FAD DIET?
YouTube star raves about extreme ‘tomato diet’ for weight loss – but experts aren’t convinced
The Kardashians' nutritionist is said to have come up with the bizarrely restrictive eating plan
YOU'VE heard of the cabbage soup diet and juice cleanses - and now there's another faddy diet kicking off online.
The "tomato diet" is a plan which was apparently put together by a nutritionist who works with the Kardashians.
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It involves...eating a tonne of tomatoes. All day. Every day.
A YouTube star tested out the extreme diet for a week to see if it burned body fat quickly.
ate tomatoes as snacks during the day, as well as packing out her lunches and dinners with the red veg.
On top of tomatoes, she also consumed lots of meat and veg at meal times.
"Tomatoes are actually the best food to burn fat," she claimed in her video.
While she admitted that it wasn't a sustainable diet plan, she said that her energy levels had been high and that the plan had made her feel "really good".
She ate a cup of cherry tomatoes for a snack in between breakfast and lunch, as well as "tomatoes with every meal".
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In the afternoon, she had tomatoes with boiled eggs or had tomato-flavoured snacks that she cooked in an air fryer.
"I can have as many vegetables as I want during the day", she explained.
Before she went to bed, she had a portion of fruit to spike her blood sugar, which she claimed helps her to sleep soundly.
At the end of the week, she said: "I definitely feel leaner", but is yet to actually reveal the results of the diet.
So, are tomatoes actually great fat burners? And how safe is it to do this kind of diet?
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They're certainly very good for you
Tomatoes are chock-full of antioxidants and have been found to lower inflammation and water retention in the body, as well as potentially helping to reverse leptin resistance.
Leptin is a protein which helps to regulate metabolic rate and appetite, and when we develop a resistance to it, it becomes harder for us to recognise when we're hungry or full - so anything that makes us more sensitive to it is a good thing.
They also help to maintain healthy blood pressure and have been proven to lower blood sugar in people with diabetes.
Oh, and they contain lycopene - a plant chemical that has been linked with one type of .
also found that the beta-carotene that exists in veg like tomatoes may reduce the risk of colon cancer.
But tomatoes aren't magical
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Had tomatoes been the key to weight loss, the diet industry wouldn't exist.
There's no doubt that a lot of people don't eat anywhere near enough fruit and veg but relying on one type to burn body fat just isn't how nutrition works.
Nutritional consultant and author of , Ian Marber is baffled by the tomato diet's claims.
"Are tomatoes magic? Have doctors been suppressing the information for some reason?"
He told us: "Tomatoes are a decent source of beta-carotene and lycopene, as well as other carotenoids, with anti-oxidant properties and also can offset mild inflammation.
"But that's it.
"It's a marvelous food with lovely properties - and it tastes good too. But tomatoes don't have magical fat burning properties as that's not possible."
And restrictive diets never work
Eating a shed load of tomatoes isn't a bad thing but if you're forcing yourself to only fill up on tomatoes, that's only going to end in failure.
It's in no way sustainable - you'd probably be sick of the stuff by day three and end up bingeing on something altogether less nutritious.
, Registered Associate Nutritionist at Rhitrition, previously told The Sun that "diets do not work".
"The research is there to tell us that. Yes, diets may lead to initial weight loss however follow up studies conclude that they also lead to long term weight gain.
"Dieting will lead you down a dark path and may encourage a very unhealthy relationship with food."
So by all means, up your consumption of tomatoes - they're nothing but good for you.
But don't expect to suddenly drop a load of body fat.
MORE ON DIET
Any restrictive diet that is low in calories is going to result in some weight loss but it won't last long.
You're much better off making an active effort to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible and ensuring that your fibre intake is high - keeping you fuller for longer.
That's more likely to result in you burning body fat than a week of faddy eating.
That's more likely to result in you burning body fat than a week of faddy eating.
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