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Nick Seidenberg
December 3, 2010
Fad Diet Project
The diet that I have chosen is called “The lemonade diet”. It is a diet that may be
unordinary to many other diets. It is also a diet that I have done before in the past. The diet
consists of three big ingredients which include fresh lemons, cayenne pepper, and organic
maple syrup. Each of these items plays critical roles in the success and safety of the diet. Maple
syrup plays role in positive and negative sugars and also provides minerals such as potassium,
calcium, and magnesium. The cayenne pepper is to increase warmth and provide B and C
vitamins. The claims of the diet offer several things. A person can easily drop 10 to 15 pounds in
just 3 days .The diet is to eliminate toxins and congestions that have formed in the body. Also
the diet cleanses the kidneys and the digestive tract and eliminates all unusable waste and
hardened material in the joints and muscles which is why weight can be dropped so quickly.
The lemonade diet is very challenging which requires discipline for success. The nutritional
quackery is the diet is to teach better self-discipline and rid ourselves with disease, lose weight,
and relieve chronic pains and aches.
No, this diet does not provide a nutritious diet in the terms of adequacy, balance, calorie
control and moderation, and variety. There is no balance, calorie control or variety because the
person of the diet is to not eat anything. The adequacy of the diet is not great and only the
lemonade drink provides any need. The moderation is unlimited when on the diet, because you
are to drink the lemonade drink whenever you feel hunger. The only thing that is allowed is the
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fresh lemonade drink. The drink is supposed to supply the needs for the body and ease the
hunger slowly. The diet does not meet with the guidelines for Americans because food is not
being eaten. Key foods such as breads cheeses and milk are being avoided and even though
vitamins and minerals are being provided thru the lemonade drink there is still insufficient
nutrition being obtained thru the diet. In looking at the DRI of carbohydrates this diet does not
come close to what is needed for the body. The DRI requires 45 to 65 percent of energy
yielding nutrients to come from carbohydrates. The lipids are not addressed in the diet as the
diet aims at cutting out fat and targeting the already fat. One of the goals of this diet is to burn
fat, for 3 to 5 days to the body will be in overdrive searching for energy and will in turn use the
existing fat already in the body. As said for lipids, protein as well is not meant in the DRI
because there is no source available during the diet. Neither lemons nor maple syrup are able
to provide a protein need for the body. The diet does meet for the DRI for vitamins as the
lemonade provides all the vitamins and minerals necessary for the body. The lemons, maple
syrup, and cayenne pepper provide many natural vitamins and minerals. They provide minerals
such as sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and copper. Also vitamins such as A, B1, B2, B6, C,
and B5 are provided by the syrup. Cayenne pepper is what helps eliminate hunger and provide
more B, and C Vitamins. Water is meant as it is the main component in the diet. Water should
be drunk consistently throughout the day while on the diet. It is important know that drinking
too much water can be harmful and should the person should moderate how much water they
drink each day.
I believe there are many benefits to this diet. First the diet aims at cleaning the body out
of any toxins that tend to make the body sluggish and heavy. The diet is also beneficial to the
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digestive system as it helps eliminate waste build-up in the intestines, which could sometimes
lead to cancer. The diet tries to show people that vitamins and minerals can be obtained thru
eating rather than pills, as pills can sometimes be harmful to the body. I think the risks are
obvious in this diet for that it is important that activity level during the diet should be limited.
The supply of carbohydrates is slim to none as there will be a lot of low energy for the couple of
days on the diet. The negative is the diet limits you on what you can do; it’s not a good idea to
work out while on the diet. The lemonade diet also can make it tempting to eat food and make
you possibly go crazy when you get off the diet. I think the big positive is even if you gain
weight back at least you cleanse your body out of any toxins. I would recommend this diet
because it is beneficial in losing weight, excellent for cleansing the kidneys and the digestive
system, eliminates any unusable waste. The diet can be tough to handle for most people but
the results are almost guaranteed for losing weight and overall the body will really benefit
greatly.