Crash diets - that involve drastically cutting calorie consumption for a few weeks - may harm heart function and reduce the organ’s ability to pump blood, an Oxford study has found. Patients with heart disease should seek medical advice before adopting a very low calorie diet, researchers suggest. Participants consumed a very low calorie diet of 600 to 800 kcal per day for eight weeks. After one week, total body fat, visceral fat and liver fat had all significantly fallen by an average of 6 %, 11 %, and 42 %, respectively. This was associated with a deterioration in heart function, including the heart’s ability to pump blood.

Source: Hindustan Times February 04, 2018 07:30 UTC