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YouTuber Ankur Warikoo's tweet on weight loss supplements draws flak; doc warns of dangerous side effects

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YouTuber, entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo's tweet on his massive weight loss, 10 years ago, might have inspired his fans and followers, but doctors and health experts have claimed it to be misleading.

On Monday, in a series of tweets, Ankur shared how he lost his weight from 88 kilos to 69 in August 2013. He also shared details of his recent weight loss plan following which he had lost 8 kgs.

In his tweets, Ankur claims that for his recent weight loss, in which he lost 8 kgs and 4 inches from waist, he followed a high protein diet and did intermittent fasting.

"As a vegetarian, who doesn't like eggs a lot, I realized my diet was high carb-low protein. I changed the order. Today, my diet comprises a lot of paneer, nuts, lentils, quinoa, peanut butter, along with a daily dose of whey protein," he tweets.

On intermittent fasting he says, he increased the fasting period from 15 hours to 18 hours. "For the past 8 years, I had been on a 15-hr fast (last meal at 630pm, next meal at 930am - 3 meals/day). I changed that to a 18-hr fast (last meal at 5pm, next meal at 11am - 2 meals/day). No loss of energy, no hunger pangs, and an unreal light feeling," he has tweeted.

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During the 6 hours of eating window, Ankur says he consumes around 1500 calories. "It is insane how adaptable our body is. The first week was hard. But never a day after that. I could eat a large dominos pizza earlier. Now 1 slice (if at all) and I am full!," he says about calorie intake.

While his lifestyle habits have been appreciated, netizens have questioned his choice of sharing the supplements which he says was recommended by his fitness trainer.

In the tweets, Ankur has shared the e-commerce links of the supplements which he had used to lose weight. "These are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase by clicking these links I earn an affiliate income. 100% of that income goes towards sponsoring the education of kids who can’t afford it. In 2022, 123 kids were helped with a contribution of 54L," he tweets.

The e-commerce affiliate links of whey protein, omega 3, vitamin D3, ashwagandha, curcumin, vitamin B, and creatine have been shared by the entrepreneur.

Ankur's claims have been berated by several netizens; a detailed tweet from Dr Abby Philips, whose Twitter account goes by "TheLiverDoc" has caught everyone's attention.

The hepatologist has tweeted on the supplements shared by Ankur.

In a long tweet, Dr Philips has shared information about the common supplements used for weight management which have been shared by Ankur. Whey protein is for athletes, sportspersons, bodybuilders, those with chronic liver and kidney disease, says Dr Philips in his tweet.

"Omega 3 supplements are only useful in people with high triglycerides and for lowering high non-HDL. Creatine is only for muscle bulking and improved endurance (as creatine is an energy source). A major side effect is weight gain because it absorbs water into tissue. It's not for all and is for serious/pro bodybuilders only," he says in his tweets. “Some of the supplements (Ashwagandha and Curcumin) are highly liver-toxic in at-risk groups and cause non-dose dependent liver injury even in healthy people," he says in another tweet.

Several netizens have questioned the clinical evidence of using these supplements.

Read the tweet here:


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