Fad Diets

Talking about our profession leads to the inevitable conversation about diets, the most healthy foods, cleanses, protein shakes, tips for weight loss, etc.  It seems everyone is looking for that quick fix (ie. the ideal pill that dissolves fat without exercise).  The conversation seems to never end, but when it finally does I want to sarcastically conclude with, “That’ll be fifty dollars for the consult.”

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a diet is food and drink that is regularly consumed.  However, when most people hear the word “diet” the general assumption is changing eating habits for a short time in order to lose weight – these are what I consider a fad diet.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) lists some tips stating a popular diet may be a fad diet if it:

• Sounds too good to be true, it probably is. “Lose 15 pounds in 7 days!”
• Recommends using a single food on a very consistent basis.
• Promises quick and easy weight loss with no effort.
• Eliminates an entire food group, such as carbohydrates or dairy.
• Guarantees an outcome in a specified time period.
• Bases evidence for effectiveness only on the quotes of other dieters.

There have been many popular diets through the years, dating back to the early 1800s.  Listed below are some of the most popular fad diets, which can be found on the AND website (http://www.eatright.org/NNM/content.aspx?id=5334), and some just sound so ridiculous (ex. Sleeping Beauty Diet)!

• 1820: Vinegar and Water Diet – made popular by Lord Byron
• 1825: Low-Carbohydrate Diet – first appeared in “The Physiology of Taste” by Jean Brillat-Savarin
• 1830: Graham’s Diet – only legacy: the diet invented Graham crackers
• 1863: Banting’s Low-Carbohydrate Diet – “banting” becomes a popular term for dieting
• 1903: Fletcherizing – Horace Fletcher promotes chewing food 32 times
• 1917: Calorie Counting – Lulu Hunt Peters introduces calorie counting in her book “Diet and Health, with Key to the Calories”
• 1925: Cigarette Diet – “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet.”
• 1928: Inuit Meat-and-Fat Diet – caribou, raw fish, and whale blubber
• 1930: Dr Stoll’s Diet Aid – first of the liquid diet drinks
  • Hay Diet – carbohydrates and proteins are not allowed at the same meal
• 1934: Bananas and Skim Milk Diet – backed by the United Fruit Company
• 1950: Grapefruit Diet – also known as “Hollywood Diet”
  • Cabbage Soup Diet – flatulence is listed as a main side effect
• 1960: Zen Macrobiotic Diet – created by Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa
• 1961: Calories Don’t Count Diet – FDA filed charges regarding diet’s claims
• 1964: Drinking Man’s Diet – Harvard School of Public Health declared diet unhealthful
• 1970: Liquid Protein Diet – liquid protein drinks were low in vitamins and minerals
• 1976: Sleeping Beauty Diet – individual was heavily sedated for several days
• 1981: Beverly Hills Diet – only fruit for first 10 days, but in unlimited amounts
• 1985: Caveman Diet – foods from the Paleolithic Era
  • Fit for Life Diet – avoid combining protein and carbohydrate foods
• 1986: Rotation Diet – rotating number of kilocalories taken in from week to week
• 1987: Scarsdale Diet – low carbohydrate, low kilocalorie diet plan
• 1990: Cabbage Soup Diet – diet from 1950’s resurfaces on the Web
• 1994: High Protein, Low Carbohydrate Diet – Dr. Atkin’s version
• 1995: Sugar Busters: Cut Sugar to Trim Fat – eliminates refined carbohydrates
• 1996: Eat Right for Your Type – diet based on blood type
• 1999: Juice, Fasting and Detoxification – perennial dieting favorites reappear in combination
• 2000: Raw Foods Diet – focuses on uncooked, unprocessed organic foods
• 2001: High Protein, Low Carb Diet – 1994 diet updated
• 2004: Coconut Diet – replaces fats with coconut oil
• 2005: Cheater’s Diet – cheating on the weekend is required
• 2006: Maple Syrup Diet – features a special syrup-lemon drink
• 2008: Banana Diet – bananas for breakfast, plus room-temperature water
• 2010: Baby Food Diet – basic plan: 14 jars of baby food a day, optional adult dinner

Most recently, I’ve heard about the GM Diet, which a friend mentioned online to my sister. Through researching the internet, I’ve found conflicting descriptions of the diet; many of the sources are blogs, which could be the main contributor of confusion.  The link (http://msync.org/health/GeneralMotorsDiet.html) describes the diet as a cleanse, designed to “flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well being.”  It is a seven-day diet where you must avoid alcohol and drink 10 glasses of water each day.  After summarizing several sites of information, below is the suggested  diet plan:

On Day One of the diet, the dieter will eat an unlimited number of fruits with the exception of bananas.  It’s recommended to consume majority watermelon and canteloupe.

Day Two consists of unlimited raw or cooked vegetables.  For the complex carbohydrate, breakfast will contain two baked potatoes.

Day Three the dieter will consume an unlimited mixture of fruits and vegetables, with the exception of bananas and potatoes.

Day Four limits the dieter to eight bananas and three glasses of milk.  There is a special soup recipe provided and this soup may be included this day in limited quantities.

Day Five is what the diet calls a feast day consisting of two 10 ounce portions of lean beef combined with six whole tomatoes.  Water intake must be increased by one (1) quart to help eliminate the uric acid that is produced.

On the sixth day of the diet, eating until your heart is content with unlimited amounts of beef and vegetables is encouraged.

Finally, Day Seven intake consists of brown rice, fruit juices and an unlimited amount of vegetables.

At this point the diet claims you will be 10-17 pounds lighter than before starting the GM diet.  However, I read a few testimonies these dieters and the results vary.  The description of this diet sounds just like a fad diet – it does seem too good to be true, promises quick and easy weight loss with almost no effort, eliminates food groups for entire days, guarantees results within a certain time period, effectiveness is evaluated on the quotes of other dieters.

All in all, we will continue to get questions about the best diets, quick ways to lose weight, super-foods etc.  All we can do is continue to recommend a healthy, well-balanced diet combined with exercise.  The rest is up to the consumer!