Tragic cases of dieting and detoxification weight loss scams

8.1.4 Tragic Cases of Dieting

[Case 1] Dieting led to significant muscle loss

A 27-year-old woman in Taiwan suffered significant muscle loss due to a dieting method, resulting in severe fatigue at a young age. She was unable to climb even one flight of stairs and eventually required assistance to use a wheelchair. A CT scan revealed minimal muscle mass in her lower thighs, even less than that of a 70-year-old, along with severe protein and electrolyte deficiencies. Although she underwent intravenous infusions and dietary and exercise training to improve muscle endurance, her muscle mass increased, but she was unable to regain the level expected of a normal young woman.

[Case 2] Dieting Causes 20-Year-Old Girl to Become Mentally Retarded

A 20-year-old girl, Zhang, had been experiencing recurring fever and headaches for a month. Initially, she and her family thought it was just a common cold and didn't take it seriously. However, two days later, Zhang experienced severe headaches at home and suddenly began convulsing, catching her family off guard. Her mother immediately took her to the hospital. Dr. Zhang, a neurologist at the hospital, recalled that when the girl arrived, she appeared quite thin and somewhat malnourished. What was also strange was her abnormal behavior; she didn't seem like a normal adult and looked like a six or seven-year-old child. A lumbar puncture confirmed that the girl had severe meningitis, and the viral and bacterial infection had significantly affected her intelligence.

According to Zhang's family, the girl's health had always been good; she rarely even caught a cold. For the past six months, however, she felt she was overweight and had been dieting to lose weight. But dieting didn't reduce fat; it only reduced her weight, and the weight rebounded very easily! After a while, her immunity noticeably decreased, and she now deeply regrets her actions. Dr. Zhang pointed out that cases like Zhang's are rare, the disease progresses very rapidly, and the resulting intellectual impairment is irreversible, causing significant harm to the patient and her family.

Nutrition experts point out that while dieting may seem "natural"-lacking the side effects of weight-loss drugs, requiring strenuous exercise, and avoiding the pain of liposuction-it only reduces weight, not fat. This can lead to malnutrition, a decreased metabolic rate, anemia, weakened immunity, poor concentration, and dull, sagging skin. Furthermore, dieting is prone to rebound; once you stop, starved cells will indiscriminately absorb nutrients, exacerbating obesity. Prolonged dieting can also easily lead to anorexia, which can be life-threatening.

[Case 3] Taking diet pills turned her into a "delicate beauty"

Ms. Wang is 21 years old, 162cm tall, and weighed 65kg before dieting. Although overweight, Ms. Wang has always been in good health and rarely gets sick. Now that she's of dating age, she hasn't found a suitable partner, so she started dieting. However, losing weight is extremely difficult. What methods can help her lose weight quickly? Ms. Wang then tried diet pills, unaware that they only reduce weight, not fat. The diet pills caused Ms. Wang great suffering; she ate very little and had frequent bowel movements. In her own words, she almost collapsed from exhaustion.

After half a month, Ms. Wang lost 10kg, but she started catching colds and even experiencing back pain whenever the weather cooled down slightly. Compared to before, she looked like a delicate flower. Experts say that taking diet pills can disrupt a person's endocrine system, which in turn lowers the immune system. A weakened immune system leads to frequent illnesses.

Nutrition experts point out that many popular weight-loss drugs on the market have numerous side effects. For example, sibutramine can cause heart disease and stroke; orlistat can cause liver damage. Therefore, drugs like "Qumei," which contain sibutramine, have been banned and withdrawn from the market. Research on weight-loss drugs has always been among the most extensive in drug research, but with limited success. This is because weight gain is related to factors such as emotions, biological factors, psychological factors, and environmental factors, and solutions to these factors cannot be entirely contained within a small capsule.

8.2 Detoxifying the intestines does not equal weight loss.

8.2.1 Excretion and Defecation

The difference between excretion and defecation: As the names suggest, excretion refers to waste products that have already been exchanged with cells. Nutrients are given to cells, and waste is expelled; this is called excretion. Defecation, on the other hand, is the elimination of leftover substances. In other words, it goes out the same way it went in, without any exchange of substances with cells. Cells obtain nutrients through capillary exchange, meaning that the nutrients they receive are obtained through the blood. The small intestine absorbs the nutrients we eat into the bloodstream. If these substances are not absorbed in the small intestine, they go to the large intestine and are excreted as feces. Therefore, it is not called excretion, but defecation.

8.2.2 The breakdown and metabolism of fat is not a physical change.

As mentioned earlier, fat metabolism involves a series of chemical reactions that ultimately produce carbon dioxide, water, and ATP. Carbon dioxide is expelled through the lungs, water is expelled through the kidneys, and ATP is supplied to cells for use.

When glucose and fatty acids in the blood have been converted into energy and consumed by cells, and the cells still need more energy to continue working, insulin is released. Adrenaline and cortisol then combine with lipase in adipose tissue to break down triglycerides in fat cells into fatty acids. This process urges the fatty acids to leave the fat cells and be converted into energy in the liver to power the cells. In addition, thyroid hormones accelerate the rate at which cells burn energy. At this point, fatty acids flowing from the subcutaneous layer of the skin, the omentum in the abdominal cavity, and various adipose tissues between muscles are rushed to the liver and converted into energy. This is the breakdown of fat, and the broken-down fat is converted into water and carbon dioxide.

8.2.3 Diarrhea reduces water retention, leading to numerous long-term consequences.

Diarrhea, also known as loose stools, can it help with weight loss? Can fat be excreted through feces? Diarrhea doesn't even count as excretion; it's called defecation. Therefore, it's impossible for fat in the body to be excreted through feces. So what comes out when you have diarrhea? Water!

Using laxatives for a short period of time can lead to a significant loss of body water and a noticeable reduction in weight, but it does not burn body fat. Once the body replenishes the necessary water, the weight will immediately rebound.

Long-term use of laxatives forces the intestines to empty before they can properly absorb the nutrients from food, leaving the body in a state of "energy deficiency and malnutrition." Furthermore, the electrolyte and acid-base imbalances caused by diarrhea can lead to weakness, decreased appetite, and reduced energy.

If you are in a state of malnutrition, weakness and loss of appetite for a long time, you will indeed lose weight, but you will not lose fat. When you are secretly happy, it is often accompanied by terrible side effects that you can hardly bear.

Long-term use of laxatives can lead to intestinal motility disorders and drug dependence. This means that the intestines will not peristalsis without drug stimulation. In severe cases, it can even cause the peripheral nerves and muscle tissues of the intestinal wall to lose their function. The person may also develop from functional constipation to organic constipation. At this point, even if you take laxatives, you will not be able to defecate.

If chronic diarrhea leads to intestinal flora imbalance, it may cause frequent diarrhea or constipation. In severe cases, the electrolyte and acid-base imbalance caused by diarrhea may endanger your life due to dehydration, hypokalemia, etc. In severe cases, the laxative components in laxatives may cause melanosis coli, which is a precursor to cancer.

Taking antidiarrheal diet pills will only make your body weaker. Therefore, you should choose a healthy way to lose weight. Don't let the temporary pleasure of losing weight lead to endless side effects.