The British Dietetic Association (BDA) has shared its list of celebrity diets you should probably avoid.
Every year, the association calls out silly and sometimes dangerous diets promoted by celebrities as healthy ways to lose weight.
1. Raw vegan diet
Cold, uncooked fruits and vegetables are championed by Gwyneth Paltrow, Megan Fox and Sting. The BDA notes that veganism is not the issue, but going raw isn't necessarily better for you. "While some foods are good to have raw, others are more nutritious cooked -- like carrots -- and some foods cannot be eaten raw at all, like potatoes. The human body can digest and be nourished by both raw and cooked foods so there's no reason to believe raw is inherently better," it says.
2. Alkaline diet
Tom Brady and Fergie the Duchess of York are fans. Alkaline foods include fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables. Fans of this diet believe if you eat more alkaline foods, as opposed to acidic foods such as meat, dairy and grains, you'll change the pH balance of your blood and change your body. Some health experts have condemned this diet, saying food cannot change your blood pH and so this diet is based on a misunderstanding of human physiology.
3. Nutritional supplements
A range of meal-replacement supplements to help lose weight is Katie Price's go-to diet. The BDA says this is just not sustainable in the long term because it is super-restrictive. You will likely crave a lot of things, risking binge-eating.
4. Pioppi diet
Andy Burnham, former secretary of state for health in the UK, said it could help millions of people. The diet includes lots of vegetables, nuts, fish and olive oil and no red meat, starch and sweetened treats. The diet also encourages people to abstain from food for 24 hours once a week. The BDA says the suggestion to avoid pasta, rice and bread is problematic as they contains vital nutrients the body needs. "The authors may well be the only people in the history of the planet who have been to Italy and come back with a diet named after an Italian village that excludes pasta, rice and bread", said the association.
5. Ketogenic diet
A plethora of celebs have been linked with this diet including Kim Kardashian, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mick Jagger and Rihanna and Alec Baldwin. A low-carb intake, high levels of fat and moderate protein. No grains, dairy, soy, most fruits and starchy vegetables. Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Kobe Bryant are big fans. The BDA says this might help you lose weight in the short term, but would probably also leave you with low energy levels, sleeping problems, nausea and even bad breath. Plus, it's not sustainable in the long term.
"With all the diet fads coming out it's difficult. You don't want to say one thing works, one thing doesn't work because every person is different", local dietician Ashley Gibbon told HuffPost SA.
She added that most celebrities have the advantage of a team of professionals and assistants making sure that a particular diet works for them and that they still look good while doing it, unlike us ordinary mortals.
Gibbon cautions against demonising certain foods. "I'm sure everyone's heard it before, but everything in moderation."