There is No Legit Claim to Weight Loss from the Magic Mushroom Diet
A new diet fad claims that replacing one meal a day with mushrooms will help women lose fat and thus, lose weight, but only in certain parts of the body. These are the waist, hips, and thighs, but not the bust. This two-week magic mushroom diet is even finding its popularity and is one of the diets in the diet line-up of Matthew McConaughey for his weight loss preparation for his role in “Dallas Buyer’s Club.”
The two-week diet also called the M Plan diet has been touted by celebrities such as Kelly Osbourne, Katy Perry, and of course, Matthew McConaughey. Experts say that there’s nothing magical about mushrooms or any mushroom diet to lose weight for that matter. Replacing one meal a day with any vegetable will always help a person lose weight, according to studies conducted by registered dietitians from Live Science and the Harvard University School of Medicine.
The diet claim about selective weight loss doesn’t hold up to science. There’s no evidence that any diet will help to lose weight in a particular or selective spot in the body, according to the studies. How people lose, and also gain, weight is determined largely by genetics, but factors such as everyday diet, age, exercise, and even smoking habits also play a role.
Studies show older women are more likely to gain weight around their belly, likely due to changing hormone levels. Smoking has also been linked to an increased risk of gaining weight in the midsection. However, studies suggest that certain exercises may help people lose weight selectively. There’s evidence that walking is an effective exercise for helping people lose belly fat.
Other factors involve how people eat. For instance, eating a large breakfast at the start of the day means you will not go hungry during the rest of the morning up until lunch time, freeing you from snacking temptations. Eating proper meals at the proper times of the day means your body will have a balanced metabolism. Again, proper diet plays a large role in this.