Diet Like The Stars

For quick, instant solutions, most Hollywood celebrities resort to some rnind-bogglingly extreme and perhaps weird diets. Reshma S Kulkarni breaks dovvn six wnaoky diets tnat celebrities nave been known to follow

The ice factor
What is it! Ice Cube Diet

Followed by: Actor Renee Zellwegger

The fad: Years ago, before leaving for long hunting trips, an ancient Kalahari tribe used to eat the hoodia gordonii plant to quell hunger and produce energy. Today, the plant, in the form of ice, is used for the same purpose.

What lt does: According to the website www.icecubediet.com, when hoodia is consumed, the active ingredient P57 released into the bloodstream. It’s a glycoside 10,000 times more active than blood sugar. Actor Renee Zellweger lost 15 kg in 3 weeks by going to the gym two hours a day and following this diet.

Is it good for you? Avanee Mehta Parekh, a Mumbai-based nutritionist and diabetes care educator, says, “lt may simply be a placebo effect. Although trendy, a ‘no carbs’ or a ‘low carb’ diet for an extended period is unsafe. The body starts using proteins for energy purposes if it is deprived of carbs; thus starving the body of its proteins too.”

Mad about cabbage
What is it: Cabbage Soup Diet

Followed by: Actors Sarah Michelle

Gellar and Liz Hurley

The fad: This seven-day diet plan involves lowering your calorie intake to around 500 Kcal on day one and increasing it to 1,000 Kcal by day seven. It reduces 3 to 5 kg a week. You also have fruits and vegetables on the first day, fruit and soup on the second, third and fourth days, bananas and low-fat yoghurt on the fifth, and lean meat and a small portion of brown rice on the last two days.

What it does: It’s a low calorie, easy-to-make, liquid diet containing cost-effective ingredients. It provides electrolyte balance and antioxidants from carrots and tomatoes, and burns fat.

Is it good for you? Dr Kousalya Nathan, a lifestyle management consultant at HUMA Hospitals in Chennai doesn’t recommend it. “Sudden reduction in the daily calorie requirement can cause headaches, mood swings, constipation, etc. The diet also lacks sufficient protein and fats. Also, people with thyroid dysfunction, hormonal imbalance and diabetes mellitus shouldn’t follow this diet,” she says.

It’s all yin and yang
What is it! Macrobiotic Diet

Followed by: Madonna

The fad: The diet includes foods thought to create balance-whole grains, vegetables like cabbage and broccoli, and fermented soy products. Nuts, seeds and fresh Hsh are allowed occasionally. The diet strictly excludes foods with excess of yin (stimulating agents that exhaust the body and mind) like sugar, alcohol, honey and coffee.

What it does: The diet is high in Hbre and low in fat and can help improve the recovery and treatment of cancer.

Is it good for you? Not unless you follow certain rules. Eat 3 to 4 meals a day, adding to at least 1,200 calories and chew your food slowly to aid digestion and absorption of nutrients. Akash Sehrawat, nutritional and lifestyle consultant and director of Iovenus Fitness Pvt Ltd in Gurgaon, adds that the absence of animal-based products in the diet is a big downside. “Lack of dairy and meats can cause severe nutritional deficiencies in protein and sulphur and can contribute to obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and chronic fatigue.”