Operation clean-up

January is often the time for many to counter the overindulgent sins of the festive season. Women in particular are guilty of blindly following extreme eating plans without thinking about the following possible long-term perils:

Instant weight loss, but not fat loss

While instant weight loss might seem spectacular on the scale, it is caused mainly due to dehydration and loss of muscle. You will gain it all back as soon as you eat normally. Plus, you might even gain more than you lost due to the loss of muscle. Muscle tissue increases your metabolism, which makes you burn more energy.

Stress on your liver

Starvation diets put stress on the liver (your natural detox organ), which now has to use up all the energy it's previously stored, because you don't get enough energy from food. As a last resort the body will start breaking down muscle tissue to provide you with energy, which will lower your metabolism further and leave you flabby with no muscle definition.

Low blood glucose makes you lose concentration

Diabetic children's test marks can drop as much as 30 percent if they write a test when their glucose is low. Your blood glucose won't drop that low, but it should be a clear warning of how a starvation diet can affect your work. It will also affect your mood and make you irritable. All in all, not great office material.

Insulin resistance

Insulin is the hormone that releases energy from the glucose in your blood. Starvation diets can upset this delicate balance and cause the body to become insensitive to the insulin. This could affect the balance of all your hormones and could even increase your chances of developing Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which suppresses ovulation, affecting your ability to fall pregnant.

What dieticians say

Many dieticians and nutrition experts agree that the body is very efficient at detoxing itself. Unless you have a serious metabolic disorder, your liver and kidneys are fully equipped to rid your body of toxins. If you want to speed up this process, you can lend a hand by eating lots of fresh fruit, lightly steamed veggies and lots of fibre, drink a lot of water and exercise to speed up circulation and metabolism. These so-called detox diets undermine all the principles of cleansing, healthy bowels and well-being and could in fact be very detrimental to your health.