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Martha's Vineyard Diet

Lose 21 pounds in 21 days. That's the big promise of the Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox, made popular by its celebrity dieters, including Howard Stern's sidekick Robin Quivers. In addition to weight loss, the plan also promises to deliver more energy, lower blood pressure, a sharper mind and a body cleansed of toxins.

On the program dieters have three choices -- either a two-day plan, a seven-day tune-up option or the full 21-day detox. The daily schedule for all three is the same. Your 8:30AM breakfast is a high-density antioxidant berry drink, an herbal cleansing formula, a cup of hot herbal tea and eight ounces of water (preferably distilled). At 10:30, you'll have eight ounces of water and eight ounces of hot or iced herbal tea. At 12:30PM, lunch consists of either one cup of fresh vegetable juice (made at home in a juicer) or a green drink (made from packets of powder), as well as another eight ounces of water, more of the herbal cleansing formula and an enzyme capsule. At 2:30, you'll repeat your 10:30 "snack." At 4:30, dieters have either a high-density antioxidant or berry drink. At 6:00, dinner consists of one cup of homemade cleansing soup, one cup of broth, one cup of herbal tea, more herbal cleansing formula, 8-ounces of water and another enzyme capsule. At 7:30, you'll have either eight ounces of water or tea. At bedtime, dieters take an aloe vera supplement.

For physical activity, followers of this plan are encouraged to walk one mile a day or bounce on a trampoline for 20 minutes. Those following the entire 21-day plan are also advised to have one colonic and one coffee enema each week. Dieters using the seven-day or two-day version skip the colonic, but are still expected to administer one coffee enema to help detoxify.

Created by Dr. Roni DeLuz, a naturopathic doctor, registered nurse and owner of the Martha's Vineyard Holistic Retreat, the program is essentially another liquid diet. Each day, dieters are only allowed to consume about 40 to 48 ounces of water, 32 to 40 ounces of herbal tea, 16 ounces of soup made from veggies and 32 ounces of either a green drink (made from powder), vegetable juice or a berry drink. Though the plan is careful to mix certain veggies and fruits together to create a good mix of vitamins and minerals, it's lacking in many of the things that most nutritionists know are crucial for optimal health, including protein, essential fatty acids and fiber.

Another problem? Both exercise physiologists and nutritionists have found many of the claims in the book to be grossly misrepresented. For example, the author claims the diet can help improve -- and perhaps even heal -- some chronic health conditions such as diabetes, but there is no evidence to support that. Another claim the diet makes is that by liquefying your foods, your digestive system is able to spend more energy repairing and rebuilding itself then breaking down food. This is inaccurate. Your stomach, gall bladder, liver and both the small and large intestines are still very much awake breaking down your foods even further, no matter how much you liquefy them.

Another major red flag comes in the book's trouble shooting guide where dieters who are dissatisfied with their weight loss are told one explanation could be that "the weight of the fat they are shedding is offset by increasing muscle mass." Experts found this theory inaccurate and virtually impossible, since building muscle requires two things -- adequate amounts of protein eaten and some form of resistance training, such as weight training. The diet not only has trace amounts of protein at best, but doesn't encourage any form of exercise that adequately builds muscle. In fact, experts say that a good portion of weight you may lose is most likely muscle tissue being used for energy in the absence of adequate calories. The diet even stresses that it's important to discontinue using it after 21 days, because "most people will require more protein and essential fatty acids."

The diet also relies on many supplements and services that leave most doctors and nutritionists shaking their heads in disbelief. (In fact, the book even instructs you on how to explain the concept of detoxing to your doctor, since they'll most likely be alarmed when you tell them what you're about to do.) Some of the treatments the program recommends are so outrageous they bring into question the validity of the program itself, such as having lymph drainage massages, cellulite treatments, a liver flush and even spending up to an hour a day on a "Chi machine" -- a device that swings your legs back and forth to improve the flow of your "life force." It even suggests that jumping on a trampoline three times a week detoxifies your lymphatic system and purges fluid from it, causing you to lose weight.

Is the diet healthy?

No. Dieters following the 21-day plan are not allowed to eat adequate amounts of protein fiber and healthy fats.

What do the experts say?

"The biggest issue with the plan is the lack of credible evidence to substantiate the health-based claims the diet makes," says Marisa Moore, R.D., L.D., spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Another concern: "Any weight loss that dieters experience is most likely due to losing excess water, losing muscle tissue and eating fewer calories," she says, "Once the detox is over, most dieters would simply go back to how they were originally eating and put the weight right back on again -- minus as much muscle."

The diet is also just nutritionally unsound: "It's deficient in both protein and fats. Protein is essential for maintaining lean muscle tissue and promoting healthier skin, while healthy fats are essential to promote good health, as well as transport fat-soluble vitamins, such as Vitamins A, D, E and K," says Moore.

Finally, experts have issues with the entire notion of needing to "cleanse your body" in the first place. "It's important to know that, in general, dieters don't need to go on a detox diet," says Moore. "The liver and kidneys take care of that function for you." Instead, experts say that if you haven't been following the best eating plan all year and want to detox and lose weight, drinking more water and eating plenty of hydrating fruits and vegetables is essential, "but so is eating a balanced diet and getting plenty of exercise," says Moore -- two factors that are sorely missing from the Martha's Vineyard Diet.

Who should consider the diet?

No one looking for "real" results, that is, losing fat as opposed to sacrificing lean muscle tissue and water weight that you'll just pack on once the diet is over.

Bottom Line

Take the Cabbage Soup Diet, substitute cabbage with a variety of other veggies and fruits, then throw in an uncomfortable enema and you have the Martha's Vineyard Diet. Basically, this diet that takes one component of eating healthier -- in this case, juicing plenty of fruits and veggies for their vitamins and minerals -- and tries to base an entire weight loss plan around it. Skipping this quick fix and opting to exercise more and eat a healthy, well-balanced diet will take more than 21 days, but the results will be far more effective -- and lasting.

Checklist

Martha's Vineyard Diet Books

21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox