Basic Scarsdale diet
The basic Scarsdale diet is to be followed for either
seven to 14 days, alternating with two weeks off. The
dieter is instructed to drink at least 4 glasses ofwater,
tea, or diet soda every day in order to flush waste
products from the body. The dieter may add the fol-
lowing seasonings to her foods: herbs, salt, pepper,
lemon, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce,soysauce, mus-
tard, or ketchup.
An important feature of the basic Scarsdale diet is
its rigidity. Although calories are not counted, the
dieter is restricted to the three meal plans for each
day; snacking is not allowed. When the diet was still
in its office-handout stage, some of Dr. Tarnower’s
patients asked him whether they might substitute
other fruits in season for the grapefruit that forms the
centerpiece of the basic plan (18 servings in the course
of the two-week regimen, 14 for breakfast and 4 for
dessert at lunch or dinner), or substitute raw radishes
and cauliflower for carrots and celery sticks. Tarnower
invariably told his patients that they had to stick to the
plan exactly as written. It was not until the basic diet
was expanded into the book-length edition of 1978 that
Tarnower seems to have realized that the meal plans
could incorporate a greater variety of foods without
requiring alterations in the nutrient balance or calorie
count.Sample menus from the basic diet
Day 1
Breakfast: coffee or tea with sugar substitute plus 1/2
grapefruit (the breakfast menu is the same for all 7 or
14 days of the diet)
Lunch: any amount of lean beef, chicken, or fish plus
tomato salad plus coffee or tea
Dinner: broiled fish plus tomato and lettuce salad
plus 1/2 grapefruit
Day 3
Breakfast: coffee or tea with sugar substitute plus 1/2
grapefruit
Lunch: tuna salad plus 1/2 grapefruit
Dinner: 2 lean pork chops plus mixed green salad
plus coffee
Day 5
Breakfast: coffee or tea with sugar substitute plus 1/2
grapefruit
Lunch: all the dry cheese you want plus raw or
cooked spinach plus 1 slice of dry toast
Dinner: broiled fish plus green salad plus 1 slice dry
toastVariations on the basic diet
As was noted earlier, Dr. Tarnower’s co-author
was instrumental in expanding the basic diet into four
additional options that offered the dieter a bit more
variety. For purposes of comparison, here are the Day
5 menus from three of these 1978 additions:
Day 5, Gourmet Diet for Epicurean Tastes
Breakfast: coffee or tea with sugar substitute plus 1/2
grapefruit or 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple, 1/2 fresh
mango, 1/2 papaya, 1/2 canteloupe, or ‘‘a generous
slice of honeydew, casaba, or other available melon.’’
Lunch: eggs and chicken livers, farm style; plus toma-
toes, lettuce, celery, olives, or endives; plus 1 slice of
protein toast; plus coffee, tea, or demitasse
Dinner: consomme ́ madrile`ne; plus baked chicken
breasts; plus spinach delight; plus a fresh peach with
raspberries; plus coffee or tea
Day 5, International Diet
Breakfast: coffee or tea with sugar substitute plus 1/2
grapefruit or 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple, 1/2 freshKEY TERMS
Ketone bodies—A group of three compounds (ace-
toacetic acid, acetone, and beta-hydroxybutyric
acid) that are formed in an intermediate stage of fat
metabolism and excreted in the urine.
Ketosis—An abnormal increase in the number of
ketone bodies in the body, produced when the liver
breaks down fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies.
Ketosis is a common side effect of low-carbohydrate
diets like the Scarsdale diet. If continued over too
long a period of time, ketosis can cause serious dam-
age to the kidneys and liver.
Porphyria—A hereditary metabolic disorder charac-
terized by the excretion in the urine of porphyrins,
which are molecules that normally combine with
iron atoms to form heme-a protein found in hemo-
globin, the red pigment that gives blood its color.
Some types of porphyria can be triggered by fasting
or diets with severe calorie restriction like the Scars-
dale diet.
Very low-calorie diet (VLCD)—A term used by
nutritionists to classify weight-reduction diets that
allow around 800 or fewer calories a day. The
Scarsdale diet is a VLCD.Scarsdale diet