tl;dr
The famous "18-day diet" was likely a marketing scheme by the citrus and film industries, not a miracle weight loss solution.tl;dr bits
- Origins: Emerged in early 1920s, popularized by actress Ethel Barrymore and possibly pushed by Florida's citrus industry during a boom in pink grapefruit production
- Hollywood Connection: Featured in the 1933 film "Hard to Handle" where James Cagney played a con man promoting the diet
- The Science: Analysis of the diet shows it was just a very low-calorie plan (500-800 calories/day) - any weight loss came from calorie restriction, not magical grapefruit properties
- No Standard Version: There was never an "official" diet plan or book - menus varied widely between sources
- Modern Research: Recent studies show no evidence that grapefruit itself has special weight-loss properties
- False Claims: The diet was falsely attributed to the Mayo Clinic, who denied any association
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Condensed 4,500+ words into 200 essential ones
Saved you from falling for a century-old diet fad! 💁♂️
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