Diet Books:
Oh, the Places You Will Go!
You may have noticed that diet book authors like to throw around geographic terms when
penning their books. What exactly does it mean to the authors to diet like a French woman, a
person from Sonoma, someone living on Martha’s Vineyard, or an individual residing in Beverly
Hills? This article will help you find out.
The New Beverly Hills Diet
The whole premise of this diet is eating the correct combinations of food at the correct times.
You only can eat protein with other protein or fat, and carbohydrates with other carbohydrates or
fat. You can not combine protein and carbohydrate at the same meal. You can not eat fruit with
anything else. You also can not just combine your fruit, such as in a fruit salad. No, instead you
must wait at least 1 hour between types of fruit.
Once you have had your fill of fruit, spaced out by at least 1 hour, the author, Judy Mazel, states
that you have to wait at least 2 hours before eating anything else (protein, carbohydrate, or fat).
Once you have eaten anything else—a protein, a carbohydrate, or a fat—you are done with fruit
for the remainder of the day. That is why you should start the day with fruit. If the first thing that
you eat after the fruit is carbohydrate, you can eat as much as you want (eg, an unlimited amount
of potatoes).
After you have any protein, up to and including the couple of tablespoons of milk in your coffee,
the rest of your food for the day must be made up of 80% protein. Of course, you are allowed
one “open” meal/day, during which you can consume carbohydrates and protein together. Once
you have had your free meal, again 80% of your food for the rest of the day must contain protein.
Here’s Mazel’s science: Protein takes a lot longer to digest than carbohydrate. Therefore, if your
body is already working hard to digest protein and you eat carbohydrate, the carbohydrate will
not digest—this is what leads to weight gain. Mazel states that enzymes used for digestion are
found in the food, which is not true; they are found in your body. This diet plan counts ice cream,
cheesecake, and milk as protein, even though these foods contain more carbohydrate than
protein. Mazel states that if you eat something greasy, you should just eat a large quantity of
pineapple or strawberries the next day to recover.
The bottom line: This extremely restrictive diet will certainly lead to weight loss, not because of
the food combining, but because the calories provided by this diet are very low. Of course,
Mazel asserts that one can easily lose 10-15 pounds (lb) within the first 35 days, which is a sign
that the diet is unhealthy, because a recommended diet rarely results in more than a 2-lb weight
loss/week. This diet is nutritionally inadequate. Mazel states that exercise does not help with
weight loss and that calories do not matter. The diet also does not mention portion sizes or
weight management. This diet is not based on scientific fact.
Recommendation: Avoid this diet.
Note: Mazel died in October 2007.
Final grade: D-
21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox™
This is a detoxification plan involving the consumption of liquids every 2 hours. Choices for
these liquids include water, homemade soups, fruit and vegetable juices, and powdered
antioxidant drinks (available for purchase on the author’s Web site). The authors (Roni Deluz
and James Hester) state that this is not a weight-loss diet, but still you can expect to lose 21 lb in
the first 21 days.
People following this plan are expected to use enzyme capsules, an herbal cleansing formula,
aloe vera, lymph-drainage massages, cellulite treatments, liver flushes, kidney cleanses, body
wraps, detoxifying baths, and a weekly coffee enema and colonics. Lemon juice enemas and
daily warm water flushes also are recommended. In addition jumping on a trampoline is
recommended, because it will help with lymphatic drainage, according to the author.
After the first 21 days of liquid and colonics, dieters can add some protein powder supplement,
vegetables, soy milk, salmon, and fat-free yogurt to their diet. Slowly, individuals work their
way up to adding more foods back into their menu.
The following is a daily schedule for the diet detox:
8 AM
 Inner cleanse daytime formula (per container directions)
 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) of liquid berry or 1 fl oz of liquid berry with 6 fl oz of water
 One digestive enzyme (purchase at health food store)
 1 cup (C) of hot/iced herbal tea (add stevia if you want)
 8 fl oz water, squeezing in half of a lemon’s juice
9 AM
 8 fl oz water
10 AM
 8 fl oz of water mixed or blended with one scoop of Essential Greens
11 AM
 8 fl oz water and or hot/iced herbal tea
Noon
 8 fl oz “live” fresh-juiced vegetables
 One digestive enzyme
1 PM
 8 fl oz water and or hot/iced herbal tea
2 PM
 8 fl oz water mixed or blended with one scoop of VegeSplash
3 PM
 8 fl oz glass water and or hot/iced herbal tea
4 PM
 8 fl oz water mixed or blended with one scoop of Essential Greens
5-6 PM
 1 C pureed vegetable soup, made with distilled water and natural vegetables and spices
 1 C broth from soup mix, adding Braggs Amino Acid as an option (purchase at health food
store)
 One digestive enzyme
 8 fl oz water
 8 fl oz hot herbal tea
7 PM
 1 oz of aloe, if you want (purchase at health food store)
 8 fl oz water and/or hot herbal tea
 Inner Cleanse Nighttime Formula (per container directions)
8 PM
 1 teaspoon (tsp) of CALM mixed with 6 fl oz of hot water, as an option if you have a hard
time sleeping (purchase at health food store)
The bottom line: This diet plan provides about 1000 calories and 20 g of protein/day. Fat, fiber,
and several vitamins and minerals are sorely lacking. A person following this plan can expect
muscular wasting and nutritional deficiencies. In addition, this diet may drastically impact your
immune function. The berry drink, vegetable drink, green drink, inner cleanse, and protein for
your 9 days of maintenance amounts to $213.95 (as of August 2009, including shipping),
available from the author’s Web site. This plan, including the enemas and lymphatic drainage,
combined with the very-low caloric and nutrient intake, is sometimes quite dangerous. At best, a
person following this plan can expect to feel dizzy, nauseous, and light-headed. At worst, serious
cardiac problems could arise.
Final grade : F-
French Women Don’t Get Fat
Written by the chief executive officer of the champagne Veuve Clicquot Company, Mireille
Guiliano, this “nondiet” begins with a 2-day leek soup only jump-start, which does sound
decidedly diet-like. Some of the main premises of the book are actually very good—choose highquality foods, watch your portion sizes, and enjoy every bite. It does not include a list of foods
that are not allowed. You can include everything in moderation after the leek-soup phase.
Food journals are recommended, something that all nutrition experts agree with. Fresh and
seasonal ingredients are focused on, which is another well-grounded piece of advice. Guiliano
states that yogurt is the perfect food and recommends eating it once or twice a day.
The bottom line: Much of the advice in this book is sound. However, French women do get fat,
and the rates of overweight and obesity in France are going up, although they are still much
lower than the rate in America. In some places, however, Guiliano is mistaken. Leeks do not
contain any special weight-loss properties, and chocolate does not contain serotonin. Starting any
diet with a special “fast” is an obvious sign that something is not right. Exercise is strongly
recommended in this book, but not in the running on a treadmill in a bright, crowded gym way.
Instead, Guiliano recommends walking more and driving less, and working physical activity into
your normal daily routine.
French Women for All Seasons, published in 2006, includes recipes and more sensible strategies
for eating intuitively.
Final grade: A-
The Sonoma Diet
The Sonoma Diet is the only diet on this page written by an actual nutrition expert, Connie
Guttersen PhD, RD. The only foods not recommended on this plan (after the induction phase) are
foods high in saturated fat, sugar, and/or refined white flour. Whole foods, including plenty of
fruits and vegetables, make up the bulk of this plan. The 10 “power foods” that Guttersen lists
are almonds, bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, extra virgin olive oil, grapes, spinach,
strawberries, tomatoes, and whole grains.
During the first 10-day induction phase, Guttersen recommends removing almost all of the
processed foods from your kitchen. This makes good sense. However, she takes it a step too far
when she also recommends not eating any fruits and several varieties of vegetables, in addition
to restricting dairy to avoid naturally occurring sugar.
The bottom line: After the first 10-day “wave,” all of the advice offered in this book is sound.
However, it is perhaps unrealistic to expect a person to absolutely give up all processed foods,
with no exceptions, although we can all agree that this is the ideal scenario. For some people, the
calories and carbohydrate provided are not adequate, especially in the first wave.
Final grade: A-
References and recommended readings
Adams M. Sonoma diet. Accessed at: http://www.swedish.org/123477.cfm. Accessed August 1,
2009.
Adams M. The new Beverly Hills diet. Accessed at: http://www.thirdage.com/weight-loss/thenew-beverly-hills-diet. Accessed August 1, 2009.
Choose your diet: the new Beverly Hills diet. Available at:
http://www.chooseyourdiet.com/articles/75/1/The-New-Beverly-Hills-Diet. Accessed August 1,
2009.
Guiliano M. French women don’t get fat. Available at: http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/.
Accessed August 1, 2009.
Guiliano M. Mireille Guiliano. Available at: http://www.mireilleguiliano.com/. Accessed August
1, 2009.
Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox: 21 pounds in 21 days. Available at: http://mvdietdetox.com/.
Accessed August 1, 2009.
Morales T. Why ‘French women don’t get fat’. Available at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/12/earlyshow/leisure/books/main666429.shtml.
Accessed August 1, 2009.
The Diet Channel. French women don’t get fat diet. Available at:
http://www.thedietchannel.com/french-women-dont-get-fat. Accessed August 1, 2009.
The Diet Channel. “The Sonoma Diet”—the Diet Channel interviews author Dr. Connie
Guttersen. Available at: http://www.thedietchannel.com/Sonoma-Diet-Interview-with-AuthorDr-Connie-Guttersen.htm. Accessed August 1, 2009.
Zelman KM. Lose 21 pounds in 21 days: the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox. Available at:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-21-pounds-in-21-days-the-marthas-vineyard-dietdetox. Accessed August 1, 2009.
Zelman KM. The French women don’t get fat diet: it’s a diet based on eating for pleasure and
portion control—experts explain how it works. Available at:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/french-women-dont-get-fat-diet. Accessed August 1, 2009.
WebMD. The new Beverly Hills Diet. Available at: http://www.webmd.com/diet/the-newbeverly-hills-diet. Accessed August 1, 2009.
WebMD. The Sonoma Diet. Available at: http://www.webmd.com/diet/the-sonoma-diet.
Accessed August 1, 2009.
Review Date 10/09
G-1132