Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

medically supervised liquid diets to seriously obese
patients to lower their risk of medical consequences
of obesity. Many people also purchase similar, but
commercially available, meal replacement diets to
lose weight.

Benefits
The possible benefits to a liquid diet depend upon
which sort of liquid diet a person is considering. A
patient that is told by a physician to refrain from
eating solid foods can prevent everything from vomit-
ing during surgery to an ineffective test. Some people
believe that fasting can have spiritual benefits and
others, including some health professionals, believe
that fasting can help to remove toxins from the body.

The greatest health benefits of a liquid diet how-
ever, are probably experienced by extremely obese
patients who lose weight on a medically supervised
meal replacement liquid diet. Obesity has been linked
with many serious diseases and such as diabetes, heart
disease, kidney failure, liver failure andcancer. Obese
individuals who lose weight can drastically reduce
their risk of getting these diseases and even reduce
the severity of their symptoms if they already suffer
from them. Health benefits can also be gained by
people who lose weight using a commercially available
meal replacement liquid diet.

Precautions
Anyone who has been prescribed a period of
liquid diet because of a medical procedure should get
as much information as possible about the specific
guidelines and follow those guidelines precisely.
Doing so will give the procedure its greatest chance
of success. Anyone considering a fast should consult
their physician and describe the nature of the fast to
him or her so that it can be determined if the fast will
carry serious risks. People with health problems
should not engage in prolonged fasting.

Very low calorie liquid diets should not be under-
taken without close medical supervision. These are only
intended for people that have large amounts of weight to
lose, generally over 50 pounds, and are experiencing
health risks because of their obesity. People considering
any kind of meal replacement liquid diet should consult
their physician to be sure the diet is safe for them.

Risks
Short term liquid diets for use before or after a
medical procedure carry few risks and are generally
considered safe if the patient follows the prescribed
guidelines and is sure to get enough caloric intake

through juice, broth, or other clear liquids. Longer

fasting carries many risks including possible damage

to the intestinal tract, impaired liver or kidney func-

tion, and hypoglycemia. Fasting also impairs the

body’s immune system which makes the body more

vulnerable to communicable diseases such as influenza

or streptococcus. Gaining fat is also a common risk of

fasting because, though the body may use stores of fat

during the fast, once the fast is over the body usually

rebuilds these stores quickly and often rebuilds more

than was originally available.

Medically supervised meal replacement diets can

carry their own risks, though these are usually out-

weighed by the benefits of weight loss for the extremely

obese. Side effects can include gallstone formation,

nausea, fatigue,constipation,anddiarrhea.Commer-

cially available liquid diets also have many risks

depending on the brand. Some are considered very

low calorie diets which are likely to result in malnutri-

tion. Many do not adequately replace the vitamins and

minerals that would usually be supplied by solid foods.

This can result in deficiencies that can cause problems.

For example, if the body does not get enoughcalcium,

the risk ofosteoporosisand rickets increases.

Research and general acceptance

It is generally accepted that, for certain medical

procedures, it is necessary for patients to refrain from

eating solid foods for at least 24 hours before the

procedure. Most hospitals have prepared patient liter-

ature about the precise guidelines that should be fol-

lowed for the most procedures.

Doctors disagree about whether fasting can have

health benefits, though most agree that it must be

undertaken carefully and carries many risks. Most

also agree that toxins do buildup in the body when a

QUESTIONS TO ASK THE

DOCTOR

 What sort of liquids should I drink on this diet?

 How long should I go before I can eat solid

foods?

 Is fasting safe for me?

 How will I know if my liquid diet is causing a

problem?

 Will I get proper nutrition from my liquid diet?

 Is this liquid diet the best way for me to achieve

my health goal?

Liquid diets