The quest to become slimmer or healthier by altering a person’s food choices has been an ongoing one for several centuries. You’d be surprised to know that as far back as the 18th century, people were already trying out various dieting methods — and they’re quite odd.
People have been experimenting with diet trends for so many years. But most of them failed miserably because the ones who started the trends often relied on guesswork rather than proper research. These days though, diet practices are based more on science, like the keto desserts, and they’re much more effective.
If you want to know the other diet trends that sprouted before, read on and be amazed — just don’t try them out.
Vinegar diet
Famous poet Lord Byron started his own diet trend, which was to drink vinegar every day. In addition to that, you should also accompany your vinegar diet with one raw egg and a cup of tea. Unfortunately, this method will only make you sick. The combination of those items will lead to diarrhea and excessive vomiting.
Nope, it’s not what you think. You don’t have to eat stuff found in a swamp to get thinner. The swamp diet was founded by Thomas Short in 1727 when he “discovered” that a lot of obese people lived near swamps.
He concluded, erroneously, that to lose weight, they should move away from the swamp, which supposedly caused them to be obese. He was so proud of his discovery that he included this method in his book, “The Causes and Effects of Corpulence.”
Cigarette diet
In the 1920s, doctors actually prescribed smoking cigarettes to patients who wanted to reduce their weight. It has been proven that nicotine is an effective appetite suppressant. So in order to curb patients’ food cravings, doctors back then suggested they try smoking instead. This is, of course, an unhealthy habit to practice.
Drinking man’s diet
This diet method is still being practiced today, but health officials have clearly stated that following this method is dangerous and could lead to liver damage. In the 1960s, Robert Cameron came up with the idea that if you have a drink while you’re eating, the alcohol will burn up the excess fat in your food.
In his book, he advised people always to have a glass of martini, gin, or vodka on hand while eating any food. He clearly stated that people could drink as much alcohol as they want, which is why most dieticians and physicians oppose this dieting method.
Tapeworm diet
If you have a weak stomach, it would be better if you skip this segment. The tapeworm diet is exactly what its name says: you eat tapeworms. Tapeworms can effectively reduce a person’s weight because these parasites attach themselves to the inner wall of the intestines and feed off the food that you eat.
This practice was actually famous at the turn of the 20th century, and many so-called dieting experts sold them in pill-form. The practice was only halted when people started developing seizures, meningitis, and dementia because the tapeworms started infecting other parts of their bodies, particularly the nervous system.
These are just some of the weirdest diet trends that sprouted over the years. If you really want to lose weight, do it wisely and consult the experts, meaning doctors and dieticians.