A Fad Diet?
What is Lemon Detox Diet?
Lemon detox diet, a ‘weight loss’
strategy which enabled Beyoncé to lose 10 kilograms and for Mariah Carey to swear
by it, claims to be a ‘master cleanse’ miracle (Connolly, 2016). Retailed at
$160 per 14-day program, this particular diet is said to ‘ease and improve
toxic and overweight conditions and lets the body cleanse itself naturally
while you take a break from solid food’ (Connolly, 2016). Therefore, the
individual’s regular meals are replaced with a beverage containing merely lemon
juice, purified water, cayenne pepper and tree syrup (Klein and Kiat, 2014, p.
676). Commercial companies claim that just by consuming the lemon detox for even
just 10-days, weight loss, glowing skin, shiny hair and strong nails are the
outcomes (Klein et al, 2014, p. 676). But does the lemon detox diet really
allow individuals to sacrifice food for liquid without any implications on
their nutritional intake?
Are YOU getting enough nutrients as it claims?
Fiske (2016) believed that the
fibres found in lemons can promote weight loss through increasing hydrochloric
acid in the stomach, enabling a more efficient digestion, hence, the weight loss.
However, according to the Australian Dietary Guidelines (NHMRC, 2013), it
states that ‘no single food can provide all nutrients in the amounts needed for
good health.’ An ideal diet involves the consumption of a variety of food to meet
the nutrient requirements of a healthy individual that originate from the five
food groups (NHMRC, 2013). As lemon detox contains nothing but vitamin C, it
compromises a healthy individual’s daily nutrient intake, which can be
detrimental to their health and wellbeing (Saxelby, 2014). It is recommended
that a healthy individual should consume enough macronutrients for sufficient
energy and to reduce chronic disease risk, that is, a protein intake range of
15%-25%, fat intake range of 20%-35% and carbohydrate intake range of 45%-65%
(NHMRC, 2017). To meet these requirements, it is advised by the Australian
Dietary Guidelines (NHMRC, 2013) one should consume the following reduce
chronic disease risk:
- Vegetables, legumes/beans
- Fruit
- Grain (cereal foods)
- Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs
- Nuts/seeds
- Milk yoghurt and cheese (reduced
fat)
Being restricted to purely the lemon
detox diet will offer minimal amount of nutrients of the five food groups and
hence, the individual will be more at risk of chronic diseases if they choose
to prolong this particular diet. It is ‘nutritionally deficient and unbalanced’
(Saxelby, 2014). Due to the diet barely offering sufficient nutrients and
energy, the individual’s daily activities will be more tiresome and
demotivating which therefore decreases their quality of life and positive mental
state (Saxelby, 2014). Saxelby (2014) strongly believes that not only does
lemon detox diet offer no benefit to the human body system, the intended
outcomes could end up being the opposite as ‘pigging out’ after the diet can
cause one to be more susceptible to weight gain.
Recommendations:
Do you really want to replace
delicious food for a horrible sour-tasting drink for 14 days?
- Don’t rely on this diet long term,
one can easily gain back the weight after the diet program is completed (Saxelby, 2014).
- It makes weight loss sound too
easy, which is too good to be true. Consume a healthy diet following the
Australian Dietary Guidelines and exercise. With energy, exercising will be no
problem. See link for food ideas:
- If you are keen to try out this
diet, its is acceptable to do it for a day after over-eating the night before
or consume in the morning for a ‘cleanse’ but do remember to eat breakfast (Saxelby, 2014).
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