1 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 2 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 3 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.