The more dangerous Cotton Ball Diet surfaced in 2013. The prolonged fasting would eventually lead to starvation, but devotees have been spotted eating and drinking. Followers in a 2017 interview claimed food and water are unnecessary, saying they subsist on spirituality and sunlight alone. Instead of moving away from swamps, Breatharianism recommends not eating. His Avoiding Swamps Diet thus recommended moving away from swamps. In 1727, writer Thomas Short observed that overweight people lived near swamps. Some diets and their supporting theories went beyond food. It became trendy again every ten years or so, with the internet making it easier to share. The original recipe called for cabbage, vegetables, water and dry onion soup mix, but other renditions added ingredients like fruit, skim milk and beef. This diet involved consuming nothing but soup for seven days. One standout example was the Cabbage Soup Diet, first popularized by celebrities in the 1950s. There’s the Grapefruit Diet, which recommends half a grapefruit before every meal The Peanut Butter Diet and the Ice Cream Diet, both promising as much of said food daily as desired and the Shangri-La Diet in 2006, which claimed you could beat hunger by drinking olive oil about an hour before each meal. Other diets have allured fans over the years with the promise of easy weight loss through a single miraculous food. While vintage advertisements have been found, there is no evidence that tapeworms were actually sold. The worm would then live in your stomach and consume some of your food.
Theoretically, one would swallow a tapeworm or tapeworm pills. He recommended chewing food until it became liquid to prevent overeating.Īnother method rumored to be popular in the early 1900s was the Tapeworm Diet. In the early 1900s, overweight businessman Horace Fletcher slimmed down and made dieting a pop culture phenomenon with his Chewing Diet. Its long pill-induced sleeping bouts were said to inhibit eating.Ī more recent effort to mimic celebrities, the Hollywood 48 Hour Miracle Diet was joined by the Hollywood 24 Hour Miracle Diet, the Hollywood Daily Miracle Diet Drink Mix Meal Replacement and various dietary supplements. Elvis Presley was rumored to be an advocate of the Sleeping Beauty Diet. He would then give this to a homeless person. He reportedly ordered foods he disliked when out at restaurants, asking for a to-go box upon leaving. Celebrity dietsĪndy Warhol had a different approach to maintaining his physique. One of the original recipes called for apples, celery, cucumber, kale, lemon and ginger. Many were captivated by the promise of a deep cleanse or quick weight loss, while others saw it as an easy way to consume more fruits and vegetables. More recently, the Green Juice plan became popular. This “meat smoothie” was taken off the market after several followers died. The main ingredient was a blend of predigested animal byproducts – think hide, horns and tendons. The Last Chance Diet, published in 1976, consisted of drinking a very low-calorie liquid a few times per day.
Most include a daily laxative and copious amounts of water. Oz and others have since promoted their own versions, varying in length and foods allowed. Beyoncé made this popular again in 2006, saying she lost 20 pounds in two weeks.
All you had to do was consume a mixture of lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper six times a day for at least 10 days. In 1941, alternative health enthusiast Stanley Burroughs created the Master Cleanse, or Lemonade Diet, to eliminate cravings for junk food, alcohol, tobacco and drugs. “Cleaner” liquid diets, cleanses and detoxes are designed to supposedly rid the body of toxins, despite our natural ability to do so.Ī 1950 ad for ‘vitamin candy.’ nesster/flickr, CC BY The latest version, although not scientifically supported, claims that three teaspoons of apple cider vinegar before each meal will curb cravings and cut fat. This practice reemerged in the 1950s as the popular Apple Cider Vinegar Diet, which instructs people to drink a mixture of equal parts honey and vinegar. Poet Lord Byron credited his thin, pale look to vinegar and water.
This included so-called “manly” foods like steak and fish, along with as much alcohol as desired. Rumor has it he lived to a ripe 102 years of age, earning his approach the nickname The Immortality Diet.Īnother alcohol-focused plan, The Drinking Man’s Diet, was introduced in the 1960s. In 1558, Italian nobleman Luigi Cornaro restricted himself daily to 12 ounces of food and 14 ounces of wine. We do know of one case in which consuming more alcohol than food allegedly led to longevity.