Scarsdale medical diet

A weight-loss diet devised by Dr Herman Tarnower in 1979. The dietary regime has two stages which alternate fortnightly. The first stage consists of the medical diet, a strictly prescribed high protein, low carbohydrate, low fat diet. Protein constitutes about 43 per cent of the diet but fats are restricted to about 25 per cent. Sugar, pasta, potatoes, and all bread (except a high protein variety) are excluded and between-meal snacks are restricted to carrots and celery. Tea or coffee can be taken freely, but alcohol is not allowed. The second stage consists of a keep-trim programme. This acts as a relief period from the very strict regime. More foods are allowed and alcohol can be taken in moderation. The diet during the keep-trim programme contains less protein.

Although the Scarsdale diet may result in weight loss, it is potentially harmful. The excessive amounts of protein and low carbohydrate in the medical diet can result in the accumulation of ketones, chemicals that are toxic in high concentrations. These may not be completely eliminated during the keep-trim programme. See also ketogenic diet.

View more Food & Cooking videos

KEY TERMS Ketone bodies— A group of three compounds (ace-toacetic acid, acetone, and beta-hydroxybutyric acid) that are formed in an intermediate stage of fat metabolism and excreted in the urine. Ketosis— An abnormal increase in the number of ketone bodies in the body, produced when the liver breaks down fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. Ketosis is a common side effect of low-carbohydrate diets like the Scarsdale diet. If continued over too long a period of time, ketosis can cause serious damage to the kidneys and liver. Porphyria— A hereditary metabolic disorder characterized by the excretion in the urine of porphyrins, which are molecules that normally combine with iron atoms to form heme-a protein found in hemoglobin, the red pigment that gives blood its color. Some types of porphyria can be triggered by fasting or diets with severe calorie restriction like the Scarsdale diet. Very low-calorie diet (VLCD)— A term used by nutritionists to classify weight-reduction diets that allow around 800 or fewer calories a day. The Scarsdale diet is a VLCD.

    Description
    Function
    Benefits
    Precautions
    Risks
    Research and general acceptance
    Questions to ask your doctor
    Resources

What is the Scarsdale Diet?

The Scarsdale diet is a rapid weight loss regimen classified as a very low-calorie diet, or VLCD. It is also one of the oldest low-carbohydrate diets still followed by some dieters. Although the first edition of The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet was published in 1978, over a quarter-century ago, the book is still in print as of early 2007. It is reported to be particularly popular in France in the early 2000s. What are the Origins of the Scarsdale Diet?

The Scarsdale diet began as a two-page typewritten office handout drawn up in the 1950s by Dr. Herman Tarnower, a cardiologist who had built a medical center in Scarsdale, a middle- to upper middle-class community in Westchester County, New York. Tarnower had written the short reducing guide for patients who needed to lose weight for the sake of their hearts; he was not a professional nutritionist or dietitian. The two articles that he published in medical journals have to do with fever as a symptom of a heart attack and with management of congestive heart failure. His primary motive in writing down his diet plan was impatience; he disliked having to spend time explaining nutrition or other health issues to his patients and so chose to make up a weight-reduction handout. Tarnower gave an interview shortly before his death to the journal Behavioral Medicine, in which he stated, ‘‘If you don’t have a routine written out that you can give to patients with common disorders, it will destroy you. You try to go over all the instructions with each patient, but no physician has that much patience.’’

Tarnower’s patients often copied the diet for their friends, who in turn sent photocopies to other friends. At some point in the mid-1970s, following the early success of the Atkins diet, one of Tarnower’s friends, Oscar Dystel, suggested that he expand his office handout into a full-length book. Tarnower hired a writer, Samm Sinclair Baker, who had published other books in the field of nutrition, and the first edition of The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet was printed in 1978. It became an immediate bestseller, going through 21 printings in its first ten months in hardcover format. Tarnower’s book became the choice of four book clubs; it sold the second-highest number of copies (over 642,000) of hardcover books published in 1979, outdone only by a humorous book by Erma Bombeck. According to Time magazine, Tarnower’s diet book grossed more than $11 million by the spring of 1980. Sinclair Baker’s most important contribution to the book was to suggest four new programs that represented variations on the basic diet: the Scarsdale Diet for Epicurean Tastes, the Scarsdale International Diet, the Scarsdale Vegetarian Diet, and the Scarsdale Money-Saver Diet. These will be described more fully below.

Tarnower’s book received an initial surge in sales when it was featured in such prestigious fashion magazines as Vogue, which ran an article on ‘‘the Scarsdale-diet rage’’ in 1979. It received an even bigger boost when Dr. Tarnower was shot and killed in March 1980 by Jean Harris, a long-term lover who was then the headmistress of a prestigious private school for girls in Virginia. The made-for-media aspects of the murder and the trial that followed guaranteed that the diet book would receive its share of attention from the press and the public.

Created by: Dr. Herman Tarnower

The Scarsdale Diet is a seven- to fourteen-day plan that clearly outlines the types of foods to be consumed at three meals each day. Snacking is not allowed, and herbal appetite suppressants are encouraged. Meals consist of fruit, vegetables, and lean sources of protein in unlimited amounts.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)