Pick Your Diet

For Every Inch You’ve Added to Your Gut, a Fad Diet Promises to Help You Shed It.

- Anna Kibbey

There’s always a chance you might be feeling less than happy with the shape of the person looking back at you when looking in the mirror. But salvation is only a Google search away in the comely form of the latest diet plan, featuring lithe 30-somethings brandishing forkfuls of grapefruit, or moms holding up enormous pairs of their old trousers. Not only will this diet help you slide effortlessly back into your skinny jeans, it’ll also brighten your skin, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and stop diabetes in its tracks. But are the diets du jour really as perfect as they claim to be? And are there any facts behind the fads? Celebrity endorsement goes a long way to turning a diet idea into a diet trend, with or without scientific evidence. Take the raw food plan, beloved – allegedly – of the likes of Uma Thurman and Demi Moore. Heating your food destroys the nutrients and natural enzymes, which aid digestion and protect you from chronic disease, say raw food fanatics. So cooking food, in effect, ‘kills’ it. Followers of the diet make sure that around 75% of their daily diet is made up of plant-based foods that haven’t been heated above 46°C. The diet purports to boost everything from your immune system to your memory, clearing up headaches and allergies, arthritis, diabetes and so on.