- Werewolf diet advocates juice cleanses at specific times of month
- Based on idea that moon affects water in our bodies in same way as tides
- Some claim fasting at New or Full moon can help you lose 6lb in one DAY
- Demi Moore and Madonna have both used diet, according to Grazia
- There is little evidence from science to back up diet claims
By Katy Winter
PUBLISHED: 18:26 GMT, 27 January 2014 | UPDATED: 18:39 GMT, 27 January 2014
Forget teenagers pining over Taylor Lautner in Twilight, werewolves are hot in a whole new way in the world of fad dieting.
A little-known diet is gaining popularity, with celebrities like Demi Moore and Madonna reportedly choosing to follow the 'Werewolf diet', Grazia reports.
Also known as the Lunar Diet, it is based on the idea that the moon effects the water in our bodies in the same way that it determines the tides of the oceans, and that this power can be harnessed to help you lose weight.
Some websites detailing the diet even claim it is possible to lose up to 6lbs in 24 hours.
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+4Demi Moore, left, and Madonna, right, have both apparently followed the Lunar diet
Though there are numerous variations of the diet, they essentially involve a liquid cleanse for a few days of the month; either at the full moon, new moon or beginning of a moon phase.
Fans of the diet claim the moon exerts the same gravitational pull on the water in our bodies as it does on the world’s oceans.
They claim this pull is biggest during a full and new moon, and undergoing a liquid fast during this time will enable the moon to flush toxins out of the body aiding weight-loss.
Some people also claim the moon can affect your mood and that fasting during these points in the lunar calendar will reduce cravings.
Advising only the consumption of water and juice, one website, Moon Connection, explains: 'It is critical that you start the diet on the very minute the moon phase begins.
'If the new phase begins during the middle of the day, you can eat or drink whatever you want up until that minute - then start your 24-hour timer.'
The website , which echoes what most other Lunar and Werewolf diets say, explains that the moon will act with the water in the body to aid detoxification and weight loss.
'Consuming more fluids will call on the power of the moon, stimulate renal activity, and allow your body to lose its excess water. This flushes out the toxins that accumulate in the body due to unhealthy foods, bad digestion, and stress, and provides a detoxifying effect that will strengthen your immune system.
‘You can also lose up to 6lbs during this single day of fasting due to the lost water.’
+4Followers of the diet claim that the moon will act with the water in the body to aid detoxification and weight loss
Most websites recommend only following the diet for one to three days at a time, but others say you can follow it for up to six days - which is longer than most dieticians would say was safe.
Worryingly, health experts fear this diet offers very little in the way of actual effectiveness.
While a juice cleanse for 24 hours may help you feel lighter, you are unlikely to lose more than 1lb in weight.
Added to that, there is no reliable evidence at all that the moon affects the water content in our bodies, nor that fasting at such a time would help you to lose weight.
+4The Warewolf or moon diet advocates juice cleanses at specific times in the lunar calendar
Speaking to the MailOnline about the 'Werewolf diet' British Dietetic Association spokesperson Jeanette Crosland, said:
'There may be some evidence that fluid retention occurs at some points in the menstrual cycle, and therefore at other points in the cycle this fluid will reduce.
However not every female will be at the same point in her cycle when a full moon occurs.
'If indeed the effect of the moon is to reduce the water content of the body, any effect is temporary and true "weight loss", the target of the weight reducer, is the result of losing excess body fat, not water.
'Any diet which restricts calories will normally result in weight loss, and this is yet another diet based on fasting for short periods, resulting in a reduced energy (calories) intake over a period of time.
'As with any period of fast, individuals should be careful of taking part if they have underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes, and should also be aware of the reduced nutrient intake from abstaining from food.
'Overall, this is another "diet" designed to catch the attention of the public, written in a way that suggest a scientific basis which doesn't truly exist and basically boiling down to a short fast plus a (hopefully healthy) weight loss diet based on reducing calorie intake.'
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