The cookie diet may take the cake as the world’s most awful ever fad diet. In essence this diet states that amino acids baked into cookies can control hunger.

Fad diets are short term diets in which people are to lose a lot of weight, and are popular because of their claims of great weight loss. Often times, like the cookie diet, these diets rely on one miracle food with amazing properties for weight loss. They are usually sold by a series of wild claims, much like the old pitch men pitched in the traveling medicine shows.

The cookie diet was created by a physician named Sanford Siegel in 1975 while he was researching a book on the effect of natural foods on hunger. This cookie diet consisted of patients eating six cookies each day in place of meals, then eating a reasonable dinner. All told the daily caloric intake was about 800 calories. Very quickly the cookie diet became a huge success, with 14 clinics in Florida and 10 in Latin America expounding this amazing weight loss formula. It wasn’t long before over 200 doctors were regularly recommending the cookie diet. The clever doctor came out with soups and shakes that also contained the amino acids needed to control hunger.

There is another version of the cookie diet referred to as the Hollywood cookie diet because it became popular with many Hollywood stars. The diet benefited from the media efforts of all the stars who tried it to lose weight. This diet is similar to the original in that it consists of a cookie for breakfast, a cookie as a snack in the morning, a cookie for lunch, a cookie as a mid-afternoon snack, and then a reasonable dinner. These cookies each contain 150 calories and fiber, protein and minerals.

Don’t waste time with the cookie diet. Eat less, exercise more that’s the formula for good health. Forget miracle foods even if a star tells you to try them.