The Scarsdale diet is a high-protein low-carbohydrate

fad diet A fad diet is a diet that becomes popular for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements. There is no single defi ...

designed for

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat ( adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other co ...

created in the 1970s by Herman Tarnower, named for the town in New York where he practiced

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular h ...

, described in the book ''The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet plus Dr. Tarnower's Lifetime Keep-Slim Program'', which Tarnower wrote with self-help author

Samm Sinclair Baker Samm Sinclair Baker (born in Paterson, New Jersey, July 29, 1909 – March 5, 1997) was the author/co-author of many how-to and self-help books, most notably ''The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet'' which he co-authored with Dr. Herman Tarnower ...

Overview

The diet is similar to the

Atkins Diet The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins in the 1970s, marketed with claims that carbohydrate restriction is crucial to weight loss and that the diet offered "a high calorie way to stay thin forever". The diet be ...

and Stillman diet in calling for a high protein low-carbohydrate diet, but also emphasizes fruits and vegetables.Berland, Theodore. (1983). ''Rating the Diets''. Beekman House. pp. 96-101. The diet restricts certain foods but allows an unrestricted amount of animal protein, especially eggs, fish, lean meats and poultry. On Sunday the diet recommended "plenty of steak" with tomatoes, celery or brussels sprouts. The Scarsdale diet is low-calorie, 1,000 calories per day and lasts between seven and fourteen days. The book was originally published in 1978 and received an unexpected boost in popular sales when its author, Herman Tarnower, was murdered in 1980 by his jilted lover

Jean Harris Jean Struven Harris (April 27, 1923 – December 23, 2012) was the headmistress of The Madeira School for girls in McLean, Virginia, who made national news in the early 1980s when she was tried and convicted of the murder of her ex-lover, Her ...

. During her trial, Harris' lawyer argued that she had been the book's "primary author".Gilman, Sander L. (2007). ''Diets and Dieting: A Cultural Encyclopedia''.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

. pp. 268-269.

Health risks

Medical experts have listed the Scarsdale diet as an example of a fad diet, as it carries potential health risks and does not instill the kind of healthy eating habits required for sustainable weight loss. It is unbalanced because of the high amount of meat consumed. The diet's high fat ratio may increase the risk of heart disease. People following the diet can lose much weight at first, but this loss is generally not sustained any better than with normal

calorie restriction Calorie restriction (caloric restriction or energy restriction) is a dietary regimen that reduces intake of energy from caloric foods & beverages without incurring malnutrition. "Reduce" can be defined relative to the subject's previous intake b ...

. Nutritionist Elaine B. Feldman has commented that high-protein low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins and Scarsdale diet are nutritionally deficient, produce

diuresis Diuresis () is increased urination (polyuria) or, in the related word senses more often intended, the physiological process that produces such an increase or the administration of medications to encourage that process. It involves extra urine pr ...

and are "clearly unphysiologic and may be hazardous". The Scarsdale diet was criticized by Henry Buchwald and colleagues for "serious nutritional deficiencies".Buchwald, Henry; Cowan, George S. M; Pories, Walter J. (2007). ''Surgical Management of Obesity''.

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

. p. 85. Negative effects of the diet include

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

, nausea, weakness and

bad breath Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is a symptom in which a noticeably unpleasant breath odour is present. It can result in anxiety among those affected. It is also associated with depression and symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder. Th ...

due to ketosis. The diet has also been criticized for being deficient in

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably ...

and riboflavin.Howard, Elliott J; Roth, Susan A. (1986). ''Health Risks''. Body Press. p. 173.

References

{{Fad diets Fad diets High-protein diets Low-carbohydrate diets

Overview

Health risks

See also

References