SubscribeBeverly Hills Diet: Author Dies Aged 63
In 1981 Judy Mazel released the Beverly Hills Diet and a marketing juggernaut was born. She died recently of complications relating to peripheral vascular disease.
The million+ selling book blazed a trail for countless other fad diets that continue to plague today’s bookshelves. The Beverly Hills diet cast the mold of which other faddish diets have followed. Here is the basic formula:
- Pseudo-scientific theories: In this case, it is not how much you eat or what you eat, but when you eat and what you eat together
- A few celebrity testimonials: Engelbert Humperdink (not convinced he’s a “better man” after this diet), Jack Nicholson (he couldn’t handle the truth), Maria Shriver (first lady, last 25 pounds) and Jodie Foster (her Yale degree is in literature, not science)
- A sexy title named after a city: Before there was South Beach, The Hamptons and Sonoma, there was Beverly Hills.
- A dose of insecurity about being overweight (or in this case “not skinny”)
What makes this diet so shady?
- Very low calories – about 800, but will vary as dieters have free access to fruit in during certain times. The diet is very low in protein and deficient in nutrients.
- Outlandish “rules” based on lousy science: The diet recommends eating fruit by itself and never eating protein with carbohydrates lest your food become undigested and converted into body fat. Here’s why my BS meter just went off;
To be stored as fat, a food must be broken down into its building blocks and passed from the intestines into the bloodstream. Any undigested food would be eliminated. Our digestive systems are well equipped to handle foods in a variety of combinations.
- According to the diet, papaya softens body fat, pineapple burns it off and watermelon flushes it out of the body. Discuss...
The most recent incarnate of the diet (The New Beverly Hills Diet - 1996) is less restrictive, but clings to the foods-in-isolation concept. The author seemed to have forgotten that the diet didn’t work in the first place, but perhaps remembered that it made boatloads of money.
Now I don’t want to speculate as to what specifically caused Judy Mazel’s ailment, but it does make one wonder when a diet guru dies of an ailment caused by atherosclorosis.
Sources includes ediets website (www.ediets.com)
Enzyme (papain), enzyme (bromelain), diuretic (water), respectively.
However, I can't say whether or not this works!
Bromelain, though, has been used to treat tendon injury. It's known to help condition the tendon, break down the injured tissue enzymatically, so that it can be better rebuilt.
Reply"According to the diet, papaya softens body fat, pineapple burns it off and watermelon flushes it out of the body. Discuss..."
Well, there's my problem. After living in Kenya for 18.5 years, I had eaten tons of fresh, tree-ripened papaya and lots of stalk-ripened pineapple. I guess I had trouble keeping my weight in check because I didn't eat enough watermelon to flush the fat out. (Hmmm. Wonder where the fat ashes were stored when they weren't flushed out after being burned off by the pineapple?)
ReplySpeculating (or implying speculation) that her diet led to her death is approximately the same reasoning that leads to diet myths in general. It goes like this: "I want it to be true, therefore I believe it's true".
ReplyAccording to the diet, papaya softens body fat, pineapple burns it off and watermelon flushes it out of the body. Discuss...
ReplyDoes anyone actually believe this stuff?? I mean, theoretically, Kailash hit the nail on the head. I doubt it works when you eat the enzymes though. Most enzymes in food are broken down in the digestive tract and don't function anymore...the pH alone of the stomach is enough to denature most enzymes. Of course, it's still a good idea to eat fruits. I eat a lot of papaya and pineapple and apples and other fruits and I don't have a lot of fat on me, so hey, I guess she has a point. However, most of her "fat loss" theories are probably based more on the fact that you only get 800 calories a day, not on the whole food combination mumbo jumbo :)
Even though I don't count calories, the simplest problem with this diet (and it definitely sounds like a diet, NOT a lifestyle....therefore it will fail longterm...) is that it's only 800 calories a day. This will royally mess up your metabolism and help your body easily gain weight after you stop following it.
ReplyI think everyone will do anything to lose weight except exercise and eat right!...the only thing that really works!
ReplyI could never understand fad diets. Less calories in with more calories burned always worked well enough for me. A variety of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein and dairy sources are key to good health. Of course, this is coming from someone who has dropped 22 pounds in the last 2 months because of an recent mystery health disorder that has seriously diminished my appitite and caused me to be unable to eat certain proteins and grains. So now I'm struggling to maintain my weight on a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and haunting Dr offices trying to find an answer. I can no longer make fun of the woman in the NutriSystem ad who gushes about being a size 2, because I'm now a size 1. I look like a skeleton, appropriate for Halloween, but not for the rest of the year. Bathing suit season is going to stink if I don't regain some weight before Spring.
ReplyI find all of your post-mortum comments on Judy's diet rude and in bad taste - if nothing else, late. However unconventional her concepts, she helped MILLIONS of people lose weight permanently in their lives. What a blessing to have such an innovator and visionary willing to put it all on the line.
You are whimps at best. Why don't you create your own quarter-century-successful diet on a best seller list twice and dedicate your life to helping others?
ReplyHello, I noticed some supportive comments re Judy Mazel's Beverly hills Diet and I wondered if you could possibly put me in touch with some people who still adhere to this diet. I used to so enjoy chatting on her forum and then it just disappeared. I think this is a fabulous way of eating - it worked for me as long as I used it. But I need to talk to people who use it. Is there still a forum I could join with nbhders? Thanks so much for any help you can give me.
ReplyEliminate red meat, dairy and anything white [bread, rice, pasta] and you will live to be 100 ...
ReplyAmen' on the Vegetarianism
Replymy freezer stays full of meats.not at my choice.i'd rather have the cash my husband invests.
not that i'm not thankful, but too much is . just that, a SIN.
I agree with Ben. The woman died of complications from a physical ailment. I am sure her diet theory promised to keep the follower from peripheral artery disease. We need to see the facts here and stop blaming her diet, as ridiculous as it was.
ReplyOOOPS....I am sure her diet theory DID NOT promise to keep the follower from PAD !
ReplyAgree completely!
Eating fruits is good for the body no doubt. But please stop telling us it's because of some "magical" interactions in your body.
ReplyHonestly people, I don't see where in this posting where it's implied that her death was due to her diet. It's just a death notice with a summary of her diet plan. As I don't follow diets named after places with obsessive self-image issues, I'm unfamiliar with it. Doesn't look like fun, though.
ReplyI HAVE BEEN ON THIS DIET,AND IT ABSOLUTELY WORKS! BUT NOT FOR FAT PEOLPE WHO THINK YOU CAN BE ON THE DIET ,AND THEN EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT!! iF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ON IT , DON'T KNOCK IT!!
ReplyJo, the diet isn't for fat people? lol Eating 800 calories per day isn't healthy and it was/is a fad diet. However I'm sorry she died and I feel bad for her family.
ReplyUnless you read her diet book you would not know that Judy Mazel struggled with obesity all through childhood and into adulthood. Unless you read her book, you would not know how many treatments she endured, how many fat clinics she was put into by her parents trying to find a cure. The thing you don't mention is that Judy Mazel succeeded in keeping a weight of 108 for over 20 yrs by using her diet lifestyle. She didn't eat 800 calories a day after she lost her weight. But you wouldn't know that unless you read her book. Kudos to a woman who tried to share her success with everyone who experienced the trials and tribulations of obestity, even when eating a 1200 calorie diet.
ReplyI want to thank everyone for their input on this one.
I have to re-emphasize that I am NOT inferring that Ms. Mazel died because of her diet/lifestyle. When I heard the story though, my first instinct was to wonder why a relatively young dietary "icon" died of a heart condition. Having no insight into her genetic make-up or lifestyle habits, I cannot and will not speculate that her diet had anything to do with her demise (thanks Christine for your comment).
OKS - appreciate your insight but I have a couple of thoughts on your comments...
I don't think anyone should be immune to criticism, posthumously or not. To me, this was her legacy. I don't balk at criticizing Stalin just because he is deceased. In terms of it being late, Mazel died Oct 12th. My wife went into labour that day - my apologies. But still, this isn't a daily newspaper.
I don't have a problem with unconventional - except when people try to sell quackery as "unconventional". As for her helping millions? I would seriously doubt that millions of people KEPT the weight off that they lost through this diet.
I'd like to think that some of us play a small part in helping others by steering them away from fad diets such as the one you are trying to defend. I have no response for your name-calling.
I thank you for your comments.
ReplyWell first off I am not a scientist, so I don't know specifics on Papaya melting fat BUT I have done this diet and I can tell you that the author of this article is wrong when he says the calories are only 800 a day. Sometimes they are well over 2,000 as you are not limited on how much you eat of each type of foods. Matter of fact she gave you minimums on how much to eat, the max is always up to you. She also reccomends taking daily vitamins and of course exercise. I lost 40 lbs. on this diet and I thought it was awesome. I had a lot of energy when I did it, I was always full, and I felt a whole lot healthier. I think the author of this article should read the book not just skim it.
ReplySo many people are making comments that are wrong.
First of all, the diet is not 800 calories. The article is incorrect. It is a food-combining diet, not a deprivation diet (the new plan is not all fruit for 10 days - you eat corn on the cob dripping in butter right from the first day). It's based on the principles of eating fruit, starches, and protein foods at separate meals. Judy didn't invent food combining, it's been around for hundreds of years. It worked for her and she perfected a plan based on it that would help others. Judy DIDN'T die of heart disease, she had a stroke (which, at 108 pounds, probably was not diet related). True, her theories are totally different than the medical community's, but the medical community hasn't been too successful at beating the obesity epidemic. So maybe we should open our minds to other alternatives and accept that classical, western medicine might be out in left field on the obesity crisis. Even if you think her diet is hokum, at least have some respect for a woman who spent her life trying (and succeeding) at helping others.
ReplyI have been on Judy's diet and lost over 40 pounds twice. My reason for saying "twice" is because when I lost the weight the first time, I returned to eating the way I previously ate. Ms. Mazel suffered earlier in her life struggling with her weight. I felt as if she became a friend although I never met her. Please do not make disrespectful comments if you do not know what you are speaking about.
ReplyAll I know is that I tried this Diet and It really works
ReplyI lost more that 12 in the fist week
I am so sorry she died so young, I did the BHD in 1988, 2 car accidents and 100 # gain later, I found the book again Jan 2 - Fed 14 25 lost today 29 # off. I lost 45 # 20 yrs ago, but didn't follow the simple rules. They are simple to me because my life is on the line, I can not carry this wt around any longer , my spine screams from pain hard to breathe, on disability, since the 29 # off, feel like i can see the light at the end of the tunnel. yes it is lo cal but only at the begining, fruits washed away a lot for me. been constipated half my life, what a differance, my spine likes the "pressure" off the back. I enjoyed the fruit but when it came to steak or lobster, lobster expense and not much there, i enjoyed the 2 ribeyes with garlic ceyenne paprika bl pepper and grilled, all by it's pretty little self. I planned my cheat Feb 16 at a chuch dinner, Italian big time and eat grapes the next day Try it you'll like it weeks 3,4,5, over and over when I reach my goal. eat right, check scale and correct withthe right fruit and go on. My bad haits were here 63 yrs and the rest will be playing with my food and losing write me copperapples2@aol.com oh, my co worker said your bottom is getting smaller Whitedove
ReplySo Judy Mazel is dead.
I am really sorry to read that. The only reason I am looking at this website is because I have like my namesake Carol on 01/19/08 been on the diet.
Only people who have been on the diet deserve to comment.
Funny, but I have returned to the diet again this week, and I am now on day 2.
Judy never failed me; my happiest times were when I followed her diet 19 years ago.
The results were amazing, I felt, looked and realised my dream and looked as I had always thought I could and would. I was very happy then.
If for nothing else I will remember you Judy.
Thank you and God bless.
ReplyDitto everything you wrote! Very sorry Judy Mazel's gone. I did this diet in '92, lost 16 lbs. & never looked/felt better. But after a few months, couldn't stand the sight of another pineapple again! This week I'm back, on Day 2. Back to the interesting & fun scavenger hunt for ripe papaya in April, organic dried apricots & seseme seeds. Some of my best memories come from the food adventures of '92. I'm back to taking charge of what goes in me & one of the benefits is a positive psyche & disciplined approach to life. So how is this a bad thing?
ReplyI think it is horrible that you attacked what she died from saying that her advise was not credible. You are just plain old mean. I have used this diet ever since 1982 and it always works for me. It just simply shows you a different way of eating. Everybody balks at fad diets, but millions continue to use them. I have been exercising for the past two years with cardio and weights, etc. But when it comes to getting the fat off my body, only the Beverly Hills Diet has been able to do this for me. Eating right does not cut it unless you are able to measure the calories and fat of everything you put in your mouth. Its just unrealistic. Obviously a fad diet can only get the pounds off quickly, after that, you have to figure out a way to keep them off and not return to old bad habits. Her book tells you exactly that. If you cant' find your own way, you can use the way she described and it works!
ReplyWell, I hate the be the conflicting voice here but I went on her diet twice in twenty years and both times the results were spectacular - 25 lbs lost in a month, high energy, radiant skin - I am not saying everything that is written in her book is scientifically correct and frankly I don't even care but the results are there!
ReplyIhave both of Judy's book, I love the books, and I will truely miss Judy, I thought did wonders of helping people like my self.
Replythank you.
Suzanne Butler Wright
Estou fazendo a terceira semana da dieta e até agora emagreci 4,6 quilos. Não me sinto mal e tão pouco fraca. Estou disposta a continuar. Iniciei pesando 87,6 quilos nos meu 1,55 m de altura. Preciso emagrecer para meu próprio bem.
ReplyProssiga o bom trabalho!
ReplyIhave both of Judy's book, I love the books, and I will truely miss Judy, I thought did wonders of helping people like my self.
thank you.
((also me )))
hi
i am from saudi arabi
thank judi so much
Reply