Skip to content
16/05/2025 1:54 PM
Archiebronsonoutfit

Archiebronsonoutfit

Fashion The Revolution

Primary Menu
  • Home Shopping Network
  • Fashion & Shopping
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • Beauty Supply
  • Fashion Show
  • Winter Clothes
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
Watch Online
  • Home
  • These really are the worst diets in history
  • Sleeping Beauty

These really are the worst diets in history

Shirley P. Olin 29/07/2021 10:55 AM 11 min read

Table of Contents

Toggle
  • Don’t try these at home
  • 1558: the starvation diet
  • 1727: the “move away from the swamp” diet
  • 1700s: hot sand to “sweat out fat”
  • Early 1800s: the Lord Byron vinegar diet
  • 1830s: the “chastity” diet
  • Mid-1800s: rubber underwear
  • 1800s: diet pills… with arsenic
  • 1894: the corn flakes diet
  • Early 1900s: the tapeworm diet
  • 1903: chewing and spitting
  • 1923: the milk diet
  • 1930s: the Inuit diet
  • 1940s: master cleanse diet
  • 1950s: the cabbage soup diet
  • 1962: the drinking man’s diet
  • 1960s: the sleeping beauty diet
  • 1960s: amphetamines
  • Early 1970s: the grapefruit diet
  • 1974: the Hollywood cookie diet
  • 1981: Beverley Hills diet
  • Early 1990s: the Hallelujah Diet
  • 2007: the Kimkins diet
  • 2010: the baby food diet
  • 2013: eating cotton wool balls
  • 2018: celery juice
  • Send MSN Feedback










These really are the worst diets in history
















Lovefood




Don’t try these at home


In the quest for a trimmer waistline, better health and more energy, it seems we’re prepared to give any bonkers diet regimen a go. And the fad diet isn’t a new concept – we’ve been prepared to try food plans varying from mildly eccentric to downright dangerous for centuries. From the 1500s to the present day, loveFOOD’s nutritionist Angela Dowden selects some of the weirdest diets and weight loss methods to have ever existed.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1558: the starvation diet

Italian nobleman Luigi Cornaro wrote the first diet book, La Vita Sobra (The Sober Life) advocating extreme dietary restriction even before calories had been recognized. Aged 35, he turned around his own poor health (and reportedly lived to 102), by cutting his food intake to just 12 ounces (342g) a day and drinking 14 ounces (400ml) of wine daily. Over 460 years later there’s decent evidence that mice live longer when fed starvation rations, but it’s not been proven in humans.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1727: the “move away from the swamp” diet

This was the year that writer Thomas Short observed that overweight people lived near swamps. His treatise on the subject, titled The Causes and Effects of Corpulence, outlined the only logical way to solve your weight loss woes: move away from the swamp. Obviously, no connection between swamps and weight actually exists, but intriguingly there is some evidence that living in rural areas ups your obesity risk.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1700s: hot sand to “sweat out fat”


Sprinkling the body with hot sand was a bizarre 18th-century custom advocated for shifting those extra lbs. It was believed that the heat of the sand would help you lose weight through sweating out fat. We now know that it’s actually only water and salts that are lost through sweat. Plus, any water weight lost is only temporary – you put it straight back on when you rehydrate.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Early 1800s: the Lord Byron vinegar diet


British poet and politician Lord Byron was the first celebrity dieter. He survived on soda water and biscuits but also popularized drinking vinegar – a lot of it – to lose weight. Byron lost five stone between 1806 and 1811. Apple cider vinegar is still advocated as a weight loss aid but there’s no evidence it works and in large doses vinegar is dangerous – Byron swigged so much he had stomach problems.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1830s: the “chastity” diet


Reverend Sylvester Graham, after whom whole wheat graham flour is named, was an early advocate of temperance and vegetarianism. So far, so healthy, but Graham also believed that white sugar, refined flour and spices promoted sinful sexual urges and were best avoided. It’s likely he would be a bit upset that his legacy lives on in the s’more – a traditional US campfire favorite in which two graham crackers are sandwiched together with a layer of melted marshmallow and chocolate.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Mid-1800s: rubber underwear


Rubber underwear, including knickers and corsets, was the Spanx of the 19th century, holding in those wobbly bits. But more importantly (and yuckily) rubber next to the skin caused sweating, which was believed to help shed the lbs. Unfortunately, the fluid loss only caused temporary weight loss and the sweaty rubber undies made skin more vulnerable to infection.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1800s: diet pills… with arsenic


Pills and potions to speed up the metabolism have been around since the 19th century, but in the early days many of these seemingly miracle tablets contained small amounts of strychnine and arsenic, which consumers might not have been aware of. Chronic arsenic poisoning leads to cancer and liver disease.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1894: the corn flakes diet

Dr John Harvey Kellogg created corn flakes as a food for the patients of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, where he was superintendent. Like Sylvester Graham before him, Kellogg believed in making foods as bland as possible to curb sexual urges. And corn flakes fitted the bill perfectly.

Don’t miss: the shocking cooking advice from history you should never believe




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Early 1900s: the tapeworm diet

Why diet when you can have a very hungry worm inside you absorbing all the calories before they have a chance to make you fat? At the turn of the 20th century, tapeworms were sold in pill form for diet purposes and people lapped them up. Baby tapeworms can grow to 25 feet long and the side effects are more than just being deprived of nutrients – the US government banned their sale after people started getting seizures, meningitis and cysts on the brain.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1903: chewing and spitting


Followers of Horace Fletcher – a.k.a. The Great Masticator – believed that chewing their food at the rate of 100 bites a minute would result in weight loss. Even if this were true (it’s not) it’s hardly the recipe for a sociable meal with friends, especially considering Horace Fletcher’s acolytes also had to spit out whatever was left in their mouths that hadn’t turned to liquid when the chewing was done.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1923: the milk diet

Bernarr Macfadden was an American body builder who advocated consuming nothing but milk – four to six quarts of the stuff per day (eight to 12 pints) – for peak fitness. “I realize that one taking the milk diet has little time for other occupation – visiting, picture shows, etc.,” he wrote, “but if the highest beneficial results are expected, nothing should be allowed to interfere with the regimen.” Milk is nutritious stuff for sure, but it does lack vitamin C and fiber, and can cause digestive distress in people with lactose intolerance.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1930s: the Inuit diet


Swede Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who lived in the Arctic, argued that a high calorie diet of whale blubber, caribou and raw fish was the best because the Inuit who lived on this diet were slim and healthy. While this diet is high in heart-healthy omega-3 fats, it lacks fruit and vegetables and ignores the fact the Inuit are genetically adapted to their diet and burn a lot of calories in exercise and keeping their bodies warm.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1940s: master cleanse diet

Unbelievably this crazy diet still endures to this day (Beyoncé is a fan, apparently using the regime to lose weight for the movie Dreamgirls). There are various versions but basically, it’s a 10-day or so liquid-only diet consisting of three things: a lemonade-like beverage, salt-water drink and a herbal laxative tea. It will lead to weight loss because it’s so low in calories, but it’s short on nutrients and impossible to sustain in the long term.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1950s: the cabbage soup diet


The cabbage soup diet was hugely popular among 1950s housewives and has been in and out of fashion ever since. Essentially you survive on three to four servings of cabbage soup a day, which fills your stomach, but side effects like fatigue, light-headedness (and plenty of gas!) are common. There’s no magic – you lose weight on this diet as it is low in calories, but cabbage soup alone doesn’t provide enough protein or energy for good health.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1962: the drinking man’s diet

How about getting rid of your belly with steak and red wine? In The Drinking Man’s Diet, Robert Cameron advocated a diet of meat washed down with alcohol. Looking back, this was one of the first low carbohydrate diets and it was pretty popular (there’s still a Kindle version available via Amazon). Not surprisingly, Harvard School of Public Health declared the diet unhealthy as more than one or two alcoholic drinks daily is linked with cancer, heart disease, strokes and accidents.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1960s: the sleeping beauty diet

Bizarre and dangerous, the Sleeping Beauty Diet – which involves taking sleeping tablets and sleeping a lot to avoid hunger and eating – was reportedly used by Elvis Presley. Very worryingly, the sleeping beauty diet is still doing the rounds. 

Take a look at healthy eating facts you shouldn’t always believe




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1960s: amphetamines

Use of stimulants to speed up the metabolism soared through the 1960s, and in 1970–1971 a shocking survey revealed 5% of adults in the US had used amphetamines in the past 12 months. Diet clinics, where usually poorly qualified diet doctors (not real doctors at all) handed out these addictive medicines like candy, were everywhere. Side effects of amphetamines include anxiety, headache and dry mouth.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Early 1970s: the grapefruit diet

The grapefruit diet, hugely popular back in the 1970s, essentially involves eating a grapefruit at every meal, sometimes as a replacement for a complete meal. Like all weight loss diets, it works to whittle your waistline through calorie restriction. Interestingly though, research has since found that components in grapefruit may have a beneficial effect on blood glucose and insulin levels, at least in mice, and that could help prevent obesity.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1974: the Hollywood cookie diet


The Hollywood cookie diet is still around today but was launched in 1974. It’s a form of meal replacement diet that involves eating up to four high protein cookies in place of breakfast, lunch and snacks. Who wouldn’t want to get stuck into this one? Sadly, it’s not as fun as it sounds – the cookies aren’t Oreo-level yummy, and it’s hard to get enough of the unprocessed good stuff – such as fruit and veg – when so much of your diet is made up of cookies.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

1981: Beverley Hills diet


Promoted by Judy Mazel in her 1980s best seller, this faddy regimen allows only fruit for the first 10 days, carbohydrates on day 11 and finally protein on day 19. It’s based on the unscientific notion that blending certain foods inhibits digestion and that undigested food is what makes people fat. It’s complete nonsense and potentially dangerous too with very low calories and a lack of nutrients on some days.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Early 1990s: the Hallelujah Diet


This diet – from US Reverend George Malkmus – involved only consuming things that Adam and Eve might have eaten in the garden of Eden (though how he knew what they scoffed is hard to tell). Despite the wacky premise, the diet, which is still around today, isn’t too terrible as it is mainly based on fruits and vegetables. But it also advocates lots of supplements, which is often a hallmark of a fad diet.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2007: the Kimkins diet

This diet was originally promoted by Heidi Kimberly Diaz (a.k.a. “Kimmer”) who faked a 200lb (90.7kg) weight loss. The extremely low-carb diet involved eating as few as 500 calories a day and encouraged taking laxatives. Unfortunately, the awful diet got publicity in 2007 when it was featured in Woman’s World magazine. However, the magazine subsequently apologized.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2010: the baby food diet


The baby food diet is precisely what it says on the tin: instead of proper grown up food you eat puréed baby food. Most jars of baby foods are low in calories, made mainly of fruits and vegetable and low in salt, so in theory it’s not bad for you. On the downside, baby food doesn’t meet all adult nutritional needs and is monotonous, so chances are you’ll soon get bored. And because you don’t chew, you won’t feel full either.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2013: eating cotton wool balls

Cotton wool balls aren’t just being used to remove make-up anymore – in the past few years some desperate dieters have started the very dangerous practice of downing cotton balls soaked in juice. As well as providing absolutely no nutrition, cotton balls can easily cause choking or become lodged, leading to ulcers, gangrene and intestinal bleeding.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

2018: celery juice

Fresh celery juice is the latest wellness fad, which was largely kicked off by Anthony William, an LA-based wellness influencer who calls himself the Medical Medium and the “originator of a global celery juice movement”. Celery juice fans including Debra Messing drink a pint or more a day, claiming it helps with weight loss, skin problems, energy and more. In fact, there’s absolutely no evidence that it’s any more or less healthy than other vegetable juices.

Now read: From Coolio to Spam, here are 30 of the strangest cookbooks we’ve ever seen




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


26/26 SLIDES









Opens in a new window
Opens an external site
Opens an external site in a new window




Tags: diets History Worst

Continue Reading

Previous Alicia Silverstone took this styling tip from her Clueless alter ego Cher
Next Ohio woman attacks elderly Asian store owners after her card was declined

More Stories

11 Easy Tips to Choose the Right Engagement Ring for Her
8 min read
  • Sleeping Beauty

11 Easy Tips to Choose the Right Engagement Ring for Her

18/08/2024 9:39 PM Shirley P. Olin
Manchester Photo Diary 2022 – Let’s talk beauty
6 min read
  • Sleeping Beauty

Manchester Photo Diary 2022 – Let’s talk beauty

07/08/2024 10:41 AM Shirley P. Olin
Vanille Cornet – Quick & simple mit Dr. Oetker – The Beauty Blog
2 min read
  • Sleeping Beauty

Vanille Cornet – Quick & simple mit Dr. Oetker – The Beauty Blog

02/08/2024 11:58 PM Shirley P. Olin
May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • March 2020
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • December 2016

Categories

  • Beauty
  • Beauty Supply
  • Business
  • Fashion & Shopping
  • Fashion Show
  • Home Shopping Network
  • Property
  • Real Estate
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • Uncategorized
  • Winter Clothes

Recent Posts

  • Dress Like a Celebrity in 2025
  • Fashion Predictions for 2025: What to Expect
  • 2025 Fashion Trends You Can’t Miss
  • Eco Fashion Sales Are Skyrocketing: Here’s Why
  • The Bold Allure of Men’s Skull Bracelets: A Style Statement by RTZN

bl

BR

quinoaagent
MarketStrategist

SeedBL

Seedbacklink

bp

backlinkplacement.com

You may have missed

Dress Like a Celebrity in 2025
5 min read
  • Fashion & Shopping

Dress Like a Celebrity in 2025

16/05/2025 2:00 AM Shirley P. Olin
Fashion Predictions for 2025: What to Expect
6 min read
  • Fashion & Shopping

Fashion Predictions for 2025: What to Expect

10/05/2025 1:30 AM Shirley P. Olin
2025 Fashion Trends You Can’t Miss
7 min read
  • Fashion & Shopping

2025 Fashion Trends You Can’t Miss

08/05/2025 1:29 AM Shirley P. Olin
Eco Fashion Sales Are Skyrocketing: Here’s Why
6 min read
  • Fashion & Shopping

Eco Fashion Sales Are Skyrocketing: Here’s Why

01/05/2025 4:33 AM Shirley P. Olin
Copyright © All rights reserved. | EnterNews by AF themes.

WhatsApp us