10 weird and dangerous diets left in the past
In today's world, the problem of obesity and related diseases has become truly global. Our ancestors, who, as a rule, were engaged in hard physical labor, were more concerned about the search for food than about its excess, but fat people met even then (although much less often than now). Therefore, the idea of losing weight through dietary restrictions is by no means new. From our point of view, many diets that were popular in the past look wild. Today we will acquaint our readers with the most exotic food systems.
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King Wilhelm's alcoholic diet
William the Conqueror, one of the most famous political figures of the Middle Ages, who ruled England in the second half of the 11th century, was so obese that it was difficult for him to find riding horses. In an effort to limit his weight, Wilhelm invented a diet, the meaning of which was to replace any food with wine or beer. Apparently, this kind of nutrition did not bring much results. Historians believe that the king not only did not lose weight, but to some extent became a victim of excess weight. In one of the battles, the horse threw William off, unable to bear the weight of his body, and he died from the consequences of an injury sustained in the fall.
Lord Byron's vinegar diet
Contemporaries of George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) believed that the pallor of the skin and the grace of the figure were signs of aristocracy and spiritual sophistication. The great poet was considered throughout his life to be what in our time is called a style icon. In an effort to maintain the popular image, In the last years of his life, Byron ate exclusively foods soaked in vinegar, and used a mixture of acid and water for drinking. After the death of the poet, doctors who opened the body left a report in which they noted that almost all of Byron's internal organs were seriously damaged.
Fletcher's Chewable Diet
At the beginning of the 20th century, the diet invented by Horace Fletcher became widespread in the world. In this case, the limitation concerned not so much specific products as the way of their absorption. Fletcher's followers believed that any food should be chewed at least 32 times. After such grinding, it was necessary to throw the head back and, without making swallowing movements, wait until the food drains into the esophagus. Failure was interpreted as the refusal of the body to take food, then it was recommended to spit out the chewed piece.
There is no information about the success of the Fletcher diet, but it is known that it was extremely popular. Oddly enough, it still had some meaning: according to modern concepts, in order to get fewer calories before you feel full, you need to eat slowly, and thorough chewing allows you to extract the maximum of nutrients from food. At the same time, it is obvious that the method of losing weight invented by Fletcher could harm health, since a significant part of the consumed products simply did not go to their intended purpose.
Explosive diet
In the 1930s, American doctors noticed that workers in explosive warehouses and factories were rapidly losing weight. The "culprit" was dinitrophenol, a substance that activates metabolism. Several pharmaceutical companies immediately launched dinitrophenol diet pills, which gained widespread popularity through advertising. However, it soon became clear that taking the "miracle remedy" leads to severe eye damage. After several cases of blindness and even death, the production of "explosive" drugs was banned.
Nicotine diet
In the first half of the 20th century, the famous tobacco company Lucky Strike carried out an obsessive advertising campaign under the slogan "Take a cigarette instead of candy." The slogan was picked up by many young women, who are sincerely convinced that smoking reduces appetite and discourages the desire to eat pastries. (Incidentally, this is not true: many seasoned smokers are sweet tooth.) At that time, the harmful effects of smoking were still poorly understood. Attempts to replace food with cigarettes have undermined the health of more than one generation.
HCG diet
The middle of the 20th century was marked by the emergence of the so-called hCG diet, invented by the English doctor Simeons. The author of the method recommended combining the restriction of daily food intake to 500 kcal with daily injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (the main pregnancy hormone). Obviously, such an aggressive effect on the hormonal background was fraught with serious disorders in the body. Followers of the diet have been treated for years for depression, headaches and blood disorders.
Helminthic diet
For the first time, the idea of using worms for weight loss appeared in the middle of the 20th century. One of the followers of the method was the famous singer Maria Callas, who was overweight. The tool consisted of a set of two capsules, one of which contained the eggs of an intestinal parasite, and the other - an effective anthelmintic drug. Needless to say, attempts to lose weight in this way are associated with a high risk: the antihelminthic agent, of course, killed the parasite artificially introduced into the intestines, but did not rid the body of intoxication and disorders caused by the products of its vital activity.
Sleepy diet
In the 70s of the XX century, a weight loss system based on increasing the duration of sleep became widespread in the United States. The idea that a person does not eat while sleeping, therefore, does not get extra calories, has proved to be very attractive for those who want to lose weight without making an effort to do so. The disadvantage of this method was that the natural rhythm of sleep and wakefulness was disturbed for its implementation. Sleeping for so long turned out to be possible only with the help of potent hypnotics, the uncontrolled intake of which sometimes caused the most sad consequences.
Diet "on horns and hooves"
No less popular in the United States was a diet based on the use of the Proline drink, which had to be substituted for food. The remedy was invented by Dr. Robert Lynn and was a highly boiled broth of bones, tendons, skins and hooves of cattle. One glass of the drink contained only 400 kcal. It really reduced appetite, thanks to which the supporters of the diet got rid of excess weight, but it had a serious side effect: it caused disorders of the digestive organs.
Hallelujah Diet
American clergyman George Malkmus invented a diet based on the use of "godly" foods. This is a system of low-calorie vegetarian food containing cereals, vegetables and fruits in the diet, which, according to the priest, ate the biblical ancestors of mankind in the heavenly groves. Compared to other exotic diets, this method of losing weight looks the most harmless. True, such a diet is not balanced due to the complete absence of animal proteins, which are the main source of essential amino acids.
According to today's views, all described diets are more dangerous than helpful. Modern nutritionists believe that parting with extra pounds should not be based on aggressive effects on the body, but on maintaining the correct balance between calorie intake and expenditure. At the same time, attention should be paid not only to a well-designed diet, but also to regular physical activity, taking into account the health status of a particular person.
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Maria Kulkes Medical journalist About the author
Education: First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, specialty "General Medicine".
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