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Cotton Ball Diet: Not As Soft As Its Name

Updated: Oct 31, 2021

Writer: Tasnia Hakim Editor: Vienna Mak



It is common knowledge that throughout human history, there has been a certain conformity to unrealistic body standards, such as having a certain body shape or body weight. With bizarre expectations come bizarre “solutions'', such as diets like the HCG diet, where one consumes just 500 calories and supplements with human chorionic gonadotropin, a pregnancy hormone that falsely claims to contribute to weight loss or the keto diet, which is low card and high-fat. However, one of the most notorious diets to ever exist is the cotton ball diet.


You may have seen the cotton ball diet in many movies or TV shows, such as Scream Queens where Chanel 1 consumes cotton balls in order to “stay in shape” and impress her crush. The cotton ball diet is a diet where people consume cotton balls soaked in juice in order to keep themselves full and avoid obtaining real calories. However, this method is more dangerous than effective. It can lead to many health problems mentally and physically.


Cotton ball dieting comes from an obsession with losing weight. People may see food as an enemy and have a bad relationship with food as a whole. They eat cotton balls to distract their stomach from hunger to avoid real food. Many who do so in the name of weight loss also may have lower self-esteem and use it as a way to gain a sense of control and satisfy their internal negative thoughts. Thus, people who have done cotton ball dieting may suffer from disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and bingeing or depression. These disorders can cause insomnia, dizziness, abnormal hair growth, weak hair, more heart issues, dehydration, and low blood pressure. As a result, the cotton ball diet can cause a person to have mental health disorders or contribute to the negative mindset a person may already have.


Physically, the cotton ball diet can be just as obstructive. It is an indigestible product made of fiber and contains dangerous products such as bleach. Thus, it remains in our stomach and combines with other fluids, such as mucus, in our stomach. This creates something known as a bezoar, which can irritate our stomach and digestive system as a whole. As a consequence, one may experience the following: vomiting, intestinal bleeding, irritation, cramps, gastric ulcers, and tissue death. Furthermore, this diet can cause malnutrition. Since it manipulates one to think that they are full, the body does not gain any calories and does not have the nutrients required produce energy and regulate itself. Altogether, the long-term and short-term physical effects of this diet are very harmful.


Overall, the cotton ball diet is very damaging to a person’s physical and mental health, just as many other diet fads. These diet fads are created to uphold impossible beauty standards and to trick many people into believing that these diets are healthy. Furthermore, these diets can correlate with disordered eating which can leave a person with long-term negative effects. Eating disorders can affect anyone, regardless of factors such as gender, age, weight, etc. If you are or know someone who potentially has an eating disorder or does such impossible diets, please encourage them to seek professional help or let them know about the list of resources below. Remember that your health is not about you on the surface, but you on the inside.


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