Dieting has been taken to a whole new level, thanks to society’s newfound obsession with losing weight and aging better. These days, everyone seems to be a nutrition and diet expert. Each year new diet trends are appearing all over the Internet, on daytime talk shows and in the pages of celebrity gossip magazines. However, research shows that oftentimes the very diets people rely on to be healthier, may not be the best solution after all.

While dieting in general is a good thing, too many people abuse this routine in order to gain fast results. In many instances, diet trends turn out to be fad diets, which use certain guidelines that actually do more harm than good for a person’s body. If you’re trying to lose weight in a healthy way, it is a good idea to take note of the red flags to be on the lookout for in order to make sure the path you choose is one that will not only produce favorable results but does so in a way that won’t put your health in jeopardy.

Perhaps one of the most common diet fads out there today deals with the staple that a person should not consume any carbs. According to health experts, any diet that lists this as a major requirement or that bans other types of whole food groups (proteins and fats are other examples) should be avoided. Removing vital whole food groups robs the body and the brain of essential nutrients that are needed on a daily basis. Feeling dizzy, weak or suffering headaches are a common side effect of these types of diet fads, which are never a good sign - even if you are losing weight. What makes this requirement also ineffective is that once you reintroduce the missing food group back into your regular eating regimen, chances are you’ll gain the weight lost right back because your body will be craving them.

Think cleansing diets are the quick path to instant weight loss? Even though there have been many documented cases where people have lost large amounts of weight due to cleansing diets, the truth is that such diet fads - if used off and on for long periods of time - can actually cause the body to develop negative, lasting effects long afterwards. For example, relying on cleansing diets that consist of only drinking a special beverage containing a combination of lemon water with maple syrup increases a person’s chances of calcium loss and even a slower metabolism. The result: low bone density/fragility and a tougher time trying to lose weight.

While diets tend to come with rules, having too many of them should serve as a warning sign. Being on a diet is hard enough as it is and if you’re following a regimen that has a specific “eat this, don’t eat that” outline, the odds are you won’t be able to hang long enough to even see results. The better versions are those that have some flexibility and give people the opportunity to mix and match the foods they enjoy with the ones they need to eat more of.

The bottom line: diet fads are those that only serve the purpose of helping a person lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time. True, effective diets are those that teach you to eat healthy and make lifestyle changes that give long term results that will last. They’re out there - it’s just a matter of learning to read the warning signs.

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