The Chemical Diet

The Chemical Diet, Chemical Breakdown Diet, Chemical Reaction Diet and Three-Day Chemical Diet all go by the principle of pairing foods that work together to cause a chemical reaction to increase metabolism and create a fat burning effect. All of the above-mentioned chemical diets are fad diets and can cause serious health problems if used for long periods of time.

Do These Chemical Diets Work?

Food combining diets have little or no scientific evidence to offer to a dieter. A notable exception can be grapefruit. According to a study at the Scripps Clinic, participants who ate grapefruit before meals had considerably lower levels of insulin in their blood. Insulin promotes hunger, so lowering levels of insulin can help dieters control their hunger. The study further notes that a natural compound found in grapefruit may also be responsible for the weight loss.

Cautionary Details

All of the chemical diets are very similar in what an individual can eat on the diet plan. Since they are based theoretically on chemical balancing of food there is no substituting on these diets. If one does not like a particular food it is best to avoid these types of diets. If certain foods are to be consumed on these very strict menus then it must be eaten, like it or not, or you can do without. Due to the restrictions of the menus and low calorie count, chemical diets are very hard for most people to follow. If one can follow the diet, weight will undoubtedly be lost, not due to the combining of food but the low calorie intake.

On the various above-mentioned chemical diets the calorie count per day is very low, usually ranging from 850 to 1,000 calories per day. Low-calorie diets are only used by physicians when a patient is severely obese. Chemical diets will tell the dieter to follow the diet for three to four days then eat a normal healthy diet for three to four days, then go back to the diet menu and keep repeating the cycle until the ideal weight loss is achieved.

A healthy adult could follow a chemical diet and probably not have any serious health complications if the diet is just followed very short term, but this is not recommended. Consult with a physician and discuss diet goals with him before starting any diet.

One Day Sample Menu

Breakfast:
1 cup black coffee or tea
One half grapefruit
1 slice toast
1 tbs. peanut butter

Lunch:
3 oz. tuna in water
1 slice toast
1 cup black coffee or tea

Dinner:
3 oz. lean meat of your choice
1 cup of green beans
1 cup of carrots
1 apple
1 cup of vanilla ice cream

This is day one of the Three-Day Chemical Diet, but many different variations of the diet plan can be found. All of the chemical diets are very closely related with minor differences. What they all have in common is lack of nutritional value and not enough calories to sustain good health in most adults.