The DietDoc Forum is in an uproar at the moment. The reason for all this frantic activity is that one of the readers posted the so-called "Royal Danish Hospital Diet" on the site.
Now every second reader, especially those who are susceptible to fad diets and demand instant solutions, want to use this diet to lose weight.
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Just another high-protein diet
When I had a look at what the Royal Danish Hospital Diet entails, I had a feeling of déjà vu.
Many years ago another highly unbalanced, high-protein diet (which included eggs in excess) – the Mayo Clinic Diet – was circulated as the miracle cure for obesity.
The Mayo Clinic is a highly respected research centre with impeccable credentials. There was no way that such a prestigious medical institution would publish such a potentially harmful diet.
In this case, the Mayo Clinic quickly published a rebuttal in which they totally distanced themselves from the so-called "Mayo Clinic Diet" and issued warnings that anyone using the diet would harm their health.
The situation with the Royal Danish Hospital Diet is exactly the same.
Detective work
I was sure of the following facts, but decided to obtain proof:
a) That the real Royal Danish Hospital would never, ever publish such a diet.
b) That one of the leading diet experts in Denmark, Prof Arne Astrup, would condemn such an unbalanced diet outright.
Because I had the privilege to hear Prof Astrup speak at the 1st IASO Regional Obesity Congress held in South Africa in 2004, I established contact with him and was informed that he has written articles in the Danish Medical Journal to condemn it.
According to Prof Astrup, one of the world's greatest living authorities on obesity, "the Royal Danish Hospital Diet is a HOAX".
Unbalanced and potentially dangerous
So why do international and local dieticians and nutrition experts condemn the Royal Danish Hospital Diet? My readers keep pointing out that it works, and that they lose lots of weight on this diet, so how can I say it is dangerous?
Here are a few important reasons why the Royal Danish Hospital Diet is unacceptable as a solution to obesity:
1. The diet is unbalanced – it cuts out whole food groups, e.g.:
wholegrains and cereals which are high in B vitamins and dietary fibre (which helps to ensure normal bowel function);
fruit, and most vegetables which are high in protective phytonutrients, vitamins and dietary fibre;
milk and dairy products which are high in calcium and B vitamins.
2. The diet is loaded with protein and excessive protein intake can harm the kidneys.
3. The diet is loaded with cholesterol. Even lean meat contains cholesterol and telling users to eat so many eggs (on average, two a day) will increase their cholesterol intake to nearly double the recommended daily intake.
In fact, a quick calculation of the cholesterol intake for Day 1 on this diet comes to a whopping 600mg/day or TWICE the RDA of 300mg cholesterol/day. Also keep in mind that the SA Heart Foundation has recommended that adult South Africans should eat no more than 4 eggs per week. Here we have a diet that tells you to eat 2 eggs a day!
4. The diet encourages users to skip meals. This is in direct opposition to all dietary recommendations. You can't have a cup of black coffee for breakfast and think you will function properly for the rest of the day.
After your overnight fast of let's say 12 hours, your blood sugar levels on waking are at rock bottom, so you need a balanced breakfast for your brain and body to function properly. Having a cup of black coffee is not the answer.
5. Strange instructions. The diet comes with a number of illogical instructions such as 'Don't exchange coffee with tea' or 'Chewing gum is not permitted'. I ask myself why on earth anyone who is on a sensible slimming diet cannot have a cup of tea instead of a cup of coffee, and why he or she can't chew artificially sweetened chewing gum which contains practically no kilojoules and no sugar? These instructions indicate that this really is a hoax.
6. Covering their backs. Whoever designed this hoax diet, has made sure that if users run into difficulties with a host of negative side effects (e.g. raised blood cholesterol levels, kidney problems, bowel impaction) there will be no comeback because they categorically state "If you stop this diet, DO NOT start it again for 6 months" and "It shouldn't be repeated too often (2 year intervals)". If this diet isn't dangerous, then why can't people use it for longer and why can't they eat like this all the time? The reason is that the diet is dangerous and unbalanced.
7. Unrealistic promises. The instructions say "In 13 days you will lose ALL surplus body fat (7-20 kg)". No diet on earth can achieve a total loss of ALL body fat in 2 short weeks. This is just another indication that the diet is a hoax.
I could go on and on listing the problems and deficiencies of this so-called Royal Danish Hospital Diet. It really is a nutritional nightmare.
The alternative
So if you don't fall into the trap of using the potentially dangerous Royal Danish Hospital Diet and want to lose weight, what should you do? Let me quote from one of Prof Astrup's most recent publications: "Maintenance of a healthy body weight in susceptible individuals requires 45-60 minutes of physical activity daily, a fat-reduced diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meat and dairy products, and moderate consumption of calorie-containing beverages [e.g. sugar-sweetened or alcoholic drinks]"
That's what one of the leading diet experts in the world has to say about losing weight, not that you should follow the high-protein, high-cholesterol Royal Danish Hospital Diet.
Are you going to be sensible and make a change in your lifestyle to achieve permanent weight loss as described by Prof Astrup, or are you going to fall into the trap of the Royal Danish Hospital Diet which is a total hoax?
Text copyright: Dr I.V. van Heerden, DietDoc
19 February 2007
Reference:
(Astrup A (2006). How to maintain a healthy body weight, Int J Vitam Nutr Res, Vol 76(4):208-15)
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