Like many trendy crash diets,the cabbage soup diet has mysterious origins.The American Dietetic Association, or ADA, pins the first appearance of the cabbage soup diet to the year 1950; it regained popularity again through its online incarnation around 1990. The cabbage soup diet is strictly fad, and it's unlikely to result in permanent weight loss, says Everydiet.
Diet Inception
The cabbage soup diet is the stuff urban legends are made of. According to a March 1996 New York Times article, the faddish "diet from nowhere" has been attributed to Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital, which purportedly put overweight patients on the diet prior to heart surgery. However, the Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital in Spokane, Washington disclaims the cabbage soup diet. The cabbage soup diet may go by other monikers, including the Spokane Heart Diet, the Cleveland Clinic Diet, the Miami Heart Institute Diet, the Basic Fat Burning Soup Diet, T.J.'s Miracle Diet and "The Skinny." None of the institutions linked to the diet had anything to do with its creation.
About the Soup
Regardless if you received a copy of the cabbage soup diet from a friend or you researched it on the Internet, the crux of the diet hinges on its main entree: the soup itself. The recipe for cabbage soup can vary depending on the version of the diet you choose; however, typical ingredients used to make the soup include cabbage, green onions, green peppers, canned tomatoes, celery, onion soup mix, canned V8 vegetable juice, bouillon cubes and salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley seasoned to taste.
About the Diet
The cabbage soup diet lays claim to rapid weight loss of between 10 and 17 pounds in a single week, says The New York Times. You can eat as much soup as you want every day of the week; however, various foods are incorporated into the diet, depending on the day. On the first day of the diet, you can also eat fruit, with the exception of bananas. Day Two of the diet adds a baked potato with butter at dinner, along with other vegetables. On the third day, you can include other fruits and vegetables, and on the fourth day, you can eat up to 6 bananas, as well as fat-free milk. On the last day of the cabbage soup diet, brown rice, fruit juice and vegetables are permitted. No bread or alcoholic or carbonated beverages are allowed on the diet.
Cautions
There is one thing you can be assured of on the cabbage soup diet, says the ADA: flatulence. Cabbage is rich in vitamins K, B6 and C, fiber, manganese, folate and potassium. However, according to EveryDiet, the diet isn't nutritionally balanced, lacking protein, calcium and fatty acids. It may also be high in salt or monosodium glutamate (MSG). If you lose any weight on the cabbage soup diet, it's likely due to calorie restriction, not the miraculous fat-burning properties of cabbage.
Fun Facts
In the 1950s, the cabbage soup diet competed for aspiring weight losers' attention with another popular fad diet: The grapefruit or "Hollywood" diet. According to the New York Times, there are more than 100 different versions of the cabbage soup diet in circulation. Given that this fad diet first became fashionable more than a half-century ago, it's likely that it's original creator, if identified, will be lauded -- or vilified -- posthumously.
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