Audrey Eyton (11 January 1936 – 30 June 2019) was an English

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

campaigner, journalist and writer. She is best known for creating the F-Plan diet, a high-fibre diet that has been criticized as a

fad diet A fad diet is a diet that becomes popular for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements. There is no single defini ...

Biography

Eyton was born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

and as a child developed a passion for animals.Kean, Danuta. (2019)
"Audrey Eyton obituary"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Retrieved 28 January 2020. She co-founded the ''Slimming Magazine'' in 1969 with her husband Tom Eyton, in

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...

, Surrey. They sold the business in 1980. Her son Matthew, a dedicated vegetarian committed suicide in 1991. She set up the Matthew Eyton Animal Welfare Trust, which has raised over the years £250,000 for animal charities. In 1991, she made a plea to end

factory farming Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...

in her book, ''The Kind Food Guide''. She presented a "Slim and Shine" slot on BBC's ''Breakfast Time''"Audrey Eyton, creator of The F-Plan Diet who convinced millions that eating more fibre was the route to weight loss – obituary"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''. Retrieved 28 January 2020. She took part in animal rights demonstrations and raised several rescue pigs at her home in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. She was a trustee of

Compassion in World Farming Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is a campaigning and lobbying animal welfare organisation. It campaigns against the live export of animals, certain methods of livestock slaughter, and all systems of factory farming. It has received celebr ...

. Eyton was not a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

in her personal life but publicly supported vegan organisations long before the movement became mainstream.Busby, Mattha. (2019)
"Audrey Eyton, creator of popular 80s diet the F-plan, dies aged 82"
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''. Retrieved 28 January 2020. In her later years, Eyton was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

but continued her support for animal welfare.

F-Plan diet

In 1982, Eyton authored ''The F-Plan Diet'' that was translated into sixteen languages. The book, which promoted a high-fibre diet became a bestseller and had sold over three million copies by 1985.''Fifty Penguin Years: Published on the Occasion of Penguin Books' Fiftieth Anniversary''. (1985). Penguin Books. p. 98 The book was very successful in New Zealand and sold 75,000 copies in 49 days. Jane Ogden a Professor of Health Psychology noted that the F-Plan diet was widely promoted by the media in the 1980s and because of this "sales of bran-based cereals rose by 30%, wholewheat bread rose by 10%, wholewheat pasta rose by 70% and baked beans rose by 8%." Eyton was inspired by the research of Denis Burkitt. Eyton's F-Plan is a

low-fat Diet food (or dietetic food) refers to any food or beverage whose recipe is altered to reduce fat, carbohydrates, and/or sugar in order to make it part of a weight loss program or diet. Such foods are usually intended to assist in weight loss or ...

high-fibre diet which recommends intake of 35–50g of fibre per day. It theorises that because fibre fills the stomach it will reduce the desire to overeat. Journalist Judith Wills described the F-Plan as "the first high-fiber weight-loss diet, and is still one of the most famous". The F-Plan is low-fat, but not vegetarian. Dairy and meat are allowed in small amounts. Eyton also developed ''The F2 Diet'', published in 2006. It was advertised as a "faster, more effective" version of the F-Plan diet.

Reception

The F-Plan diet is in alignment with mainstream nutritional advice in regard to consumption of fruits, vegetables and

whole grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated w ...

s and research has continued to indicate the health benefits of eating high-fibre foods. However, due to its extreme emphasis on dietary fibre the F-Plan has often been listed as an example of a

.Landry, Maury
''Diets for the daring, the dubious, the duped''
''

State Times ''State Times'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper from the state of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu & Kashmir. The publication is owned and operated by State Times Group, Jammu and Kashmir (union terr ...

'' (June 28, 1983).Howard, Elliot J; Roth, Susan A. (1986). ''Health Risks''. Body Press. p. 175Hegarty. Vincent. (1988). ''Decisions in Nutrition''. Times Mirror/Mosby College Pub. p. 310 A criticism of the diet is that it can cause

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

and

flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

. Cardiologist J. Elliot Howard dismissed the F-Plan diet, commenting that "excessive fiber can cause flatulence and deficiencies in calcium, zinc, copper and iron. Weight is lost because this is a low-calorie diet in disguise." Professor of Surgery

Henry Buchwald Henry Buchwald (born June 21, 1932) is an Austrian-American surgeon and academic. He is the Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering and the Owen and Sarah Davidson Wangensteen Chair in Experimental Surgery Emeritus at the University of M ...

and colleagues noted that although the diet has health benefits it can lead to constipation if not accompanied by an increased intake of water and gastrointestinal upset if the diet is introduced too rapidly.Buchwald, Henry; Cowan, George S. M; Pories, Walter J. (2007). ''Surgical Management of Obesity''. Elsevier. p. 86. Nutritionist Judith S. Stern criticized the F-Plan diet as the fiber consumption is too extreme but described it as "one of the more benign fad diets".Landry, Maury
''Diets for the daring, the dubious, the duped''
''

'' (June 28, 1983). Conversely, Nutritionist Jack Z. Yetiv praised the F-Plan for preaching a "sensible diet plan" and noted that it is in the direction in which national dietary recommendations are being focused.Yetiv, Jack Z. (1988). ''Popular Nutritional Practices: Sense and Nonsense''. Dell Publishing. p. 300.

Selected publications

*''The F-Plan Diet'' (1982) *''The F-Plan Calorie and Fibre Chart'' (1982) *''The Safeway F-Plan'' (1985) *''The F-Plus Diet'' (1986) *''The Complete F-Plan Diet'' (1987) *''Amazing High-Fibre F-Plan Diet'' (1989) *''The Kind Food Guide'' (1991) *''The F2 Diet'' (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eytin, Aubrey 1936 births 2019 deaths British animal welfare scholars British animal welfare workers English food writers English women journalists High-fiber diet advocates Writers from Blackburn Pseudoscientific diet advocates