Claiming to cause weight loss, it recommends swapping daily meals for just ‘six’ biscuits a day

Heard of the Cookie Diet?

Claiming to cause weight loss, it recommends swapping daily meals for just ‘six’ biscuits a day. Experts warn that this eating pattern can be extremely dangerous

    We’ve heard of the Breatharian Diet, Baby Food Diet and the Cabbage Soup Diet, and now the latest import from the West has a new take — it involves just eating six 90-calorie cookies — to ditch the flab. Founded by Miami-based Dr Sanford Siegal, it’s said to have found a following among the likes of Guy Ritchie and Denise Richards. Mumbai folks have tried it too. You swap the cookies for breakfast, lunch as well as the snacks you usually have in between. A light healthy, dinner is permitted. But will biscuits work as meal replacements in the city?
IT’S NUTRITIONALLY RESTRICTIVE
Such eating patterns are a big no-no, says nutritionist Dr Sunita Dube. “I have heard of this Cookie Diet and recently a patient who had tried it came to me. She was weak, her energy levels flagged and she suffered from constipation on account of it as well. Though you may lose weight with this diet, as you are restricting the calorie intake, it will take a toll on your energy levels as it’s not balanced. I’d advise people not to follow it because it won’t fit into the Indian eating pattern as our bodies are attuned to proper meals,” she says.
    City-based diet expert Dr Nupur Krishnan also cautions against it. “This is a dangerous fad. “Eating six cookies or less will have an adverse effect — it can result in hair loss, skin and eye problems and irritability. Every diet should have macro (proteins carbs and fat) and micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals) which this does not have. Some people eat only cookies for breakfast too, which is also dangerous as you are not fulfilling a protein intake in the morning, which is necessary.”

When cookies can harm