London, June 3: In a recent incident, thousands of people in Britain have been conned into following a fake diet which promises that dieters will loose 10lb in three days by eating frankfurters and cabbage.

The diet also claims to be backed by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

However, the charity has refused endorsing the diet and warns it is extremely unhealthy, as it does not provide many key nutrients.

Nicky Innes-Montgomery from Wirral, Merseyside, tried the diet but she fainted, as it required her to eat so less.

"The diet was awful, quite frankly. I tried it a few times and fainted half way through it once. I remember feeling constantly woozy with a cracking headache. I did lose weight but as soon as I ate anything afterwards, no matter how healthy, the weight came straight back on. I never kept it off," the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

According to BHF, the diet involved people to eat just 1,100 calories a day, which is much lower than the recommended amount of 2,000 calories per day for women and around 2,500 calories for men.

The diet claims that people will lose weight `through chemical breakdown' and that the diet is `proven' and `100 pc non-risk'.

In one of its recommendations, it suggests eating two frankfurters, half a cup of carrots and a cup of broccoli or cabbage, with vanilla ice cream for pudding.

"Apart from being wholly unappetising with the likes of two frankfurters with a cup of cabbage and half a cup of carrots for a meal, this diet is so restrictive in terms of the range and quantity of food that it lacks a number of nutrients we need to stay healthy," said Victoria Taylor, senior heart health dietician at the BHF.

She added that "the lack of fibre means followers could develop constipation while long-term use could also leave you deficient in calcium and iron, which can result in fragile bones and teeth and feeling constantly tired and lethargic if left unchecked." (ANI)