Snake oil and miracle grapefruits

Diet fads through the ages

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

Humanity is, on the whole, a vain species, concerned with beauty standards and status throughout its history. We have also become accustomed to quick fixes, especially in an increasingly industrialized world, which is why, since at least the Victorian era, so many people have been taken in by diet fads promising instant results and fabricating health benefits. 

We’ve come a long way since Lord Byron was publicly starving himself in the 19th century, but it’s important to remember that most of our diet culture today is built on centuries-old pseudoscience, misinformation and deeply ingrained body-shaming tactics.

Origins-1950s

The general basis for Western diet culture existed as far back as the early 1800s; however, it wasn’t until 1863 that William Banting published what is widely considered the first diet book, Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public. Banting advocated for a low-carb diet, which is fairly basic nowadays, but the success of his publication was the first hint at a burgeoning industry that, years later, would begin marketing diet pills made with arsenic or tapeworm larvae.

Diets and diet fads — meaning mostly baseless ideas that became popular despite rarely or never working — especially took off in the 1920s. It was at that time when American physician and writer Lulu Hunt Peters popularized counting calories, a dieting strategy that remains popular today. While it can prove successful, it takes a considerable amount of dedication and calculations, and the fixation can often spiral into a full-blown eating disorder.

Anyone seeking a less involved approach in the ’20s (and beyond) might reach for a Lucky Strike cigarette, which was promoted as an appetite suppressant. By the ’30s, grapefruits were all the rage — for those who could afford them. Even nowadays, dieters will eat a grapefruit or drink the juice with every meal to allegedly help burn fat. This, in part, evolved into the idea of detoxifying cleanses in the next decade. The Master Cleanse was by far the most popular, despite requiring participants to eat and drink nothing but a concoction of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for between four and 14 days. Though the lack of nutrition and potential dehydration can severely damage the body, because Beyoncé claimed it worked for her, the Master Cleanse saw another boom in the early aughts.

While on one hand dieters were becoming obsessed with ridding themselves of harmful toxins, from the ’30s-’70s they were also taking plenty of prescribed amphetamines as appetite suppressants. By the 1950s, people were farting themselves out of house and home with the Cabbage Soup Diet, which let you eat as much of the fiber-rich soup as you wanted, but little else. Despite the smell, this fad, too, reemerges every few decades.

1960s-’90s

Later decades’ fads were both more fun and more dubious. In 1962, the publication of Sex and the Single Girl by author Helen Gurley Brown popularized the Wine and Eggs Diet: an egg, a glass of white wine and a cup of coffee for breakfast, an egg and a glass of wine for lunch, and a dinner of steak and more wine. Not to be outdone, men had their own version of the diet (which resurfaced in the 2000s) of whisky, gin, brandy and minimal carbs.

Today, we call this alcoholism.

In the ’70s, rather than drinking dinner, some people would follow the Sleeping Beauty Diet and instead drug themselves to sleep through their hunger. But if the excessive use of sleeping pills seemed a bit out-there, people could instead turn to cardiologist Robert Atkins and his new Atkins Diet. This low-carb eating plan isn’t as bad as being wine drunk at 8 a.m., but it can put people at risk for cardiovascular disease because of the increase in animal proteins, cholesterol and saturated fats.

Five years later, the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs told Americans to cut out fat, salt and cholesterol, leading to skim milk, low-fat everything and prepackaged meals like Lean Cuisine. That gradually grew to include plenty of plant and chemical substitutes like Splenda and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

2000s-present

From 2000 on, the diet industry essentially rehashed every idea and disproven theory from years past, including bringing back grapefruits, cabbages, tapeworms and oodles of vinegar. Everyone from Joe Plummer to A-list celebrities tried eating only baby food, ice, cotton candy, potatoes or cotton balls soaked in juice. The more recent trends — which are, for the most part, better and safer — prioritize a return to a pre-industrialized diet, turning away from processed foods. The Paleolithic Diet cuts out grains, legumes and dairy in an anachronistic attempt to emulate our Stone Age ancestors; whereas Keto is high-fat but bans most sugars, starches and grains.

While often extreme, these trends cut out chemicals and unhealthy fats and can promote a balanced diet with all the necessary nutrients needed for our bodies to function to the best of their abilities. Still, despite modern resources, people take things too far, such as with the Carnivore Diet. Strict adherents will cut out everything other than meat, eggs and some small amounts of dairy, often leading to chronic constipation, nutrient deficiencies and excess cholesterol. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy, whose dubious diet and health recommendations are worthy of their own article, is one such adherent — though he adds incredible amounts of fermented foods like sauerkraut.

If you are someone who wants to diet, remember that the industry is working to sell you things, be it products or ideologies. Always research the potential risks and benefits of supplements, diets or “healthy” products before committing to them, and know that no matter what, your weight is not tied to your worth as a human being.