Let’s be honest, we’ve all been tempted by a quick fix. That shiny promise of dropping a few pounds or feeling more energized practically overnight sounds pretty good, especially when social media makes every wellness trend look effortless. Yet, dietitians keep seeing the same so-called healthy habits popping up in their clinics, habits that scientific evidence has repeatedly shown don’t quite live up to the hype.
These practices might seem harmless or even beneficial on the surface, but research tells a different story. From extreme eating schedules to liquid-only diets, these popular approaches often fall short of their promises or worse, create new health challenges. Here’s what you really need to know.
Intermittent Fasting with Extreme Time Restrictions
People who limited their eating to less than 8 hours per day were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease compared to those who ate across 12-16 hours per day, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention│Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Scientific Sessions 2024. That finding raised eyebrows, especially considering how popular the practice has become. The analysis of over 20,000 U.S. adults found that following an 8-hour time-restricted eating schedule was associated with a 91% higher risk of death from cardiovascular causes.
People who restricted eating to a period less than 8 hours per day had less lean muscle mass compared with those with a typical eating duration of 12-16 hours, and loss of lean body mass has been linked to higher risk of cardiovascular mortality. The research doesn’t conclude that time-restricted eating causes cardiovascular death, but it determined a clear association. While some studies show metabolic benefits from intermittent fasting, the majority of included studies featured short-term interventions of 12 weeks or less, which may inadequately capture long-term risks, and the lack of follow-up data beyond intervention periods limits understanding of the durability of benefits.
Detox Diets and Cleanse Programs
A 2015 review concluded that there was no compelling research to support the use of detox diets for weight management or eliminating toxins from the body. Here’s the thing that gets me: your body already has an incredibly sophisticated detoxification system built in. You don’t need to purchase a product to cleanse your body, as your liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract do a good job of detoxing it every day.
According to a British Dietetic Association Fact Sheet, the whole idea of detox is nonsense, as the body is a well-developed system that has its own builtin mechanisms to detoxify and remove waste and toxins. The organization Sense about Science investigated detox products and called them a waste of time and money. Even if you lose weight during a cleanse, studies have found that most people regain the weight when they resume normal eating, and cleanses can cause serious side effects including gastrointestinal problems, protein and vitamin deficiencies, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalances.
Juice-Only Cleanses
Studies suggest that a vegetable and fruit juice-only diet, even for just three days, may trigger shifts in gut and oral bacteria linked to inflammation and cognitive decline, including increases in bacteria associated with inflammation and gut permeability.
Juicing strips away much of the fiber in whole fruits and vegetables, which feeds beneficial bacteria that produce anti-inflammatory compounds, and without fiber, sugar-loving bacteria can multiply, while the high sugar content in juice further fuels these harmful bacteria. While juice cleanses may cause initial weight loss due to calorie restriction, they will lead to overall weight gain once a person resumes a full, healthful diet, and studies show that weight loss from juice-based diets may be physiologically harmful to participants. I think what bothers me most is that people genuinely believe they’re doing something great for their bodies, when the science suggests otherwise.
Completely Eliminating All Fats
Many products labeled low-fat or fat-free contain added sugar or sodium to help make up for the loss of flavor when removing or reducing fat, and fat helps with satiety, making you feel fuller longer, so choosing a fat-free product to reduce calories can backfire as you may find yourself snacking soon after. The fear of dietary fat has persisted for decades, but nutrition science has evolved considerably.
There’s a crucial distinction to make here. There are healthy fats and unhealthy fats, and some, when eaten in moderation, have heart health benefits. Saturated and trans fats should be limited, sure. Monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats are considered healthy fats when eaten in moderation, and most fats in your diet should come from these two fats, which can be found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, whole olives, avocados and fatty fish, and can help reduce high cholesterol levels in your blood and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. Fat isn’t the enemy. Oversimplification is.
Cutting Out Entire Food Groups Without Medical Reason
Unless you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance, you don’t need to avoid gluten, and whole-wheat products have great nutritional benefits, including essential B vitamins and fiber. Yet walk into any grocery store and you’ll see gluten-free products everywhere, often marketed as inherently healthier choices. Gluten-free foods are not healthier if you don’t have celiac disease or are not sensitive to gluten.
The low-carb diet gives carbohydrates, including fruit and whole grains, a bad reputation, and while individuals who followed this diet had success with weight loss, anytime anyone eliminates highly processed carbohydrate foods like chips, cookies, and white bread, they would be expected to have the same results, and any diet or eating program that eliminates an entire food group gets a red flag as you likely will miss out on vital nutrients. Honestly, it’s hard to say for sure whether someone needs to eliminate a food group without proper medical testing, but the trend of self-diagnosing and cutting things out has gotten out of hand.
The bottom line is this: your body is remarkably good at taking care of itself when you give it balanced, whole foods and reasonable eating patterns. Those flashy trends promising rapid transformation rarely deliver lasting results. What does work? Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods, staying hydrated, getting enough protein and healthy fats, and not falling for marketing gimmicks disguised as wellness advice. What do you think about these popular habits? Have you tried any of them?
