From vegetable juice to Zumba classes, we can’t resist a new health fad.
‘A lot of people are looking for a magic bullet,’ says Sian Porter, of the British Dietetic Association.
‘But this can lead to more confusion"
Furthermore, some of these trends do little for our health, and may even make it worse, say experts.
Here, they reveal the health fads they would most like to banish.
HOT YOGA Risk: Damaged knees.
Hot yoga — doing yoga in a studio heated to a 40c promises to combine the toning and stretching of yoga with a cardiovascular workout.
The hot temperatures kick into action your body’s cooling mechanism, boosting blood flow to the skin, so that heat from the blood can escape through the skin’s surface.
This boost in circulation raise your heart rate, and can also loosen muscles. However, this can make you feel more flexible than you really are, so you are more likely to push your joints beyond their natural limits, warns physiotherapist Sammy Margo.
NATURAL’ SUGAR Risk: Weight gain.
One of this year’s biggest health trends has been to cut down on sugar — and not without good reason, because too much sugar has been the cause of heart disease and high blood pressure, as well as diabetes and obesity.
But so-called healthy alternatives to sugar are often no better, warns Sian Porter.
‘The body doesn’t process them any differently, and they still count as added sugar.
'However, weight for weight, these “healthy” sugars often have more calories.
NO FOOD AFTER 6PM
Risk: Sleep deprivation.
Nil by mouth from 6pm until bed-time is a popular weight-loss trick. But while it may stop you from over-eating, it could leave you sleep-deprived.
HERBAL TEA
Risk: Damaged tooth enamel.
Sipping herbal tea or hot water with lemon is many a slimmer’s tactic to skip the calories in milky tea or keep from snacking.
‘It may help your diet, but these could be terrible for teeth because the acid in them is erosive — lemon, in particular, is very acidic,’ says Professor Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association.
Enamel (the protective outer layer) starts to dissolve at a microscopic level whenever the mouth is too acidic, eventually leading to painful and sensitive teeth.
HIGH-DOSE VITAMINS
Risk: Vitamin deficiencies, serious disease.
Millions of us take supplements believing they protect against disease and help immunity.
But, at best, these are a waste of money and, at worst, actually raise the risk of disease, says pharmacist Aidan Goggins, an expert in nutritional medicine.
DIY TOOTH WHITENING
Risk: Yellow teeth.
A trend for homemade recipes to whiten teeth — using highly acidic or abrasive ingredients — can actually make teeth appear more yellow as the outer enamel becomes worn away, says Professor Eder.
SLEEP MONITORS
Risk: Poor sleep.
Fitness monitors and mobile phone apps that claim to track your sleep are ‘only 30-35 percent accurate, at best,’ says Dr Neil Stanley, who runs The Sleep Consultancy.
PS... SOME CRAZES ARE SENSIBLE
When it comes to exercise, it pays to be a bit faddy, in the sense of chopping and changing what you do, says physiotherapist Sammy Margo.
‘Keep switching fads would be my suggestion — if you stick with the same thing all the time, your body gets used to it and you reach a plateau.
‘If exercise starts to feel easy, you should consider mixing it up to challenge your muscles."