Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Get The Facts About The Cookie Diet

By Ron George

The cookie diet may take the cake as the world's most awful ever fad diet. In essence this diet states that amino acids baked into cookies can control hunger.

Fad diets are short term diets in which people are to lose a lot of weight, and are popular because of their claims of great weight loss. Often times, like the cookie diet, these diets rely on one miracle food with amazing properties for weight loss. They are usually sold by a series of wild claims, much like the old pitch men pitched in the traveling medicine shows.

Sanford Siegel created the cookie diet in 1975 while he was doing research for a nutrition book. This cookie diet consisted of patients eating six cookies each day in place of meals, then eating a reasonable dinner. All told the daily caloric intake was about 800 calories. Very quickly the cookie diet became a huge success, with 14 clinics in Florida and 10 in Latin America expounding this amazing weight loss formula. In the middle 1980s over 200 doctors were prescribing Dr. Siegel's cookie diet in their own practices. The diet was quickly expanded to miracle soups and shakes that also contained the amino acids.

There is another version of the cookie diet referred to as the Hollywood cookie diet because it became popular with many Hollywood stars. This diet received a great deal of media attention in part because of the PR efforts of attention grabbing stars and starlets. Like the original cookie diet this Hollywood version replaced breakfast and lunch with cookies, then allowed a reasonable dinner. The four cookies allowed on this diet consisted of a combined 600 calories and various vitamins.

Do yourself a favor avoid the cookie diet. Remember that good health comes from a balanced diet and an exercise program. Forget miracle foods even if a star tells you to try them. - 16004

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