Fad Diets

What do you think about the Herbalife Slim and Trim weight control program? It claims to do a lot of things and I don't believe most of what they say. But how is someone who isn't a nutritionist? to know? I've sent you a copy to see what you think. Your gut instinct to not...

There's a physician assistant at a hospital near me that is advocating a "protein sparing modified fast" type of diet that includes lots of lean meats and is not more than 800 calories/day. I have always read this to be a very unhealthy way to eat, but he insists it works and says he...

I read some of your nutrition advice on fad diets. I would like to point out that it has been known for decades that the brain burns ketones (Nelson et al, JBC (140):p.361, 1941; Owen et al. J Clinical Invest.46:1589-95, 1967; Hawkins and Krebs (there's a famous name) Biochemistry J. 122:13-18, 1971. In fact,...

I've read some pretty convincing ads about starch blockers. Do they really work and can I really eat all the starch I want? No. I had thought we had heard the last of the starch blocker issue when the FDA banned them. Starch blockers do not prevent you from absorbing starch and do not live...

Your comments on weight loss give much advice. I feel your suggestion, however, of consulting a dietitian for sound advice, is not the only recourse. There are many articles by nutritionists to rely on. The Herbal Life Plan is one such alternative and people may tend to shy away from even looking at any of...

Can you explain ketosis to me? When people eat fewer than 900 calories, any food eaten including protein and fat is broken down into glucose to provide fuel for the body. Protein and fat are very expensive fuels. You can only convert 70% of the protein and 30% of the fat to glucose. The nitrogen...

I was browsing your interesting and useful (and generally, in my opinion, well balanced and informative) website on nutritional Q&A, but I was troubled by one item that you may have missed the target on: In the Q&A item where the questioner asked about the possible benefits of fasting, you said, basically, that there are no...

I recently read a book called Fit For Life (Diamond) which contained some controversial material and ideas. I have a couple of questions concerning some of Diamond's proposals. Diamond says there are 3 natural cycles in the body. From 4 A.M. to noon the body is eliminating waste and one is not to eat...

On the Jewish day of atonement and my friends and I endured the annual 24 hours fast with ease. One of the topics of our conversation was fasting for health and cleansing purposes. I would like to find more information about week-long liquid diets and/or fruit diets that would be safe to practice while...

I was looking for an article on carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism prevention. I could not find it anywhere. Do you know anything about these inhibitors? How healthy or safe are they? I am not aware of any pills currently available that really do block metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, or fat. I would not recommend...