Why drastic weight loss is dangerous?
7 reasons why drastic weight loss is dangerous
Even the most gentle diet can have undesirable consequences. And yet, many, wanting to see the changes as soon as possible, are ready to go for the most severe restrictions on food. After all, when only a few weeks are left before an important event, the most important thing is the result, even if the chosen diet is contrary to common sense. According to nutritionists, a safe rate for weight loss is up to 1 kg or 2 lbs per week. If you lose more, serious complications can arise. We list the reasons that make such experiments hazardous to your health.
If you want to get slimmer, take your time. Sometimes quickly lost pounds come back even faster and in double the volume.
Reason # 1. Decreased immunity.
Nutritionists warn that diets that are highly calorie deficient and exclude essential nutrients from the diet increase our susceptibility to infectious disease. Diets which mainly restrict calories also decrease the amount of vitamins and minerals entering the body. This not only weakens the immune system, but also shortens life expectancy, researchers from Stanford found. When a person begins to follow a strict diet, his or her body is exposed to severe stress. As a result, the concentration of cortisol in the blood rises. Cortisol is a hormone that suppresses the natural inflammatory responses to viruses and bacteria.
According to experts from the University of Pennsylvania, another unpleasant consequence of stress is an increased craving for sugary and high-calorie foods.
Reason # 2. Reproductive system failure.
Fans of express diets are faced with malfunctions of the reproductive system, especially if they combine dietary restrictions with grueling workouts. In women, menstrual irregularities can be caused by a deficiency of essential omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D - these substances are responsible for the production of female sex hormones. Adding extra fiber during diets is also not worth it. American scientists have shown that excess dietary fiber reduces the level of estrogen, which regulates the menstrual cycle. If you try to get lean on fiber, the risk of amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) increases tenfold. At the same time, dietary fiber contained in vegetables and fruits can have the greatest positive influence on the ability of the reproductive system. Another factor that can disrupt your menstrual cycle is high levels of the aforementioned cortisol.
Reason # 3. Mood swings.
Sudden weight loss can seriously damage the nervous system. Any extreme diet leads to nutritional deficiencies and imbalances in certain hormones: serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, cortisol, and leptin. Because of this, a dieting person experiences frequent mood swings and becomes nervous and irritable. The endocrine changes that accompany dramatic weight loss can also cause depression and anxiety. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at Harvard Medical School. According to them, estrogen and oxytocin help manage stress. Conversely, low levels of these hormones can increase anxiety and cause disturbing thoughts.
Due to the lack of calories during express diets, the body begins to save resources: we become less active and have a difficult time concentrating.
Reason # 4. Loose skin and wrinkles.
Many fast diets provide weight loss by removing fluid from the body. Potential consequences include headaches, increased fatigue, dehydration, and nerve cell death. In addition, due to a lack of water, swelling appears, tissues lose their elasticity, the skin becomes dry, nails - brittle, hair - dull and weak. In addition, the weight that is lost due to the loss of water usually returns quickly. If a person loses several tens of kilograms in a short time, his or her skin does not have time to react to changes and sags, and wrinkles become more pronounced.
Another component of beauty and health is fat. At the same time, most extreme diets involve a sharp decrease in fat consumption or complete exclusion of fat from the diet.
Reason # 5. Decreased muscle tone.
One of the unpleasant results of a calorie deficit is a slowdown in metabolic processes, including fat burning. Thus, the body seeks to conserve every incoming calorie and compensate for energy costs. As a result, not only does the "plateau effect" occur (when the weight freezes at one point), but the synthesis of new muscle fibers slows down. In addition, a sharp reduction in incoming calories forces the body to look for alternative sources of energy. Muscles become one of these: they "burn" much more actively than adipose tissue. The fact is that during stressful diets, survival becomes the main task of the body, and muscles for it are extra ballast that consumes too many calories. Therefore, it "eats" the muscles and triggers lipogenesis - the process of fat storage- for a rainy day.
Reason # 6. Accumulation of fat.
The body will continue to increase the amount of adipose tissue - reserve energy reserves, even after returning to the usual diet. That is why, after grueling diets, it can be so difficult to maintain the results: the weight almost always returns to the original or becomes even greater. The stress hormone cortisol also contributes to the formation of adipose tissue. Scientists from Stanford University proved this. An experiment led by a group of biologists led by Mary Teruel showed that mammals with elevated cortisol levels had twice the weight gain compared to controls. Teruel says this happened not only due to the synthesis of new fat cells, but also due to the growth of existing ones. In addition, with express diets, the production of hormones that regulate appetite is disrupted.
Reason # 7. Gallstones.
Lack of adequate nutrition can cause various disturbances in the work of the gastrointestinal tract - bloating, constipation, slowing down of digestion, gastritis, and ulcers. The consequences can be even more dire if the low-calorie diet is accompanied by the intake of laxatives, fat burners, or special stimulants that suppress hunger. Most of these drugs deplete the body's resources and negatively affect the central nervous system. In addition, rapid weight loss increases the likelihood of developing gallstones. During fat burning, the liver secretes cholesterol into bile. If its concentration becomes too high, bile crystallizes and turns into stones. Anyone losing weight who loses more than 1.5 kg of weight per week faces this risk.
