Judy Mazel (December 20, 1943 – October 12, 2007) was an American weight loss advocate the author of "''The

Beverly Hills Diet The Beverly Hills Diet is a fad diet developed by author Judy Mazel (1943–2007) in her 1981 bestseller, ''The Beverly Hills Diet''. History Mazel had tried and failed to lose weight with existing programs, and developed the diet plan after s ...

''", which became a 1981 best seller and a nationwide diet craze. Judy Mazel was a devout practicing Jew and was raised in a conservative

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Jewish home.

Biography

Mazel was born in Chicago on December 20, 1943 as the youngest of three sisters. She moved to California but failed to become a professional actor. She began to struggle with her weight and began writing several diet books. Mazel had no formal training in either medicine or nutrition when she invented The Beverly Hills Diet. Her weight loss diet advocated that dieters eat only one type of

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

at a time. The Beverly Hills Diet advised that dieters never eat

carbohydrates In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...

and

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

in the same meal. The first 10 days of the diet consisted only of fruit. On Day 11, bagels and corn on the cob were added to the fruit. No complete protein was added until Day 19 when steak or lobster were permitted. Mazel opened a clinic in Beverly Hills, following the success of her book. She worked with as many as 250 dieters a week. Mazel, herself, claimed to have lost 72 pounds by following her own advice.

Reception

Critics, including many nutritionists, attacked the

as dangerous and unscientific.Butler, Kurt. (1992). ''A Consumer's Guide to "Alternative Medicine": A Close Look at Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Faith-healing, and Other Unconventional Treatments''. Prometheus Books. pp. 12-14. Hevesi, Dennis. (2007)
"Judy Mazel, Creator of Best-Selling ‘Beverly Hills Diet,’ Is Dead at 63"
'' The New York Times''. Retrieved November 22, 2018. They claimed that many dieters lost weight simply because the Beverly Hills Diet was low in calories. The diet often made many nutritionists' lists of their top 10

fad A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short- ...

diets. Nutrition experts have described the Beverly Hills Diet as quackery and based on the discredited idea of food combining. Celebrities, however, embraced the Mazel's book. Noted followers of The Beverly Hills Diet included journalist and California

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

, Maria Shriver, as well as Sally Kellerman, Engelbert Humperdinck and

Linda Gray Linda Ann Gray (born September 12, 1940) is an American film, stage and television actress, director, producer and former model, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the C ...

Death

Judy Mazel died of peripheral vascular disease at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, on October 12, 2007. She was 63 and was a long-time resident of Pacific Palisades, California at the time of her death.

References

External links

New York Times: Judy Mazel, Creator of Best-Selling ‘Beverly Hills Diet,’ Is Dead at 63

Los Angeles Times: Judy Mazel, 63; author of 'The Beverly Hills Diet'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazel, Judy 1943 births 2007 deaths American cookbook writers American women non-fiction writers Pseudoscientific diet advocates Women cookbook writers 21st-century American women