Throughout the centuries, people have tried just about every diet going in the quest for a slimmer waistline and better health. However, fad diets are notoriously difficult to sustain –and, in some cases, they can be dangerous and even deadly. Here, nutritionist Angela Dowden rounds up some of the most eccentric, weird and dangerous diets from the 1500s to the present day.
We've all heard about calorie counting, but this restrictive diet was around long before calories were a thing. Written by Italian nobleman Luigi Cornaro, La Vita Sobra (The Sober Life) advocated extreme starvation as a way to lose weight and boost health. The author himself lost weight and reportedly lived to the age of 102 by eating just 12oz (342g) of food and drinking 14oz (400ml) of wine per day. Evidence suggests mice live longer when fed starvation rations, but it's not been proven in humans.
In 1727 writer Thomas Short observed that overweight people often lived near swamps. He published a treatise entitled The Causes and Effects of Corpulence, outlining that the only logical way to lose weight was to move further away from any swamps. Obviously, no connection between swamps and weight actually exists, but there is some evidence that people living in rural areas have a higher risk of obesity.
British poet and politician Lord Byron apparently lost a signficant amount of weight between 1806-11, surviving on a diet of biscuits, soda water and large quantities of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is still held up as a weight loss aid, but there's no evidence it works. In fact, drinking large doses of vinegar can be dangerous; Byron swigged so much he had stomach problems.
Wholewheat Graham flour is named after Reverend Sylvester Graham, who was an advocate of temperance and vegetarianism. He also believed that white sugar, refined flour and spices promoted sinful sexual urges and were best avoided. It's likely, then, he would be a bit upset that his legacy lives on in the s’more – a traditional US campfire favourite in which two Graham crackers are sandwiched together with a layer of melted marshmallow and chocolate.
Rubber underwear was the Spanx of the 19th century, with people hoping to hold in their wobbly bits and lose weight, thanks to the sweating caused by wearing such garments. Unfortunately, the fluid loss only caused temporary weight loss, and the sweaty rubber undies made skin more vulnerable to infection.
Most nutritionists agree that diet pills are not a healthy way to manage your weight. Popping pills to speed up metabolism became a diet trend back in the 19th century, but shockingly many of these seemingly miracle tablets contained small amounts of strychnine and arsenic, which consumers might not have been aware of. Chronic arsenic poisoning leads to cancer and liver disease.
American dietician Horace Fletcher became known as the 'Great Masticator' thanks to his belief that chewing food for 100 bites per minute would result in weight loss, making a person stronger as well as limiting the amount of food consumed. Followers were also encouraged to spit out whatever was left in their mouths that hadn’t turned to liquid when the chewing was done. Gross!
If ever there was a diet that should come with a health warning, it's this. In 1928, American cigarette brand Lucky Strike coined the slogan 'reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet', encouraging people to suppress their hunger pangs by smoking instead. (This photo shows a surviving billboard from the 1930s.) It went on to advise people to 'avoid harmful methods to reduce' and enjoy the delicious toasted flavour of Luckies as 'a delightful alternative to the things that make you fat' instead. Oh, the benefits of hindsight…
Bernarr Macfadden was an American body builder who advocated consuming nothing but eight to 12 pints of milk per day for peak fitness. He went on to say that, while he realised sticking to such a stringent diet based on milk would hinder people taking part in many activities, it was essential to stick to the regime if you wanted to see results. While of course milk is nutritious, it lacks vitamin C and fibre, and can cause digestive problems in people with lactose intolerance.
Swedish Artic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson belived that a high calorie diet of whale blubber, caribou and raw fish was the best, because the Inuit who lived on this diet were slim and healthy. While this diet is high in heart-healthy omega-3 fats, it lacks fruit and vegetables, and ignores the fact the Inuit are genetically adapted to their diet and burn a lot of calories due to their active lifestyles.
The master cleanse diet – a liquid only, 10-day diet where you drink a lemonade-like beverage, salt-water drink and a herbal laxative tea – started in the 1940s but, incredibly, it's still used by people who want fast results. In an interview with Oprah, Beyoncé revealed that she did the cleanse to lose weight for her role in 2006 movie Dreamgirls. It will likely lead to weight loss because it's so low in calories. But it’s short on nutrients, and impossible to sustain in the long term.
The cabbage soup diet became popular among 1950s housewives who wanted to lose weight quickly, and it's been in and out of fashion ever since. Dieters eat three to four servings of cabbage soup a day, which fills your stomach, but side effects like fatigue, light-headedness and flatulence are common. The diet is very low in calories, so of course you will lose weight but eating cabbage soup alone doesn’t provide enough protein or energy to maintain good health.
Shaping up while enjoying steak and red wine might sound like a great idea, but there are plenty of associated health problems. In The Drinking Man’s Diet, Robert Cameron advocated a diet of meat paired with alcohol – and this became one of the first low-carbohydrate diet trends. However, experts soon branded the diet unhealthy, as more than one or two alcoholic drinks daily is linked with cancer, heart disease, strokes and accidents.
It's believed the origins of the bizarre and dangerous Sleeping Beauty Diet – which, in the simplest terms, involves sleeping to avoid eating – are found in Jacqueline Susan's 1960s bestseller Valley of the Dolls, which saw one character going to a Swiss sleep clinic in order to lose weight. Worringly, this was a more recent trend involving taking sleeping tablets and sleeping a lot to avoid hunger and eating. It's a diet that was reportedly used by Elvis Presley, who even went as far to be put into an induced coma to lose weight.
During the 1960s, taking stimulants to speed up the metabolism was prevalent, and in 1970-71 it was revealed 5% of adults in the US had used amphetamines in the past 12 months. Diet clinics, where poorly qualified 'diet doctors' dished out the highly addictive medication like sweets, were everywhere. Side effects of amphetamines include anxiety, headaches and a dry mouth.
Obviously, replacing a meal with a piece of fruit is going to reduce your calorie intake and help you lose weight, but surviving on so little energy isn't the healthiest of solutions. Popular in the 1970s, the grapefruit diet involves eating a grapefruit at every meal, sometimes with nothing else. Interestingly, though, research has since found that components in grapefruit may have a beneficial effect on blood glucose and insulin levels, at least in mice, and that could help prevent obesity.
The Hollywood cookie diet still exists but launched in 1974. The meal replacement diet involves eating up to four high-protein cookies in place of breakfast, lunch and snacks. Sadly, it’s not as fun as it sounds – the cookies aren’t as tasty as proper biscuits, and it's hard to get enough fruit, veg and other nutrients into your diet when you're mainly eating processed cookies. You may lose weight but you won't have a balanced, healthy diet.
A fad diet devised by author Judy Mazel in the 1980s, the Beverley Hills eating plan allows only fruit for the first 10 days, carbohydrates from day 11 and finally protein on day 19. It’s based on the unscientific notion that blending certain foods inhibits digestion, and that undigested food is what makes people gain fat. It’s complete nonsense and potentially dangerous too, with just 800-1,000 calories a day and a lack of nutrients.
US Reverend George Malkmus created this biblical diet based on only consuming things that Adam and Eve might have eaten in the Garden of Eden. The diet, which is mainly based on eating fruit and vegetables, also combines using supplements from his company, which is a sure sign of a fad diet. Apart from anything else, we're pretty sure Adam and Eve wouldn't have had access to any local health food stores to get their hands on tablets.
Heidi Kimberly 'Kimmer' Diaz faked a 200lb (91kg) weight loss and made money from this scam diet plan, which promotes an extremely low-carb diet, eating as few as 500 calories a day and taking laxatives. The dangerous diet attracted attention in 2007 when it was featured in Woman’s World magazine, which subsequently apologised.
The baby food diet hit the headlines when it was linked to a celebrity trainer and a host of Hollywood stars. The rumoured diet plan involves eating 14 portions of puréed fruit and vegetables, plus an 'adult' meal in the evening. You'll lose weight quickly on this low-calorie diet but you won't get all of the nutrients an adult needs.
The diet fad of fresh celery juice was kicked off by Anthony William, an LA-based wellness influencer who calls himself the Medical Medium and the 'originator of a global celery juice movement'. It's claimed drinking a pint or more of celery juice a day helps boost weight loss, tackle skin problems, raise energy levels, and more. In fact, though, there’s absolutely no evidence that it's more or less healthy than any other vegetable juice.
The sirtfood diet sees you eat a selection of foods including kale, walnuts, strawberries, onions, chilli, chocolate and red wine, which are meant to boost the 'SIRT' proteins in the body that raise metabolism levels and reduce inflammation. The plan, which was created by by two UK-based nutritionists, Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten, involves drinking a green juice every day and following a calorie-restricted diet. The diet gained popularity when it was linked to Adele, who has since said she has never followed the plan, and experts say there is no specific research proving sirtfoods are beneficial.
The carnivore diet, cutting out all plant products and only eating animal produce (red and white meat, fish, eggs and dairy) has steadily gained popularity. Hugh Jackman reportedly used the diet to get in shape for his role in Wolverine, while other celebrities linked to the diet include Heidi Montag, Joe Rogan and James Blunt (the latter reportedly developed scurvy after two months on an all-meat diet). This eating plan misses out all of the important vitamins and nutrients from fruits and vegetables, as well as being dangerously low in fibre. These factors could lead to a higher risk of colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The lion diet, now a massive TikTok trend, takes the carnivore diet a step further, allowing only red meat, salt and water. The elimination diet, which claims to help heal the gut, body and brain, was originally created by podcaster Mikhaila Fuller, who says following it has helped ease her many health problems. Experts warn against it, though, saying the diet lacks nutrients and fibre, is high in saturated fat, and could lead to health problems including high cholesterol and haemorrhoids.
Now discover the diet advice you should definitely ignore, according to experts