Cabbage Soup Diet

The Cabbage Soup diet is designed to last 7 days -- just long enough to lose (up to) 10 pounds, then return to your regular diet. The menu for those 7 days is quite structured. At its core is a homemade cabbage soup. Dieters can eat as much of the cabbage soup as they like at any time. In addition, there is a strict schedule of when other fruits and vegetables can be eaten. The diet's author notes that you should not use this diet for more than 7 days, as it does not provide a balanced diet.

The Author of the Cabbage Soup Diet

Margaret Danbrot published the diet in 1997.

Medical Studies

We have been unable to find any short-term or long-term medical studies which measure the effectiveness of the Cabbage Soup diet.

It is clear, however, that this diet does not provide the vitamins and minerals necessary to provide adequate nutrition. Because the diet focuses only on short-term weight loss, those who use it are likely to gain back any weight that they lose.

Additional Resources:

"The New Cabbage Soup Diet," by Margaret Danbrot