health fads

Task A

Health fad Details

Coconut water Coconut water hydrates you and it is full with all the essential vitamins and minerals you need. Coconut water has been a popular drink for centuries but it has only recently become a popular heath fad. It has been called a super food and is also called "mother natures sports drink", providing the body with electrolytes.

The baby food diet A celebrity trainer started a pureed-food craze a few years ago when the trainer convinced her clients into replacing two meals a day with jars of Gerber and a healthy dinner.

The paleo diet The paleo diet is based on the stone age times. In those times they did not farm but they were hunter-gatherers. Their diet was based on meat that the men could hunt and nuts and seeds that the women could gather. This diet is also a new health fad but has been a diet for a long time.

The vinegar diet The vinegar diet requires you to soak your food in vinegar before you eat. A famous English poet, Lord Byron, supposedly lost 60 pounds from this health fad, however some people believe that he had an eating disorder. This health fad has been around since the 1800s so it is old.

The Grahams diet Graham Sylvester, the creator of Grahams biscuits, believed strongly in his healthy diet. He informed his followers to avoid coffee, alcohol, tea, spices and meat. Instead he recommended  eating pure water, fresh fruits, vegtables, whole wheat and high fibre foods.

Task B

1. Coconut water is promoted as a ‘Functional beverage’, one that does something positive for you, and is also promoted as a healthy alternative to sports drinks. It is marketed as a fat free, cholesterol free, low calorie and ‘Natural’ energy drink.  

The baby food diet is marketed as a weight loss diet, which was promoted by Celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson over the internt as a gimmick for cutting calories. 

The Graham diet is promoted as a strict vegetarian meal plan, not a weight loss diet. It is marketed as a religious philosophy where you have a spiritual connection between food, your body and mind.  

Hollywood celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Reese Whitherspoon, 

2. Rihanna promoting Coconut water.  

3. The marketing of coconut water has been successful because many celebrities, like Rihanna, Matthew McConaughey, Kim Kardashian and Madonna, promote this product. 

Like coconut water, the baby food diet is successfully marketed by Hollywood celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Reese Whitherspoon, who swap high calorie eating/ snacks for pre-packaged portions of unsalted, mashed up and mushy food. 

The marketing of the Graham diet is successful with vegetarians who have moral links between the food they eat and behaviors they follow. 

4.The marketing of coconut water can be viewed as being unsuccessful as some brands of coconut water are not what they seem, and have been proven to not contain what they say they do. Some people have then said that coconut water is no more nutritious than fresh fruit and water.

The marketing of baby the food diet has been unsuccessful because it still contains calories and can often lead to overeating. Also baby food is not good for adults as it is highly processed and does not have the essential nutrients. 

The Graham diet is not marketed today as it is not backed by scientific research but is based on Graham's own religious beliefs.

5. I would like to try the coconut water FAD because I play a lot of sport in hot humid conditions that makes me sweat and drains my electrolytes.

6. I personaly would not like to try the baby food diet because I dont want to eat processed, mashed and mushy food, that lack taste and nutrients.  

7. The coconut water FAD has no reported side effect for its use and consumption.

The side effects of the baby food diet may be incorrect nutrition and bad eating habits.

The side effects of the Graham diet include not being able to follow the strict vegan diet, which means removing essential food groups, such as protein.

Task C

Health fad: Atkins diet 

Person: Rachel Elizabeth Huskey, a sixteen year old girl from Missouri, USA.

Duration of the FAD: The Atkins diet was invented 30 years ago by American Dr Robert Atkins. She was on the diet for 7 weeks 

Reason: She wanted to lose weight.

Symptoms: The autopsy showed that she had low levels of potassium and calcium in her blood when she died.

Did the health fad work?: Yes it was successuful she lost between 7 and 9 kilograms before she lost her life.

Similar cases: I could not find anyone else who has died from the atkins disease. However, Jody Gorran, a 53-year-old Florida businessman claimed "I contend that the Atkins diet gave me heart disease". 

Heath fad: Breathiarian diet. 

Person: A Swiss woman.

Duration of the FAD: She was on the fad for four weeks. The fad began in the 1990s.  

Reason: She copied the documentary "In the beginning there was light".

Symptoms: She starved and dehydrated herself for a week then resumed drinking.

Did the health fad work?: no she died. 

Similar cases: 3 other people have died from the same fad since the 1990.

Task D

Tanning beds

They were addictid to the sun and would go to the tanning booth very reguarly like 3 to 6 times a week.

Side effects: The side affects were that they have a possibility of getting skin cancer then they would have to pay thousands to get it fixed because of the Uv ays they are very dangerous and they affect your immune system.

Reason for use: These people who use this fad is because they believe that they have to be tanned to be attractive.

Amphetamine pills

Side affects: the side affects were lots of energy, got very mean, got moody, snaped with anger quick, felt nauseous, heat pumped fast and had big migraines.

reason for use: Was to lose weight and she succeded because she lost 80 pounds.

Extra information: The pills were only ment to be used for three moths but her docters kept prescribing them but she got of them at nine months when the professional docters reseached they said to only be on the pills for three months.      

Task E

Conclusion 

These questions have showed me that some health fads are dangerous and make money from endorsements by celebrities.

Companies want to make money and by getting famous to endorse their products is a way to sell it to general public. For example, Rihana is used in the marketing of coconut water.

I like a plan which is called 80/20 which means that you eat healthy food, 80% of the time, including fruit, veggetables, protein and plenty of clean water. The other 20% can include foods like treats, such as cake, ice-cream or mint slice biscuits.  You will definitely need excersise like sport, martial arts, running and gym work. You could also include some relaxing techniques, such as yoga, tai chi and walking the dog.