Grapefruit diet

Last updated

1929 article on the 18-Day Diet 18-Day Diet.png
1929 article on the 18-Day Diet

The Grapefruit diet (also known as the Hollywood diet and the 18-Day diet) is a short-term fad diet that has existed in the United States since at least the 1930s. [1] There are variations on the diet, although it generally consists of eating one grapefruit at each meal, along with meat, eggs, other foods that are rich in fat and protein, and certain vegetables. Sugar, fruits (other than grapefruit), sweet vegetables, grains and starchy vegetables are to be avoided. The grapefruit diet is thus a low-carbohydrate diet. A typical breakfast menu usually includes bacon and eggs. The diet is based on the claim that grapefruit has a fat-burning enzyme or similar property. The grapefruit diet does not require exercise. The grapefruit diet lasts for 10 to 12 days followed by 2 days off.

Contents

History

The grapefruit diet originated in the 1930s. [2] initially, it was referred to as the "eighteen-day diet" in 1929 , consisting of grapefruit, orange, toast, vegetable and egg combinations for 18 days, totaling approximately 500 kilocalories (2,100 kJ). [3] The originator of the diet is not known. One rumour traces the diet to actress Ethel Barrymore, who is alleged to have paid William James Mayo and his brother 500 dollars (equivalent to $9,000in 2022) to create a special diet for her. [3] The diet then became a fad in Hollywood and spread throughout America. [3] The Mayo Clinic has disavowed the grapefruit diet. [4]

Novelist Fannie Hurst was a notable devotee of the diet. [5] It was re-popularized in the 1980s and nicknamed the "10-day, 10-pounds-off diet". [6] The idea that grapefruit eaten before a meal acts as a "catalyst" to burn body fat has no evidence from biochemistry. [6]

Health risks

The diet was criticized as early as 1935. [7] Carl Malmberg commented that it lacks in all the necessary minerals (calcium, phosphorus and iron) and in vitamin A. He noted that many people became ill on the diet and "casualties" were heavy around Hollywood. [7] In 1936, Lewis Wolberg described the diet as "nonsensical, irrational and even dangerous". [8]

The variations of the grapefruit diet that are too low in calories (below 800–1,000 calories a day), too low in carbohydrates, or too low in essential micronutrients are considered unhealthy and potentially dangerous. [9] While eating half a grapefruit with every meal may be a good way to incorporate more fruit in the diet of a healthy person, grapefruit and grapefruit juice is harmful if the dieter is allergic to citrus, or is taking medicines that can interact with grapefruit juice. [10] [11] This diet will not be beneficial to anyone when followed long-term, as the extremely low calorie intake could lead to malnutrition and many health problems.

See also

Related Research Articles

Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients, have been shown to be no more effective than one another. As weight regain is common, diet success is best predicted by long-term adherence. Regardless, the outcome of a diet can vary widely depending on the individual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atkins diet</span> Low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins

The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins in the 1970s, marketed with claims that carbohydrate restriction is crucial to weight loss and that the diet offered "a high calorie way to stay thin forever".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food pyramid (nutrition)</span> Visual representation of optimal servings from basic groups

A food pyramid is a representation of the optimal number of servings to be eaten each day from each of the basic food groups. The first pyramid was published in Sweden in 1974. The 1992 pyramid introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was called the "Food Guide Pyramid" or "Eating Right Pyramid". It was updated in 2005 to "MyPyramid", and then it was replaced by "MyPlate" in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Fuhrman</span> American celebrity doctor (born 1953)

Joel Fuhrman is an American celebrity doctor who advocates a plant-based diet termed the nutritarian diet which emphasizes nutrient dense foods. His practice is based on his nutrition-based approach to obesity and chronic disease, as well as promoting his products and books. He has written books promoting his dietary approaches including the bestsellers Eat to Live, Super Immunity,The Eat to Live Cookbook,The End of Dieting (2016) and The End of Heart Disease (2016). He sells a related line of nutrition related products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarsdale diet</span>

The Scarsdale diet, a high-protein low-carbohydrate fad diet designed for weight loss, created in the 1970s by Herman Tarnower and named for the town in New York where he practiced cardiology, is described in the book The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet plus Dr. Tarnower's Lifetime Keep-Slim Program. Tarnower wrote the book together with self-help author Samm Sinclair Baker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fad diet</span> Popular diet with claims not supported by science

A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; as such is often considered a type of pseudoscientific diet. Fad diets are usually not supported by clinical research and their health recommendations are not peer-reviewed, thus they often make unsubstantiated statements about health and disease.

The Zone diet is a fad diet emphasizing low-carbohydrate consumption. It was created by Barry Sears, an American biochemist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-carbohydrate diet</span> Diets restricting carbohydrate consumption

Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein, as well as low carbohydrate foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special K</span> Kelloggs brand of cereal

Special K is an American brand of breakfast cereal and meal bars manufactured by Kellogg's. The cereal was introduced to the United States in 1955. It is made primarily from grains such as lightly toasted rice, wheat and barley. Special K used to be marketed primarily as a low-fat cereal that can be eaten to help one lose weight.

Body for Life (BFL) is a 12-week nutrition and exercise program, and also an annual physique transformation competition. The program utilizes a low-fat high-protein diet. It was created by Bill Phillips, a former competitive bodybuilder and previous owner of EAS, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements. It has been popularized by a bestselling book of the same name.

The Hay Diet is a nutrition method developed by the New York physician William Howard Hay in the 1920s. It claims to work by separating food into three groups: alkaline, acidic, and neutral. Acid foods are not combined with the alkaline ones. Acidic foods are protein rich, such as meat, fish, dairy, etc. Alkaline foods are carbohydrate rich, such as rice, grains and potatoes. It is also known as the food combining diet.

The Cambridge Diet was a very-low-calorie meal replacement fad diet developed in the 1960s. The diet launched with different versions in the US and the UK. The US version filed for bankruptcy and shut down shortly after the deaths of several dieters. The UK diet has also been known as the Cambridge Weight Plan, but is now known as The 1:1 Diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice fasting</span> Fad diet in which only fruit and vegetable juices are consumed

Juice fasting, also known as juice cleansing, is a fad diet in which a person consumes only fruit and vegetable juices while abstaining from solid food consumption. It is used for detoxification, an alternative medicine treatment, and is often part of detox diets. The diet can typically last from one to seven days and involve a number of fruits and vegetables and even spices that are not among the juices typically sold or consumed in the average Western diet. The diet is sometimes promoted with implausible and unsubstantiated claims about its health benefits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman Taller</span> American obstetrician and low-carbohydrate diet writer

Herman Taller was a Romanian-born American obstetrician who advocated weight loss based on a low-carbohydrate diet with polyunsaturated fats including safflower oil. He was the author of the controversial best selling book, Calories Don't Count which made false health claims.

<i>Fit for Life</i> Book series

Fit for Life is a diet and lifestyle book series stemming from the principles of orthopathy. It is promoted mainly by the American writers Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. The Fit for Life book series describes a fad diet which specifies eating only fruit in the morning, eating predominantly "live" and "high-water-content" food, and, if animal protein is eaten, avoiding combining it with complex carbohydrates.

The South Beach Diet is a popular fad diet developed by Arthur Agatston and promoted in a best-selling 2003 book. It emphasizes eating food with a low glycemic index, and categorizes carbohydrates and fats as "good" or "bad". Like other fad diets, it may have elements which are generally recognized as sensible, but it promises benefits not backed by supporting evidence or sound science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorge Cruise</span>

Jorge Cruise is a Mexican author, fitness trainer and proponent of intermittent fasting and low-carbohydrate dieting. He is the author of The Cruise Control Diet (2019) as well as books on The New York Times bestseller list: The 100 (2013), The Belly Fat Cure (2010), Body at Home (2009), The 12-Second Sequence (2009), The 3-Hour Diet (2006), and 8 Minutes in the Morning (2002).

Fred Pescatore is a Manhattan-based author and internist who specializes in nutrition. He is best known as the author of the bestselling children's health book Feed Your Kids Well (1998) and The Hamptons Diet (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlson Wade</span> American alternative health writer

Carlson Wade was an American alternative health writer who authored many books promoting detoxification, fasting, juicing, megavitamin therapy, natural foods and raw food dieting. He developed a fad diet known as the Enzyme-Catalyst Diet.

References

  1. ↑ Grieger, Lynn (November 8, 2007). "Grapefruit diets". Your Total Health. iVillage. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  2. ↑ William F. Williams (December 2, 2013). Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy. Routledge. p. 135. ISBN   978-1-135-95522-9.
  3. 1 2 3 Addison, Heather (2003). Hollywood and the Rise of Physical Culture. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN   9780415946766.
  4. ↑ Buchwald, Henry; Cowan, George S. M; Pories, Walter J. (2007). Surgical Management of Obesity. Elsevier. p. 84. ISBN   978-1-4160-0089-1
  5. ↑ "Fellows Find: Fannie Hurst and Diets". Ransom Center Magazine. Retrieved 4 January, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Taylor, Keith B.; Anthony (1983). Clinical Nutrition. Luean E. McGraw-Hill. p. 170. ISBN   0-07-063185-9. The Grapefruit Diet: Another name for this diet is the "10-day, 10-pounds- off diet." The premise of this diet is that grapefruit eaten before each meal acts as a "catalyst" to burn body fat and thereby causes hastened weight loss. This claim has no support from a biochemical standpoint and cannot be substantiated.
  7. 1 2 Malmberg, Carl. (1935). Diet and Die. Hillman-Curl, Inc. pp. 99-100
  8. ↑ Wolberg, Lewis. (1936). The Psychology of Eating. New York: R. M. McBride & Company. p. 128
  9. ↑ Asp, Karen. "Grapefruit Diet Review". AOL Health. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  10. ↑ Grieger, Lynn (November 8, 2007). "Grapefruit diets". Your Total Health. iVillage. p. 3. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  11. ↑ Callahan, Maureen. "The Grapefruit Diet". Health.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.