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It’s a strict diet, also called the ‘Greenlane’ or ‘Sacred Heart’ diet, that claims to help people lose up to 4.5kg (10lb) over three days. It requires followers to eat specific combinations of foods across the three days, many of which aren’t particularly healthy, including hot dogs, salty crackers and ice cream.
- Overview
- What is the 3-Day Cardiac Diet?
- Foods to eat (and avoid)
- Does it aid weight loss or heart health?
- Downsides and side effects
- Sample 3-day menu
- The bottom line
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet promises to help you lose up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in 3 days. However, it has been criticized for being restrictive, ineffective, and potentially risky.
This article evaluates the effectiveness and downsides of the 3-Day Cardiac Diet.
rating score breakdown
•Overall score: 0.25
•Weight loss: 1
•Healthy eating: 0
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet is said to boost weight loss and enhance heart health.
Also known as the Birmingham Diet, it’s rumored to have been developed at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, although there’s no evidence to support this. Some say it was created to help people with heart disease lose weight before surgery.
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet sets strict limits on foods you can eat during specific meals. Meals generally consist of a protein source paired with fruits, vegetables, toast, or saltine crackers.
Salt and pepper are the only permitted spices. For dessert, vanilla ice cream is allowed once per day during dinner.
No other ingredients or substitutions are allowed.
The foods you can eat on the 3-Day Cardiac Diet are:
•Fruit: grapefruit, bananas, melons, and apples
•Vegetables: turnip greens, string beans, carrots, cauliflower, beets, cabbage, and broccoli
Weight loss
Because the diet is very restrictive and limits the amount of food you can eat, it’s very low in calories and may lead to short-term weight loss. Keep in mind that almost any diet with a daily calorie count of 800–1,000 will lead to a drop in body weight. That’s because you’d be consuming fewer calories than your body burns, which would result in weight loss. However, cutting calories too much may lead to side effects like hunger, nausea, headaches, and fatigue (1). Furthermore, the diet’s restrictions only apply for 3 days of the week. You eat a normal diet during the other 4 days, meaning that your weight may fluctuate widely. As such, the diet may be unsustainable in the long run and lead to weight regain once you resume a normal diet. That’s because it fails to promote long-term lifestyle changes or healthy eating habits (2, 3).
Heart health
Although no evidence supports the notion that the 3-Day Cardiac Diet benefits heart health, it limits most processed foods, which may be beneficial. That said, while it cuts out most processed and high sugar foods, it allows large portions of ice cream, beef franks, white bread, and diet soda, all of which have been linked to adverse cardiovascular outcomes (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). According to a large study in over 105,000 people, those who ate more ultra-processed foods had a higher risk of heart disease over an average of 5 years (10). Still, the 3-Day Cardiac Diet is only followed for short bursts, with no guidelines for what to eat during the rest of the week. Thus, additional research is needed to determine how other components of the diet may affect heart health. summary Although the 3-Day Cardiac Diet may lead to short-term weight loss and limits many processed foods, its short-term, restrictive nature likely nullifies these benefits.
Limited research
One of the biggest drawbacks of the 3-Day Cardiac Diet is that very little evidence supports it. No solid studies back its claims that you can lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) rapidly or improve heart health on this diet. In fact, it eliminates many foods that support heart health, including whole grains and many fruits, vegetables, and legumes (11). This eating plan can be classified as a crash diet that isn’t based on sound science.
Highly restrictive
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet includes a very limited selection of foods in small amounts. Substitutions aren’t permitted, making the diet difficult to follow if you have any dietary restrictions or particular food preferences. It may also be challenging for adventurous eaters or those who enjoy experimenting in the kitchen. Furthermore, you may run the risk of nutrient deficiencies if you follow several cycles of the diet, especially because the diet cannot be tailored to people with different body sizes, activity levels, or nutritional needs. Remember that the diet provides an average of 800–1,000 calories per day, which is well below the amount that most adults need (6). This can not only leave you feeling hungry but also cause you to experience fatigue, nausea, and headaches (1).
Tedious and hard to follow
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet requires that you carefully measure foods and adhere to strict guidelines, which may be difficult and time-consuming. Additionally, it’s highly restrictive and doesn’t offer any flexibility, which can encumber social situations, travel, and family meals. Furthermore, some of these restrictions may promote an unhealthy relationship with food. Thus, it’s likely more challenging to maintain in the long run, compared with other eating plans. Summary The 3-Day Cardiac Diet is highly restrictive, dangerous, and difficult to follow. Plus, it isn’t backed by research.
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet provides strict food and meal composition guidelines.
Keep in mind that no substitutions or additional ingredients are permitted. Salt and pepper are allowed, but other seasonings, herbs, and spices aren’t.
You can drink black coffee or tea with breakfast, while diet soda is allowed in some variations of the diet.
Here is a sample meal plan for the 3-Day Cardiac Diet:
The 3-Day Cardiac Diet is geared toward people looking for an easy way to lose weight and improve their heart health.
However, it’s not only unsupported by research but also associated with a slew of potential side effects. It dangerously restricts calories, may promote unhealthy eating habits, and possibly lead to weight regain over time.
Lose 10lb in 3 days with the British Heart Foundation Diet! Nutritionally balanced & low calorie. Full three day meal plan and advice on our blog.
Reaching and keeping to a healthy weight cuts your risk of heart and circulatory diseases. Whatever your reasons for trying to lose weight, we’re here to help and support you every step of the way.
http://www.slimmingsolutions.co.uk/slimmingblog/diets/the-3-day-diet-meal-plan/2353/How to Lose 10lb's in 3 Days! With the 3 Day Diet; Full...
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Planning your meals in advance can help you to make healthier choices, save money and reduce waste. We’ve planned a week of meals that will give you a balanced, heart-healthy diet whilst helping you to control your spending. Amounts given are per person.
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