Cordell, Registered Dietitian at www.cordellnutrition.com