Each new year, many people resolve to change their diets, and some decide explicitly to lose weight. But going too hard on our new regimens – and in particular, “diet stacking”, where multiple diet strategies are deployed at the same time – can be seriously bad for our health, according to a new study from researchers in Australia.
“We know that individually, many diets have merit,” said Dr Caroline Tuck, senior lecturer in dietetics at Swinburne University of Technology and senior author of the study, in a statement.
“But stacking them can amplify risks such as nutritional inadequacies,” she cautioned. “For example, if someone is vegetarian and planning to start a low FODMAP (fermentable carbohydrate) diet to manage gut symptoms, they’ll find that many vegetarian protein sources are high in FODMAPs. So, when combining these two diets, protein intake requires careful planning.”
There are many reasons that someone might restrict their diet – in fact, the main one considered in the new paper is management of gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or celiac disease. In those situations, with proper medical guidance, following a particular regimen – or even more than one simultaneously – is fine, Tuck noted.
“But in other cases, people may accumulate diet strategies by layering them with additional restrictions such as gluten-free, low-fat, or ‘clean eating’ without considering whether they’re right for them or discontinuing diets that are ineffective,” she said. “This can potentially worsen symptoms, reduce diet quality, precipitate disordered eating and result in feeling physically and mentally drained.”
“Over the long term this could lead to chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, obesity, weakened immunity, poor mental health, osteoporosis and fatigue.”
People with gastrointestinal problems are already predisposed to nutritional deficiencies, the paper points out, and not only because you tend to avoid eating a varied diet when half of it could cause you extreme abdominal pain. IBD, for example, can increase the body’s energy production and protein turnover rates; celiac disease, meanwhile, makes it hard for the body to absorb nutrients from food in general.
So, while “medicating” with a change in diet can be beneficial, adding too many restrictions can make a difficult nutritional situation worse.
These gastrointestinal diseases are also a risk factor for triggering – and nurturing – disordered eating and eating disorders like anorexia or orthorexia, the paper points out. In fact, many of the same factors behind habits like diet stacking also lend themselves to disordered eating. “Diet stacking, especially when self-imposed and not undertaken in collaboration with a dietitian, is likely to be a significant risk factor for the development of eating disorders,” the authors write. “Given this, screening for disordered eating when individuals engage in diet stacking is recommended.”
Even worse is the case where someone is so convinced of the effectiveness of their diet stack that they stop treating their condition with real medication at all. “Healthcare professionals are posed with the challenges of convincing patients that diet is but one part of the equation to improved health,” the paper notes – and that “overemphasis on diet could prove to be detrimental to their recovery.”
Despite all this, Tuck says it’s good that more people are becoming interested in the role of diet in managing their health and wellbeing. But she warns against getting too obsessed with it all, advising against unnecessary dietary restriction or diet stacking.
“Given the rise in use of diet as therapy, combined with diet culture messaging on social media, diet stacking is increasing,” said Tuck. ”Proper education and guidance with an Accredited Practising Dietitian ensures that diet strategies are used in a safe and effective way.”
The paper is published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Open.
If you or someone you know might have an eating disorder, help and support are available in the US at nationaleatingdisorders.org. In the UK, help and support are available at beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
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