Judy Mazel (December 20, 1943 – October 12, 2007) was an American weight loss advocate the author of "''The

Beverly Hills Diet The Beverly Hills Diet is a fad diet developed by author Judy Mazel (1943–2007) in her 1981 bestseller, ''The Beverly Hills Diet''. History Mazel had tried and failed to lose weight with existing programs, and developed the diet plan after s ...

''", which became a 1981 best seller and a nationwide

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

craze. Judy Mazel was a devout practicing

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

and was raised in a conservative

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

Jewish home.

Biography

Mazel was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on December 20, 1943, as the youngest of three sisters. She moved to California but failed to become a professional actor. She began to struggle with her weight and began writing several diet books. Mazel had no formal training in either

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

when she invented The Beverly Hills Diet. Her weight loss diet advocated that dieters eat only one type of

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

at a time. The Beverly Hills Diet advised that dieters never eat

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

and

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...

in the same meal. The first 10 days of the diet consisted only of fruit. On Day 11, bagels and corn on the cob were added to the fruit. No complete protein was added until Day 19 when steak or lobster were permitted. Mazel opened a clinic in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, following the success of her book. She worked with as many as 250 dieters a week. Mazel, herself, claimed to have lost 72 pounds by following her own advice.

Reception

Critics, including many

nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and Human nutrition, nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disci ...

s, attacked the

as dangerous and unscientific.Butler, Kurt. (1992). ''A Consumer's Guide to "Alternative Medicine": A Close Look at Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Faith-healing, and Other Unconventional Treatments''. Prometheus Books. pp. 12-14. Hevesi, Dennis. (2007)
"Judy Mazel, Creator of Best-Selling ‘Beverly Hills Diet,’ Is Dead at 63"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved November 22, 2018. They claimed that many dieters lost weight simply because the Beverly Hills Diet was low in calories. The diet often made many nutritionists' lists of their top 10

fad A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...

diets. Nutrition experts have described the Beverly Hills Diet as

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or Ignorance, ignorant medicine, medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or public ...

and based on the discredited idea of

food combining Food combining is a nutritional Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific approach that advocates specific combinations (or advises against certain combinations) of foods. These proposed specific combinations are promoted as central to good health as well ...

. Celebrities, however, embraced the Mazel's book. Noted followers of The Beverly Hills Diet included

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

First Lady,

Maria Shriver Maria Owings Shriver ( ; born November 6, 1955) is an American journalist, author, a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's M ...

, as well as

Sally Kellerman Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as List of M*A*S*H characters#Margaret Houlihan, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film ''M*A*S ...

, Engelbert Humperdinck and

Linda Gray Linda Ann Gray (born September 12, 1940) is an American actress, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the CBS television drama series ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'' (1978� ...

Death

Judy Mazel died of

peripheral vascular disease Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a vascular disorder that causes abnormal narrowing of arteries other than those that supply the heart or brain. PAD can happen in any blood vessel, but it is more common in the legs than the arms. When narro ...

at St. John's Health Center in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, on October 12, 2007. She was 63 and was a long-time resident of

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of downtown Los Angeles. Throughout January 2025, the majority of Pacific Palisades was severely affec ...

at the time of her death.

References

External links

New York Times: Judy Mazel, Creator of Best-Selling ‘Beverly Hills Diet,’ Is Dead at 63

Los Angeles Times: Judy Mazel, 63; author of 'The Beverly Hills Diet'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazel, Judy 1943 births 2007 deaths American cookbook writers American women non-fiction writers American Jews Pseudoscientific diet advocates American women food writers 21st-century American women