Q: My friend went on an ultra-low-calorie diet through a weight-management clinic and spa, and lost about 100 pounds pretty quickly. Then he gained it all back. So he tried the diet again on his own and had a heart attack. What went wrong?-Anthony W., Aurora, Ohio
A: We can't say for sure without knowing more about his specific condition. He could have had heart disease or diabetes to begin with. But what we can tell you is that crash diets are dangerous because of the extreme changes that they can trigger in the body, affecting everything from mood and gastrointestinal function to heart health.
A recent study from the Oxford Centre for Magnetic Resonance in the U.K. used MRI imaging to discover what happens in the heart of an obese person who goes on a crash diet of 600 to 800 daily calories. What they found was that as the body starts to release its excess stores of fat into the blood, the amount of fat in the heart increases by 44 percent; in as little as one week, cardiac function deteriorates. By week eight of the diet, cardiac function starts to improve, but if someone has heart problems, like atrial fibrillation or clogged arteries, that immediate fat buildup in the heart could be fatal. You need a doc's guidance and maybe an 81-mg aspirin morning and night to decrease inflammation and clotting, which released fat can trigger.
Because going on one of these crash diets promises a quick fix, many people trying to shed pounds don't think about what can go wrong. But we know, and this study reinforces it: For major weight loss, slow and steady wins the race!
If you have 100 pounds to lose, think how long it took to put that on and give yourself two or more years to lose it. Then you can protect your heart, improve your health, and keep off the weight you lose for the long run.
Q: I'd like to cook more fish, but my husband hates that fishy smell in the kitchen. Any ideas?-Kaitlyn S., St. Louis
A: Yep. There are a couple of things you can do besides serving sushi (and we're not for eating raw fish-too many risks, from an upset tummy to parasites). You can start by serving smoked fish like Gravlaks or Nova lox that you don't cook. They still offer all the health benefits of fish, such as omega-3s.
There also are techniques that can nip the fish smell in the bud before it happens, prevent it from happening while you're cooking and remove the smell from the house if necessary.
1. Before cooking, soak the fish in lemon water for about an hour. Remove the fish and dry well before cooking. Lemon neutralizes a chemical in the fish called trimethylamine, which is responsible for that fishy smell. (Remember Susan Sarandon in the 1980 film, "Atlantic City"? She plays a waitress at a hotel oyster bar who puts lemon juice on her arms after every shift. When Burt Lancaster asks her why she does it, she replies, "The fish smell. I'm embarrassed.")
2. If you don't have time for soaking the fish (or forgot to do it), add aromatic seasonings like crushed garlic and fresh thyme to the pan as the fish cooks. And remember, when cooking any fish, saute in EVOO at a low to medium heat. High-temp cooking will burn off the fish's oils, and presto, that'll fill the house with a fishy smell!
3. If you blew it, and you've stunk things up, bring a shallow pot of water to a boil, add a dash of vinegar, vanilla extract and crushed up cinnamon sticks. Or spread some vanilla extract on a baking sheet, set the oven at 200, slide it in and leave the door open a crack. Your house will smell like cookie dough.
(c) 2018 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.