Water - You Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing

A while back, Martha told us about LighterLife, the extreme calorie-restriction diet that's popular in the UK. The diet is wildly popular even though some people have experienced serious health problems as a result. Now a woman has died from drinking too much water while on the LighterLife plan.

Jacqueline Henson saw immediate results after starting the LighterLife diet. One day, she drank four liters of water as instructed by the plan. However, she drank all four liters within a two-hour period. She complained to her husband that her stomach was "solid" and that she felt sick. She later collapsed and died at the hospital the next day.

Extreme diets like LighterLife are just that ... extreme. I find it frightening that people -- so desperate to shed a few pounds -- are willing to put their health at risk in the process. If you want to lose weight, stick to the old-school method -- eating healthful foods that total an appropriate amount of calories for your body type and exercise more.