glasses of water to flush acids from the body. Baked
or broiled chicken (without the skin) or fish may be
substituted for beef at one meal.Day Six: Eat cabbage soup at least once during the
day; otherwise, an unlimited amount of beef and veg-
etables can be consumed, but no baked potato.
Day Seven: Eat an unlimited amount of brown rice and
vegetables and drink an unlimited amount of unsweet-
ened fruit juice. Cabbage soup must be eaten at least
once during the day. No bread, alcohol, or carbonated
beverages (including diet soda) are allowed.
Additional instructions
Some Internet versions of the cabbage soup diet
include additional instructions for the dieter:
Follow the diet religiously
Drink at least four glasses of water each day
Only follow the diet for seven days
Eat unlimited amounts of cabbage soup to prevent
hunger
Take a good multivitamin supplement every day
Try different spices to liven up the soup and add
variety
Cabbage soup diet pills
Diet pills available on the Internet supposedly
represent the cabbage soup used in the diet in dehy-
drated form. Discovery of the pills is credited to a
woman who works in a food processing plant that
makes meals ready to eat (MREs) for the military.
She is said to have tried dehydrating cabbage soup in
the ovens for preparing MREs and ended up with a
powder that tasted like the original soup when warm
water was added. A local manufacturer of homeo-
pathic remedies supposedly began packaging the pow-
der in pill form. The cabbage soup diet pills claim to
speed up weight loss, melt fat, curb appetite, cure
depression, detoxify the digestive tract, boost the
immune system, and protect againstcancer.
Function
The cabbage soup diet is intended only for short-
term weight loss. It is usually recommended as a quick
way to lose weight after holiday-related overeating or
to fit into an outfit for a special occasion. A few
Internet versions claim the cabbage soup diet can be
used for weight maintenance or for long-term nutri-
tion. A book published on the diet in 1997 and revised
in 2004 does contain an appropriate maintenance diet
intended for use after the seven-day soup diet.
Benefits
The cabbage soup diet does work for some people as
ashort-termwaytoloseweight rapidly. Some people
like the fact that the diet offers a break from junk food or
fast food, and does not require any unusual or expensive
ingredients, complex recipes, or appetite suppressants.
Also, the soup can be stored in the refrigerator for con-
venience or frozen for later use.Precautions
The cabbage soup diet is safe for most adults in
good health who follow it no longer than seven days.
The diet should not be used by individuals with type 2
diabetes,eating disorders, or other disorders requiring
special diets without consulting a doctor or registered
dietitian. Dieters who do use this diet should be aware
that most of the weight they lose during the week is
water weight, and is easily regained when return to
their previous eating habits.
Due to the restrictive and repetitive nature of this
diet, it is difficult to sustain for any length of time. Such
diets are not useful for long-term weight loss and weight
maintenance. Frequent use could lead to yo-yo dieting,
which has been shown to be detrimental to health.
The cabbage soup diet does not include an
adequate balance of nutrients and may be too low in
calories to make it suitable for long-term use. Claims
that the diet can be used indefinitely or repeated within
three days of completing the first cycle should be
ignored as they are not safe.
The diet does not require spending large amounts
of time cooking or assembling ingredients, but it may
be difficult to follow when cooking for a family.Risks
Side effects from the diet may include dizziness,
light-headedness, and flatulences (intestinal gas). The
latter may be a social risk due to embarrassment
related to passing gas in public. Common versions of
the soup recipe are high in salt. Dieters who must
restrict theirsodiumintake should discuss variations
with their physician.Research and general acceptance
Basic nutritional information about cabbage
The cabbage soup diet has not been the subject of
any mainstream clinical trials as of 2007, most likely
because it is a classic fad diet. Cabbage by itself, however,
has been studied by nutritionists and food chemists for
some years, and is considered a good food to include inCabbage soup diet