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what is a liquid diet and do they work
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my name is Elle and as a registered
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dietitian quite a lot of alarm Bells go
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off when I hear the words liquid diet
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one moment we're told to keep our fat
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intake low the next try keto we're told
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avoid juices the next we're told to do a
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juice cleanse we're told not to drink
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our calories the next we're told only
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consume calories through liquids
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nutrition is very context dependent and
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it is rare that I would ever give
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blanket advice but when it comes to a
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liquid diet the potential cons outweigh
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any potential benefits and I would
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strongly advise you to avoid them unless
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you have been advised by your medical
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professional as liquid diets can be
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prescribed for medical reasons such as
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before or after certain types of surgery
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there are many different kinds of liquid
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diets but they all carry the same ethos
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which is to only consume nutrition
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through liquids liquid diets can consist
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of fruit and vegetable juices or maybe
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based on meal replacement shakes or
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soups and smoothies juice cleansers are
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often marketed as a way to detox the
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good news is that you already have a
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detoxification system it's called the
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liver kidneys skin digestive system you
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know all of the things within your body
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that help the body get rid of waste no
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tea juice cleanser diet is necessary to
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cleanse anything although you might
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think drinking only fruits and vegetable
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juices sounds healthy because we're
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always told to eat more fruit and veg as
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they are portrayed as the epitome of
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Health the reality is that we need all
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food groups in different quantities for
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a reason fruit and vegetable juices are
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a great source of vitamins and minerals
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and different antioxidants but relying
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solely on these means you're excluding
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entire food groups like protein and fats
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consuming only fruits and vegetables is
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going to leave you with a deficiency in
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other nutrients you most likely won't be
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getting enough protein or essential
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fatty acids and you'll be missing out on
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other key vitamins and minerals like
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vitamin B vitamin D calcium and iron
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fruits and vegetables are not very
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energy dense which is the main part of
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the diet it means that an individual can
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fill up on liquids whilst not consuming
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many calories because liquid diets are
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typically low in calories they can lead
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to weight loss however Studies have
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shown that this weight loss is normally
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short term and the weight is often
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regained when normal eating is resumed
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are you really just going to drink
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liquids forever liquid diets and Juice
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cleansers are often marketed as a quick
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fix for weight loss but the reality is
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that this weight loss initially is
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usually water weight a reflection of
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depleted glycogen stores and potentially
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because you've had diarrhea which is
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another lovely side effect of these
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diets we store carbohydrate in the form
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of glycogen in our muscles and in our
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liver when we don't eat enough
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carbohydrate the glycogen is converted
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back into glucose and this is drip fed
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into our bloodstream when our glycogen
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stores are at full capacity they can
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normally provide us with energy for up
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to 24 hours but a lot less if we're
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exercising although fruit and vegetable
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juices will provide energy in the form
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of sugar they won't be providing enough
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carbohydrate for most people and so it
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is likely that the stored glycogen will
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be used and this will lead to a
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depletion in these glycogen stores
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glycogen storage capacity is
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approximately 15 grams per kilo of body
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weight and so a depletion in glycogen
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stores can look like a drop of a few
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kilos on the scale muscle loss may also
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occur on a juice cleanse our body is in
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a constant state of muscle protein
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turnover meaning that we are constantly
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breaking down and rebuilding muscle
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fibers protein is one of the
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macronutrients that we cannot store in
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our body for when we need it like in
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situations where we don't get enough so
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when we don't have enough protein which
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is likely going to happen on a juice
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cleanse amino acids are taken from
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skeletal muscles to provide amino acids
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for more vital tissues and this can lead
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to muscle loss over time low energy
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intakes can also lead to well low energy
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and this can also look like low mood and
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having difficulty concentrating for
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those who are active this isn't ideal
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and can even be dangerous as it
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increases your risk of injury juice
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cleanses are also commonly associated
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with gastrointestinal issues such as
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diarrhea cramping bloating and
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constipation although fruits and
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vegetables contain fiber juices tend to
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be lower in fiber as the skin and seeds
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are removed and this can lead to
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constipation or diarrhea because there's
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nothing there to bulk stools up juices
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tend to be digested quite quickly when
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you think about it they're practically
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pre-digested because everything is
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Blended up and broken down this can lead
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to spikes and dips in blood sugar levels
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which can leave us feeling dizzy with
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cravings and struggling to concentrate
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when it comes to liquid diets that are
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based on meal replacement shakes and
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soups these tend to be a bit more
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nutritious than a juice cleanse they're
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often not as low in energy as a juice
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cleanse but are typically still quite
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low in order to promote weight loss meal
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replacements soups and smoothies are
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likely to be more filling than juice
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cleansers which could make them easier
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to adhere to for some people including
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meal replacement shakes as part of a
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diet is likely to be more sustainable in
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the long run than solely having liquids
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this is also likely to create a less
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aggressive calorie deficit which
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although might lead to slower results is
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more likely to lead to longer lasting
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results one of the biggest concerns
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around liquid diets is the long-term
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effects on weights dieting in general is
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strongly linked with weight regain and a
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meta-analysis of 29 long-term weight
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loss studies found that more than half
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of weight loss was regained within two
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years and 80 percent of weight loss was
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regained within five years weight regain
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after a diet can lead to ongoing cycles
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of dieting leading to weight loss and
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regain known as weight cycling intense
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dietary restriction often leads to a
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rebound which is what fuels yo-yo
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dieting and weight cycling our body
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hasn't evolved to know the difference
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between an intentional bias and a famine
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and so it is really normal to experience
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extreme hunger and weight regain
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following a diet especially one that is
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very low in energy and nutrients like a
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juice cleanse the one thing that all
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diets have in common is that they create
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an energy deficit which can lead to
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weight loss over time a liquid diet keto
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diet or low-fat diet isn't responsible
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for weight loss but the lower energy
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intake as a result of following these
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diets is it's not a case of whether
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liquid diets work or not because they
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can but whether or not they work long
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term depends on the person and the
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approach as always if you have any
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questions please leave them in the
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comments below and for more
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evidence-based nutrition advice be sure
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