Dear Doctor Column, December 8, 2003
"Heart diet" Not Affiliated With Hospital, Potentially Harmful
Question:
I am seeking information on the 3-day weight-loss diet developed at UAB hospital for cardiac patients who need to lose weight quickly. It's my understanding that the diet is 3 days on and 4 days off. Any information you can provide would be appreciated.
Answer:
This potentially harmful fad diet has been circulating for years under various titles, including the "Birmingham Heart Hospital Diet" and the "Cardiac Unit of UAB Hospital Diet," which implies that the diet plan is affiliated with UAB Hospital. Nothing could be further from the truth, yet we receive several requests for this "diet" a year.
The 1-page diet plan, which is followed for 3 days with no substitutions, promises a 10-pound weight loss. For the following 4 days, you return to your usual foods, and back on the diet for another 3 days, and so on. The diet claims you can lose up to 40 pounds in a month.
Foods listed on the diet include those of the healthy variety, such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, apples, and tuna fish, but it also includes high-fat foods, such as hot dogs, vanilla ice cream, and peanut butter, in abundance.
The diet has no basis in scientific fact for its claims. Registered dietitians point out, however, that since it includes only 1,200 calories, weight loss can occur, if you have been consuming about 1,800 calories or more each day before starting the diet. Also, should you drop 10 pounds in a week, you can rest assured you are primarily losing water and some muscle tissue but very little fat.
The diet is high in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol - the main dietary culprits related to heart disease. It also is high in sodium and low in whole grains.
Furthermore, the diet is rigid with few food choices and seems to imply that there is a magical quality to the foods, timing of eating, and food combinations. It does not establish healthful eating habits to promote weight management for a healthy life. Additionally, the diet does not address exercise, an essential component of any effective weight management program.
This plan contradicts accepted nutritionally adequate and desirable weight-loss plans that emphasize a diet rich in whole grains, moderate in protein, and low in fat. And, nutrient needs for iron and calcium are lacking, among others.
Any time a diet promotes an unhealthy weight loss (more than 2 pounds a week) or eliminates certain food groups, be wary. Odds are it is not healthy, and any weight loss is bound to be short-lived.
As we have stressed over the 18 years we have published this column, the secret to losing weight is to ease into new eating and exercising habits you can stick with. Maintaining a balanced, low-fat diet (including eating five or more servings of vegetables and fruits a day), shedding excess pounds slowly, increasing your level of physical activity, and becoming aware of the cues that stimulate inappropriate eating are the keys to success.