Raw Food Diet Has Captivated Dieters for Over 150 Years

"Let Food Be Thy Medicine" is the popular dietary quotation issued by Hippocrates in 400 B.C. Greece. Observation of thin, healthy Greeks led the physician to encourage patients to eat mainly a fresh, plant-based diet as a primary form of treatment. The Ancient Egyptian diet consisted of three staples: beer, bread and onions. Both the elite and lower class consumed these every day. Upper class Egyptians also dined off meat, fruits, vegetables and fine wines, whereas the poor were limited to soupy beer, fish and three staples.

Thousands of years ago, people started to believe that a sensible diet was one's civic responsibility to help ensure a healthy society. Listed below is an interesting chronology of fad diets:

• LIQUID DIET - Early mentions of an alcohol diet can be traced to William the Conqueror, who after becoming severely overweight later in life chose to follow a liquid diet consisting mostly of alcohol. He lost enough weight to resume riding his favorite horse and returned to battle.
• CELEBRITY DIET - During the 1800s, poet Lord Byron became obsessed with being pale and thin. He popularized one of the first celebrity diets consisting mostly of soda water, bread and vinegar. Young women started starving themselves to look fashionably thin and unhealthy.
• RAW FOOD DIET - Over 150 years old, the raw food diet instructs people to eat food that hasn't been cooked, processed, microwaved, genetically engineered or exposed to pesticides. Founded by a Swiss doctor, Maximilian Bircher-Benner, proponents still use the diet for weight loss.
• HOLLYWOOD DIET - Since the 1930s some dieters have believed that grapefruit helps to burn fat, especially when eaten before meals. Also known as the Grapefruit Diet, experts warn dieters about following extremely low-calorie versions of the diet for extended periods.
• DRINKING MAN'S DIET - Bon Vivant Robert Cameron published The Drinking Man's Diet, a pamphlet that sold 2.5 million copies. Based around a high fat, low-carb menu plan, this diet allows dieters to consume low-carb distilled spirits such as gin, vodka, rum, brandy and whiskies.
• THE BEVERLY HILLS DIET - Originally, Judy Mazel's diet required people to eat enzyme-rich fruit only for the first 10 days of a 42-day regimen. Highly criticized by experts, the New Beverly Hills Diet promotes all food groups but focuses on conscious food combinations of fruit and vegetables.
• PALEO DIET - The Paleo Diet emulates the food intake of the caveman and consists primarily of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood and nuts. Absent from the diet are dairy products as well as whole grains and legumes.
• HCG DIET - Hollywood celebrities Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly followed the HCG Diet that combines a fertility drug with a strict diet of 500 to 800 calories a day to lose weight fast.

The idea of dieting has been around for a long time, as obesity has plagued people for centuries. Moreover, the methods people have used in hopes of reaching physical perfection have varied wildly proving vanity often outweighs common sense. For a sensible approach to losing weight and keeping off, schedule a free weight loss consultation at the Metabolic Research Center nearest you.