By Kevin Theissen
The road to better health may sometimes involve an extra expense here and there, but you should be careful about wasting money on diet ideas wit promises that are based more on myth than fact. If you’re considering a diet, you should consult your physician to determine the best approach for you.
Identified below are four diet strategies that may be ineffective and are financially expensive.
Multi-vitamins
There is no clear evidence of multi-vitamins’ health efficacy, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins. Not only are they of questionable value, but, in excess, they can be harmful. Some supplements may be of some use to some people, but determining the right supplement for your age, gender, and personal health status is best left to you and your physician.
Gluten-free
The growth of gluten-free products has been explosive. And, in many cases, consumers are paying a higher premium for them. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, and may be more beneficial than detrimental for most. Gluten is harmful to individuals with celiac disease and can cause gastrointestinal discomfort in individuals with a gluten sensitivity.
However, there are conflicting opinions on whether a gluten-free diet helps with other health issues or losing weight. Unless you are one of the minority of Americans who truly needs to avoid gluten, you may be wasting money on gluten-free products. If you are considering avoiding gluten, then you might want to consider just avoiding grains altogether.
Detoxing
Body detoxification using special juices has been touted as a way to lose weight, rid the body of “poisons,” and treat or prevent any number of diseases. These expensive juices, however, don’t live up to their billing. Indeed, detoxing may be dangerously unhealthy to some people. Your body already does a wonderful job of detoxing, thanks to your liver, kidneys, and intestines. Save the money and let your body do what it’s ideally designed to do.
Superfoods
There is no generally accepted definition of a superfood, and it certainly has no meaning among nutrition scientists. Superfood is more marketing than it is science. Before you spend good money on the latest superfood, find out if the claims are backed by any independent qualified research. If there is none, save your money and stick with a balanced diet.
Kevin Theissen is principal and financial advisor at Skygate Financial Group, LLC, located on Main Street in Ludlow, Vt. He can be reached at [email protected]