Topic: health fads

Dietitians Name 5 Worst Fad Diets Of 2012

Each year, the British Dietetic Association sifts through recent hyped up, nonsensical and celebrity-endorsed eating plans to make a list of the year’s five worst fad diets (or the “top five dodgy celeb diets to avoid” next year, as the BDA puts it). In 2011, the “blood-type diet” and the “baby food diet” both made the list, with the Dukan Diet taking top place — an anti-honor it received again this year. More »

Why Would Anyone Follow The ‘Paleo Diet’?

When I first started writing for Blisstree a few months ago, my boyfriend suggested I post about the ‘Paleo diet,’ which he had a few friends following. I thanked him for the suggestion, but dismissed it—a couple of weirdos eating bunches of meat did not a trend make. Since then, however, I’ve seen references to the Paleo diet—also called the caveman or Stone Age diet—cropping up in the media more and more. And everyone I’ve talked to seems to know someone on it. More »

Back to Fitness: 6 Retro Workouts Good For A Giggle

Will there be a time when we look back on Zumba, Barre Bootcamp or ‘Piloxing’ (that’s Pilates + boxing) and wonder what we were thinking? Probably! Fitness fads come and go almost as fast as fashion, driven by gyms, personal trainers, marketing gurus and the general cultural zeitgeist. But who cares? They’re fun while they last, and most burn at least a few calories (I said most). Here are a few of my favorite fitness fads, in all funny, freaky and fabulous historical glory. More »

Research Says We All Have “Enterotypes;” We Hear “Probiotic Diet Fad”

Humans love to classify things (at least I learned something from those college course readers on Derrida and Descartes), and the world of health and dieting is no exception: A recent study suggesting that there are three “enterotypes” is a prime example of our need to categorize and name things in order to understand ourselves and, of course, to diet. If you’re not familiar with enterotypes, don’t worry: I think you’ll be well-acquainted quite soon. Just like the blood type, body type, and even GenoType diets in the past, soon we could be choosing our food based on the type of bacteria we have our gut. But unlike most weight loss marketing ploys, this one might not be total B.S. More »

Kombucha: WTF? (What the Fuss)

Kombucha has been around for at least two centuries, but it’s really within the last ten years that it’s started popping up in grocery stores, health food shops, and occasional restaurant menu. In recent years, it’s become more than just a passing health fad; Hollywood celebs like Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Meg Ryan, Halle Berry, and Madonna have brought the drink into mainstream. (We know; some of those endorsements are better than others.)

To see what all the fuss is about, we took a few popular store-bought brands for a drive with four blind taste-testers: Two were Kombucha fans; two had never sipped the stuff. We can’t tell you whether or not these bottles will give you Madonna’s abs (although we’re pretty certain they won’t land you LiLo’s time in jail), but here’s what we have to say about how they taste: More »