Diet Digest.net

The original Beverly Hills diet was a classic starvation crash diet created in the early eighties that many would expect runway models or Hollywood starlets to adopt. With a caloric intake of only about 800 calories per day during the initial 42 day phase, the dieter’s goal is to lose up to fifteen pounds in thirty-five days. This diet has been revised recently and has become known as the New Beverly Hills diet, and like its predecessor, this diet focuses on conscious-combining or eating healthy foods at the right times. According to the author, Judy Mazel, proteins should only be combined with proteins, and carbohydrates should be consumed only with carbs and fat, and fruit should not be eaten with any other food.

Eating Protein, Carbs and Fruit in proper order

The New Beverly Hills diet recommends eating unlimited enzymatic fruit for breakfast, but the dieter must wait at least an hour if switching types of fruit and he or she must wait two hours prior to switching to the carbs for lunch. Upon switching to carbs, they must be consumed exclusively and fruit cannot be consumed for the remainder of the day. Likewise, when the dieter starts protein for dinner, 80% of the food consumed for the rest of the day must be protein. All drinks are pretty much counted as fruit except for Champagne, which can be consumed with anything. Mazel theorizes that mixing too many food groups together confuses the enzymes, causing food to be inefficiently digested, which leads to weight gain. In her diet book, Mazel classified fruit as mini-carbohydrates that digest in the small intestine within 20 minutes, and she stated carbs can take up to 3 hours to digest, while proteins can take up to 10 hours to be fully digested. So the order in which we eat food groups directly impacts the speed at which we digest food, and if a slowly digested protein is in front of fruit or carbs, then the fruit and carbs will not be digested properly. Mazel claims other digestive systems shut down while the other is working, for instance, while the stomach acid works to digest protein, the mouth will slow production of saliva, which is used to digest carbohydrates. Her claim to fame is that you can have all the foods you love and still have the body you’ve dreamed of.

Fast weight loss for short term success

Considering there is little nutritional emphasis at all on this plan, fasting is encouraged and there is no scientific evidence to support the author’s claims, this diet is not highly desirable because it could have health implications for the person dieting, and this type of diet is likely to have a yo-yo affect where the dieter gains the weight right back once the diet is stopped. The Beverly Hills diet, new or old, is not a sustainable diet that would lead to improved lifestyle choices.