Phoenix dietitian warns against cotton ball diet

PHOENIX — A dietitian is warning against a fad that involves eating cotton balls to lose weight.

According to a San Diego TV station, the fad encourages women to eat cotton balls soaked in orange juice as a way to suppress hunger and supposedly lose weight.

But Rachel Brogan, a dietitian at Doorways in Phoenix, told ABC News Radio that the diet is likely to do more harm than good.

“When it sits in your stomach, in your intestines, it may not transition through and you may actually become blocked and have a lot of GI (gastrointestinal) problems,” she said.

In addition to the potential blockages, Brogan also said that cotton balls have no nutritional value and most fad diets are ineffective.

“Most diets regain the weight back — plus some — because of the time the bodies are deprived.”