Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 8:41PM 
While a sham diet will likely deliver on some early weight loss it won’t be because of the reasons claimed in the diets’ marketing literature or book cover. The real disservice to you however is the misinformation that you’re fed that actually ends up being an impediment to any long-term success with weight control.
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:35AM 
The "HCG Diet" fad has been going strong for over a year and I last wrote about it back in February. Now the FDA is going after the over-the-counter homeopathic HCG products on two grounds: 1) False and misleading claims, and 2) the products are being marketed as "drugs" while NOT having been approved by the FDA. While I'm glad to see FDA take action on the homeopathic HCG products, I wish they could do more.
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 10:53AM [Part-2: The Dukan Diet]
One common tactic in fad-diet books is to attach various notions (false claims, baseless theories, etc.) to a valid piece of scientific information.
A consistent thread of this sort you will find among high-protein/low-carb diet books has to do with the fact that protein takes more calories to process than other calorie-containing macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and alcohol).
Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 9:24PM 
The Dukan Diet, authored by French doctor Pierre Dukan, is one of the latest best sellers among fad-diet books in the US, and it falls into the high-protein/low-carb approach.
It is not however one of the healthier choices in its genre. Unfortunately, the Dukan Diet is not only extreme in its protein regime, but also cuts out healthy fat sources along with carbohydrates. During its first (Attack) phase you eat only lean proteins, nonfat dairy, and eggs, supplemented with 1½ Tbl. of oat bran per day (no vegetables, grains, fruit, nuts or oils). During its second (Cruise) phase you get to add a selection of (low-carb) vegetables in every other day (still no grains, fruit, nuts or oils). According to Dr. Dukan’s numbers you would spend 2½ months in the Cruise phase to lose 25-pounds, or 4-months to lose 40-pounds. That’s in addition to the week you will probably have spent in the Attack phase.
Monday, May 16, 2011 at 11:09AM 
The 17 Day Diet, one of the latest best selling diet books is new wrapping paper on an old package—high-protein/low-carb diets.
Author Dr. Mike Moreno claims that “you’re not apt to plateau” on his plan because of his “carefully designed balance of food and exercise [that] adjust your body metabolically so that you burn fat, day in and day out.” Moreno says that, “by changing calorie counts with each 17-day cycle you prevent your body from adapting,” and he calls this notion “body confusion.”
When looking at fad diets you’ll find that they all consist of two key components:
