Experts warn of 'fatal' problems with extreme diets after Shane Warne death

The Australian cricket legend had reportedly consumed only liquids for 14 days shortly before suffering a suspected heart attack in Thailand, his manager James Erksine said.

Exact details of Warne’s liquid diet are not known, but Erskine described it as a “ridiculous” juice “diet” during an interview with Nine’s Weekend Today on Sunday.

Warne had also opened up about being 10 days into “operation shred” on his Instagram account, revealing in the last post before his death he was determined to “get back” into shape.

Despite being a sporting superstar, known as the “Spin King” for his superior bowling abilities, Warne loved food like the rest of us.

He often spoke about his love of baked beans, was photographed regularly with a beer and a pie, and shared snaps to his social media accounts of tasty treats he enjoyed including ice cream, crumpets and hot chips.

Warne had begun eating solids again before his death, with reports stating his last meal was the classic Aussie staple of Vegemite on toast, prompting experts to warn of the dangers of crash diets.

Clinical nutritionist Leilani Finau said juice cleanses are prescribed on a short-term basis, explaining anyone who follows the restrictive diet for a prolonged period could experience “detrimental effects”.

“Juice cleanses are typically only used, or advised to be used, for 1-3 days,” the Sydney-based expert said.

However Leilani said prolonged juice cleanses can have a detrimental effect on the body due to the lack of calories and macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat) consumed.

“Juices are further stripped of important fibres in processing, which is already a lacking nutrient of concern in Australian diets,” she said.

“They also lend the subject participating in the cleanse to undergo prolonged periods of fasting which can lead to dehydration, weakness, fainting, and headaches.”

This is a sentiment shared by Peta Carige, one of Australia’s leading sports dietitians, who warned that adopting “very low calorie” diets such as a juice cleanse can negatively impact our overall health.

“A juice cleanse is not sustainable because it creates yo-yo dieting habits,” she told news.com.au.

“This long term can create damage to your metabolism at a cellular level because your body doesn’t like being in a big calorie deficit, so it slows everything down for your body to cope.”

What is a juice diet?

Juice diets are pretty simple in theory. In place of food, you consume nothing but juice for a set period of time. They are made of fruits or vegetables that can be homemade or store-bought. Some methods allow broths, but there’s absolutely no solid food eaten throughout the duration of the diet, often also described as a cleanse.

Are juice cleanses safe?

Crash diets have been around since the 1980’s from soup diets to juice cleanses and now the dangerous trend of water fasting, Peta explained.

People looking to lose weight are often drawn to a fad diet “as it is easier to consume one type of food over a shorter period than to commit to small more sustainable lifestyle changes”, she explained.

Melissa Meier, an accredited and practising Sydney-based dietitian, detailed the cons of juice cleanses, revealing most lack important gut-loving fibre found in whole foods and were sugar heavy due to the high fruit content.

She also said juice diets fail to provide muscle-building protein as well as low-GI carbs for long-lasting energy and healthy fats to keep you feeling full.

“By limiting your diet so much that you completely exclude entire food groups (grains, proteins and dairy), you’re also missing out on many essential micronutrients your body needs to work properly. It’s not good news,” she wrote for bodyandsoul.com.au last year.

Warne’s troubled relationship with crash diets

Warne famously turned to several different crash diets over the years including “traditional Chinese medicine”.

The father-of-three talked about teaming the Chinese practice with physical training to lose 14 kgs in 2021.

“I’ve been doing traditional Chinese medicine, I’ve been doing training and things like that,” he told Triple M’s Hot Breakfast in May 2021.

“I’ve dropped 14kg, I’m trying to lose another three or four more to get down to 80kg but I haven’t had any work done to my head. I haven’t had, whatever they call it, fillers, injections and all that sort of stuff!”

Traditional Chinese medicine is not science based and involves a mix of acupuncture, Tai Chi and herbal products. While it has been around for thousands of years, it is fraught with controversy over the use of safety issues in relation to the herbal products.

Warne’s son Jackson also revealed his father regularly used “30-day fasting tea diets” to help with his weight battle.

“Dad’s always starting and finishing these 30-day fasting tea diets,” the SAS Australia star told Daily Mail Australia in October 2020.

“Because when he looks in the mirror and doesn’t like what he looks like, instead of doing a diet and stuff, he tries this tea and loses weight like that.”

The cricket icon was famously banned from playing for a year in 2003 after taking a slimming pill that resulted in him testing positive for banned diuretic drugs.

Problems with crash diets

Over the years, only a small number of studies have looked at the effect of detoxification and cleanse programs on humans, Leilani said.

“Sure, some showed a positive change to insulin resistance, blood pressure and fat loss – but as a whole, the studies conducted have been poor quality (e.g. lack of peer review, minimal participants, etc).

“There have been no studies on the long-term effect of detoxification/cleanse programs.”

The other area to be paying close attention with cleanses is electrolyte balance, she explained. “These are electrically-charged ions found in the blood that are essential for many vital life-sustaining processes in the body such as hydration, muscle and nerve function, blood pressure, blood pH, and more.

“Balancing electrolytes including magnesium, sodium, calcium and potassium at all times – but especially throughout a restrictive juice cleanse is important.

“In most monitored juice cleanses conducted by a health professions, supplementation of these vital electrolytes would be advised.”

Sydney-based professor Gordian Fulde said Warne could have had issues with the “electrolytes in his blood” following his “very strict diet”.

“The danger behind only drinking a lot of fluid and water for days on end, and/or taking diuretics, is that you quickly deplete vital electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium,” he told the AFR.

“Potassium depletion can cause cardiac arhythmia, which can be fatal.”