The Hershberg diet

OVERALL RATING Good

STRENGTHS Useful in simplifying complicated metabolic and dietary concepts, as well as providing recipes and meal plans to follow; an easy read

WEAKNESSES Greater focus on recipes and meal plans than on the recent advances in nutritional science when it comes to weight loss and weight maintenance, limiting the relevance of the book to most family physicians; currently no evidence in the literature to support the diet’s effectiveness

AUDIENCE Dietitians, nutritionists, other health care providers interested in nutrition, and the general public

This book is yet another attempt to tackle the growing problem of obesity and the metabolic syndrome. The book is divided into 2 parts: The first part describes the concept of the Hershberg Diet. The second part provides the dietary plan, recipes, and samples for the plan. To consider water as the secret fourth macronutrient might be useful in piquing the reader’s interest; however, Dr Hershberg is basically pointing to the fact that foods high in water content tend to be less calorie dense and aid weight reduction. I was disappointed in the author’s claim that the glycemic index system is flawed, as one the book’s concepts revolves around insulin response. One needs to appreciate that the glycemic index system is only one of the methods that helps in eating healthy.

A MEDLINE search did not retrieve any scientific evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of this diet, either alone or in comparison with other dietary plans; however, Dr Hershberg needs to be commended for simplifying complicated concepts in this book and for providing useful tips for meal plans to the interested reader. One can only hope that providing useful and practical information will help in losing weight, and, more important, in maintaining weight loss. After all, almost all dietary plans succeed in the first 6 months of weight loss; the majority of dieters regain the weight later.

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