After the Japanese opera singer Kumiko Mori told viewers of a popular national television show in September 2008 that she had lost 15 lbs. on the Banana Diet--also called the Morning Banana Diet--banana sales in Japan leapt an impressive 80 percent the following week. The diet is a simple one to plan meals for and to maintain compared to many other diet plans, but while many say it is a good weight loss program, others believe its disadvantages exceed any possible benefits.
History
The Banana Diet was developed by the Japanese pharmacist Sumiko Watanabe, who created the diet specifically for her husband, Hitoshi, an alternative health practitioner. The two posted details of the diet along with Hitoshi's success--he lost 37 lbs.--on the popular Japanese social networking site Mixi in March of 2008 and the diet quickly became a national fad. So many people in Japan began the diet, the country suffered from a banana shortage for much of 2008.
Features
The main feature of the Banana Diet is simple: eat only bananas--as many as you like--and warm water for breakfast followed by anything you would like for lunch and dinner. Proponents of the diet believe that it may work because bananas are thought to improve the function of the digestive system, boost metabolism and contain large amounts of resistant starch. Resistant starch is a type of fiber that moves through the digestive system without being broken down and is believed to promote a feeling of fullness and to prevent some carbohydrates from being absorbed into the bloodstream.
Meal Plan
Every day on the Banana Diet begins with a breakfast of fresh, raw bananas and a glass of lukewarm water. There is no limit to the number of bananas you can eat for breakfast, but they must not be frozen, cooked or processed in any way. According to the Morning Banana site, you may substitute other types of fruit for bananas and you may eat a small snack half an hour after breakfast if you are hungry. For lunch, you may eat anything you wish as long as you avoid alcohol and dairy products. Drink warm water with the meal and stop eating when you are 80 percent full--don't eat until you feel stuffed. Have a small snack around 3 p.m.; this can be a sweet if you wish. Dinner, like lunch, can be anything you like, but avoid alcohol and dairy products, drink only warm water, stop eating before you are full and plan the meal to end before 8 p.m. Do not eat a dessert or eat anything else after this time and go to bed before midnight.
Benefits
Nutritionists believe that one of the main benefits of the Banana Diet is the emphasis on breakfast: research shows that eating breakfast may help prevent hunger and poor food choices later in the day. Likewise, not eating in the late evening can help prevent high-fat snacking; and avoiding alcohol, dairy products and dessert can decrease overall daily calorie levels. The Japanese philosophy of "Hara hachibu ni isha irazu," or, "A stomach eight-tenths full needs no doctor," which also plays a large role in the diet, can help keep the amount of daily calories consumed in check.
Disadvantages
According to dietitian Kerri Glassman, a regular contributor on the CBS Early Show, one of the biggest drawbacks of the Banana Diet is that you can eat anything you want for lunch and dinner as long as you consume only bananas for breakfast. Glassman fears that people who would otherwise eat low-calorie, low-fat foods for these meals might see the Banana Diet as a green light to eat anything they want and end up gaining weight as a result. She also warns that the Banana Diet perpetuates the belief that there are "magical foods" that, simply by eating them, can stimulate weight loss. "There's no magical food," warns Glassman. Additionally, the Banana Diet does not encourage exercise, which is generally agreed to be required in a healthy lifestyle.
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