We all want to feel healthier and be more confident with our looks. We try to accomplish this by dieting. But not all diets are healthy. Read on to find out which diets are bad and which ones are just plain dangerous.
10. Ear Stapling
Ear Stapling is like acupuncture but without the 3,000 years of cultural significance. It’s loosely derived from the practice of auricular acupuncture that operates under the belief that part of your ear is connected to your appetite. But make no mistake. Ear stapling is not the same as auricular acupuncture. There is no scientific evidence supporting the practice and can lead to serious infections.
9. Bulletproof Coffee
Remember a couple of years ago when weirdos on the internet told you to put butter in your coffee? Yeah, apparently people still do that. This practice is popular with people who live the keto lifestyle. But the risks outweigh the benefits. Bulletproof coffee is high in saturated fat and raises your cholesterol levels.
8. Apple Cider Vinegar
The Apple Cider Vinegar diet has been lauded by celebrities like the Kardashians and Megan Fox. It’s important not to take diet advice from celebs who have unlimited resources to pay for trainers and ozempic. Apple Cider Vinegar is mostly harmless but prolonged ingestion over several years can cause hypoglycemia. The acidity can also hurt your throat
7. Juice Cleanses
Human beings are supposed to eat food. And drinking liquified fruits and vegetables does NOT count as eating. Juice cleanses can cause fatigue, constipation, nutrient deficiencies, and muscle and bone loss. We are mammals, not hummingbirds! We need actual food!
6. Tongue Patch Diet
This fad diet is kind of like a juice cleanse but worse. A doctor sews a patch of rough material to the patient’s tongue that makes it too painful to eat. All the patient can do is drink liquids. They are also expected to limit their caloric intake to 800 calories a day. Is stitching an abrasive patch of material to your tongue really worth losing a few pounds?
5. Cabbage Soup Diet
Remember in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory when Charlie Bucket says that cabbage water is not enough? That line pretty much sums up the problem with this diet. Humans cannot survive off of cabbage soup by virtue of the fact that we are not rabbits.
4. Tapeworm Diet
The diets previously described on this list were unhealthy and in some cases painful. But now we are getting into super dangerous diets. The tapeworm diet started in the Victorian era when people would take a pill containing a tapeworm egg. The egg would eventually hatch and ingest the food that its host consumed, causing the host to lose weight. Some people still use this method and it causes horrific side effects including, but not limited to, death.
3. Cigarette Diet
Some people believe that smoking reduces your appetite. There may be some truth to that. But smoking can also cause lung cancer, emphysema, and an increase for the chance of heart failure. Comparatively, an increased appetite for snacks doesn’t seem that bad.
Read More: The 15 Best Superfoods to Add to Your Diet
2. Cotton Ball Diet
Hey, did you know that cotton is not edible? You would think common sense would prevent people from eating an inedible object. This diet advises people to dip cotton balls in juice to reduce calorie intake. There is absolutely nothing healthy about this and it can lead to choking and intestinal blockage.
Read More: Do You Know When to Throw Out Old Pantry Staples?
1. Breatharianism
This is exactly what you think it is. This is a pseudoscience perpetuated by dangerous people who claim they can live without eating food. They call it breatharianism or pranic fasting to try and give it legitimacy. But it’s literally just starvation. And anyone who claims that they have lived several years without eating is lying.
Read More: One Identical Twin Went Vegan – Doctors Say This Happened Next
