Certain practices presented as natural appeal to those who want to lose weight. But according to nutritionist Jean-Michel Cohen, they are not only useless: they can also be risky for your health.
On the networks, advice related to slimming circulates continuously, often carried by testimonials or quick promises. In this flood of content, some doctors do not hesitate to intervene to correct preconceived ideas. This is what Jean-Michel Cohen, a well-known figure in nutrition, did in a recent video entitled “do not use this technique to lose weight”.
In the introduction, he recalled that “certain methods did more harm than good”, suggesting that the apparent simplicity of certain approaches in reality hides deleterious effects. His intervention aimed to distinguish what can be accepted in a weight control approach and what constitutes endangerment.
He first recognized that intermittent fasting, when supervised and practiced in an appropriate manner, could be considered. But he was categorical about another practice, much more radical. Based on a formula from the physiologist Claude Bernard, he explained: “the fasting rabbit eats rabbit”. Behind this image, the idea that the body, deprived of nutrients for too long, ends up nourishing itself. Concretely, the body will look for proteins where it can find them, that is to say not only in the muscles, but also in essential organs such as the heart, the liver, the kidneys, the spleen or even the lymphoid organs. This phenomenon has a scientific name: autophagy. For Jean-Michel Cohen, it is nothing more and nothing less than a form of inner “cannibalism”.
He also warned on another aspect: prolonged deprivation prevents any sufficient intake of vitamins and minerals, essential for the normal functioning of the body. In this context, the practice in question would not provide any medical benefit. What the doctor therefore strongly advises against is prolonged fasting.
A method that has been circulating for several years in wellness circles and which seduces with its apparent radicality, but which Jean-Michel Cohen describes as dangerous when used as a slimming tool. Far from helping the body strengthen itself or burn fat sustainably, it weakens it, exhausts it and exposes it to serious risks.
