Creating a Fad Diet Is Easy!

This is an interesting post considering that this is the time of the year that many people have New Year's resolutions to lose weight.
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from Steven Novella at neurologicablog:

Fad diets pop up on a regular basis. I believe that is because they are so easy to manufacture and there is a ready made market for them. Add to that the fact that it is difficult to lose weight. There is also a great deal of misinformation out there about diet and health, so the environment is very friendly to pop pseudoscience.

If you want to create your own fad diet, here is a handy formula. These things pretty much write themselves.


#1-- You need a catchy title, usually taking the form of "The blank Diet." You can fill in the blank with almost anything.

#2-- Make outrageous claims of success. The bigger the lie, the more people are inclined to think that it’s not a lie because no one would be that audacious

#3-- Testimonials. Personal stories, starting with your own, are the bedrock of fad diets.

#4-- The Secret. Your fad diet has to have the secret or key to weight loss. 

#5-- Cherry pick the research.

#6-- Sciencey Explanations. This part can be real fun – make up BS explanations for why your diet works.

#7 – Demonize a food group. Every narrative needs a villain, and every fad diet needs a demonized food or food group.

#8-- Attack your critics.

Making up your own fad diet can be fun and lucrative. All you have to do is relinquish any self-respect or integrity. You may even convince yourself that your diet is legitimate, because anyone can lose weight on almost any diet if they reduce calories.

The real trick is not becoming discouraged by the fact that fad diets are all bogus, they don't produce sustainable results, they may be unhealthy, and they distort or ignore the actual science.
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The details of creating your own diet are here.