Extreme diets like the one Australian cricket legend Shane Warne was on could increase the risk of a heart attack for those who already have cardiac problems, said experts.
Considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Warne died of a suspected heart attack on Koh Samui island in Thailand on March 4, where he was holidaying. Prior to his death, Warne had reportedly been on a liquid diet for two weeks for quick weight loss.
After Warne’s death, his manager James Erskine revealed that the cricketer had just completed a "ridiculous diet," where he consumed only fluids for 14 days, a regime that he had followed three or four times earlier as well.
“It was a bit all or nothing. It was either white buns with butter and lasagne stuffed in the middle, or he would be having black and green juices,” Erskine told Nine’s Today.
In the past too, Warne had famously gained and shed weight several times and said he used traditional Chinese medicine for losing weight. His son had revealed that Warne regularly used “30-day fasting tea diets.”
Days before his death, Warne had posted an old photo on social media and said, “operation shred has started.”
"The goal by July is to get back to this shape from a few years ago," he wrote.
There is no evidence that Warne’s diet was the reason for his death at 52. Warne was a heavy smoker and had also been treated for COVID-19 recently. He had complained of chest pain and sweats earlier and had visited a doctor about his heart, Thai police told the media.
However, medical experts have warned that such extreme diets carry health risks and are ill-advised for most people.
“Juice diets appeal to people because they want a quick fix - but dieting is really hard," Aisling Pigott, of the British Dietetic Association, told BBC.
Although fruit and vegetable juices contain a lot of minerals and vitamins, they have very little protein and fat, which are also essential for the body.
"You'd feel drained and exhausted after a week," BBC quoted Dr Gail Rees of the University of Plymouth, as saying.
According to Garry Jennings, Chief Medical Advisor of Heart Foundation of Australia, very low-calorie diets introduced the possibility of heart complications under some conditions.
Melbourne-based dietitian Nicole Bando said detox or juice diets removed whole food groups such as nutrients from a person's diet, making them more dangerous for health.
A juice diet could lead to dilution in electrolytes such as potassium required for functioning of the heart, Bando told ABC News.
Juice cleanses are prescribed only for a short period of time such as 1-3 days, Sydney-based clinical nutritionist Leilani Finau told Australian commercial news site, news.com.au. Following a restrictive diet for a prolonged period could have “detrimental effects” on the body because of the lack of calories and macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) consumed, she said.
Those undertaking the cleanse could go for prolonged periods of fasting, leading to dehydration, weakness, fainting, and headaches as well, Finau said.
Prior to his death, the spin king had started eating solids. His last meal was reportedly a classic Aussie staple of vegemite on toast.
