The SlimFast diet is a diet that uses branded products to replace full meals ("meal replacement"). These products, which provide adequate nutrition while staying low in calories, include bars, shakes, and pre-made drinks.
The SlimFast diet is most commonly used for obesity and weight loss. It has also been used for diabetes, but there is no good scientific evidence to support this use.
Is It Effective?
NatMed Pro rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate.
- Obesity. Some research shows that people who follow the SlimFast diet lose weight. But the diet seems to work about as well as other weight loss programs, such as the Atkins diet and Weight Watchers. Some research also shows that the SlimFast diet works about as well as conventional dieting advice.
- Diabetes. Early research shows that following the SlimFast diet for 12 weeks results in more weight loss than following dieting advice based on recommendations from the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Neither Original SlimFast or Sugar-Free SlimFast drinks seem to affect blood glucose levels.
- Other conditions.
More evidence is needed to rate the SlimFast diet for these other uses.
Is it Safe?
The SlimFast diet uses branded products as meal replacements. This means that they are nutritious but low in calories. Consuming these products instead of consuming full meals is meant to reduce calorie intake and lead to weight loss.
The SlimFast diet is LIKELY SAFE when followed appropriately. No side effects have been reported.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn't enough reliable information to know if the SlimFast diet is safe to use when pregnant or breast-feeding. But there is no reason to expect safety issues as long as nutritional needs are met.
It is not known if this diet interacts with any medicines.
Before using this diet, talk with your health professional if you take any medications.
There are no known interactions with herbs and supplements.
There are no known interactions with foods.
The SlimFast diet recommends that a person consume two SlimFast meal replacement products each day around breakfast and lunch. These products should be consumed in place of a regular meal. For dinner, it is recommended that a person consume a low-calorie, low-fat meal.
Slim-Fast Diet.
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