Dangers of the OJ diet?

Question

I've seen the Orange Juice Diet mentioned in the media a couple of times over the years, and I wanted to find out the positives and negatives.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of this diet when carried out over a 2 week period?

Answer 1

The diet consists of 24 oranges per day plus water. Nothing else. So let's see how much nutrition you're actually getting per day. Percentages are based on US Recommended Daily Intake for an adult.

Calories: 1128 kcal (56%)
Sugar: 224 grams
Fiber: 58 grams (232%)
Fat: 2.9 grams (4%)
Protein: 22 grams (44%)

Vitamins

Vitamin A: 24%
Thiamine: 192%
Riboflavin (B2): 72% 
Niacin (B3): 48%
Pantothenic acid (B5): 120%
Vitamin B6: 120%
Folate (B9): 192%
Choline: 48%
Vitamin C: 1536%
Vitamin E: 24%

Minerals

Calcium: 96%
Iron: 24%
Magnesium: 72%
Manganese: 24%
Phosphorus: 48%
Potassium: 96%
Zinc: 24%

In essence, this diet is the same as living on sugar water, fiber and vitamins for two weeks. Without doubt you will lose weight consuming only 56% of a normal daily caloric intake. Unfortunately, a significant portion of that weight loss will be muscle since the diet meets less than half of your daily protein needs. It's also virtually devoid of fat, so it's quite likely you'd actually absorb far less of the fat soluble vitamins than it provides. You might also find that it would lead to dry skin and dry hair.

No, two weeks on this diet wouldn't significantly harm a healthy adult, but frankly it's a hideous diet that would result mainly in short-term fat loss and long-term muscle loss, which would make it all the more difficult to keep the fat off going forward.