The Rice Diet and Clinic

Jan 10, '06 by live4today

Has anyone heard of the Rice Diet, and/or the Rice Diet Clinic in Durham, NC where people go to lose weight, to detox, to get healthy, etc.? My youngest dd started this diet yesterday, and lost three pounds overnight. I am interested in trying it too, so that's why I thought I'd share it here with others who may have an interest in trying the diet. Check out the following article located at the following link:

http://www.everydiet.org/rice_diet.htm

The Rice Diet is the basis for a medically-supervised, live-in program designed for rapid weight-loss over a period of 2 to 4 weeks or more, in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and renal disease. The program operates in Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Origins of the Rice Diet

The originator of the Rice Diet was Walter Kempner, born Germany 1903, who joined Duke University's Department of Medicine in 1934. Kempner investigated the effect of diet on diseases including hypertension and diabetes, and found that they were rarely problems for people using rice as a staple food. Kempner developed a diet of rice, fruit, juices, sugar, plus vitamin and iron supplements to help people with these and related health problems. The Kempner diet or Rice Diet has been used since 1939 in treating, often with dramatic results, more than 18,000 patients from around the world suffering from diabetes, obesity, heart disease and hypertension.

Rice Diet Program

The Rice Diet is not like fad diets which come and go, but has developed into a complete, proven and well-respected program for improving health. As well as meals using the Rice Diet, the program provides classes, groups and workshops for stress management and exercise, nutritional lectures, and personal medical supervision.

Participants in the program have a limited menu selection initially, then choose from a range of items comprising fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, fish, and legumes (beans), varied daily. The name Rice Diet is somewhat confusing (the diet origins being the study of rice as a staple), as more than 30 food items are available, including a number of rices.

Salt is restricted in the Rice Diet, since the body swells with salt (sodium) and water. Most people's diet contains approx. 4-7 grams of sodium, yet less than half a gram a day is necessary for normal body function. Salt is a problem for patients with high blood pressure and kidney failure, and this is true also for most people if present in higher quantities in the diet. Salt stimulates the appetite, whereas herbs and spices simply flavor the food. Limiting salt reduces several health risks, including cholesterol, blood pressure, heart size and weight, as well as reducing the need to medicate for these problems. As well as being low-salt, the daily diet contains 5 gm or less of fat, about 20 gm of protein, and not more than 150 mg of sodium.

On completion of the program, resources are available for participants to continue with a healthy lifestyle, and to maintain the improved health gained while on the residential program.

See Also

Rice Diet Program - Official Site

Last edit by live4today on Jan 10, '06
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11 Comments so far...
Jan 10, '06 by fergus51

Just watch it with the fast weight loss, I've been told that's why I have gallstones now. I finally got to a "healthy" weight and it made me sick
Jan 10, '06 by live4today

Wow, fergus! Thanks for sharing that with us. I'll share that with my youngest dd, too, since she just started the diet. Sorry to hear you got gallstones from it.
Jan 10, '06 by fergus51

I didn't do this diet (or any diet), just lost weight quickly. My doc says losing anything more than 2lbs a week isn't a great idea.
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Jan 10, '06 by dianah

With my luck, I'd go all out for the diet and not lose a pound the first two weeks. That's me. :rolleyes"
Jan 10, '06 by VeryPlainJane

What ever happened to eating healthfully and exercising? I'm always leery of diets that totally eliminate portions of a balanced diet.
Jan 10, '06 by mercyteapot

The Rice Diet was popular when I was young and given to dieting. I seem to recall that it was originally designed to help the doctor's patients who needed to lose weight prior to surgery. Jane, as for your question as to whatever happened to sensible eating... well, if more people practiced that, all these diets wouldn't be necessary in the first place.
Jan 11, '06 by Jessy_RN

I remember reading a Mayo clinic diet before. (used for patients going into surgery)............ A couple that tried it swore by it.

Thanks Renee for sharing, as it IS interesting.

Last edit by Jessy_RN on Jan 11, '06
Jan 12, '06 by live4today

Quote from fergus51

Just watch it with the fast weight loss, I've been told that's why I have gallstones now. I finally got to a "healthy" weight and it made me sick

This is what made me think you tried the Rice Diet, fergus. Sorry I misunderstood. Guess you just meant that you lost a lot of weight really fast, and got gallstones behind it.
Jan 12, '06 by live4today

Quote from mercyteapot

............................Jane, as for your question as to whatever happened to sensible eating... well, if more people practiced that, all these diets wouldn't be necessary in the first place.

I totally agree with you on that truth, mercy. I buy what I want at the grocery store, and cook it as healthy as possible. I'm not into a lot of junky type foods anyway, so why bother buying foods with "diet labels" on them? :wink2: