15 Bizarre Diet Fads

Amanda Greene of Woman's Day has compiled a list of fifteen strange diet fads, including a 1928 proposal by arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson (left). He proposed eating only meat in imitation of the Inuit:

Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson proposed a weight-loss plan that’s like an extreme version of the Atkins diet. After living in the northern tundra, Stefansson was amazed at how healthy the Inuit people were despite living off caribou, raw fish and whale blubber, and consuming hardly any fruits or vegetables. Stefansson was so intrigued by this diet—and claimed he had lived on it himself––that to prove its effectiveness he checked into New York's Bellevue Hospital, where doctors monitored his health for several months. After observations, he was declared healthy.

Greene also describes less successful diets, including "slimming soap", tapeworms, and cotton balls.

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Health/15-Most-Bizarre-Diets-in-History.html via Ace of Spades HQ | Photo: Stefansson Arctic Institute