A monotrophic diet (also known as the mono diet or single-food diet)
is a type of
diet that involves eating only one
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 ...
item (such as potatoes or apples) or one type of food (such as fruits or meats). Monotrophic diets may be followed for food
faddism motives, as a form of
crash dieting, to initiate an
elimination diet or to practice an extreme form of
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
.
Examples
There are examples throughout history of eccentrics living on monotrophic diets. For example,
George Sitwell ate only roasted chicken.
Howard Hughes would sometimes spend weeks eating nothing but
canned soup and at other times only steak sandwiches.
Monotrophic diets
;Beef
A stricter type of
carnivore diet
The Carnivore diet (also called a zero carb diet) is a low-carbohydrate fad diet in which only animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy are consumed. The carnivore diet is not supported by evidence-based medicine, and has attracted criticis ...
known as the lion diet or all meat diet that has been promoted by
Jordan Peterson involves only consuming beef with salt and water.
["My carnivore diet: what I learned from eating only beef, salt and water"](_blank)
theguardian.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
;Eggs
Piero di Cosimo, an Italian painter ate only
boiled eggs.
Antonio Magliabechi's diet was commonly three hard-boiled eggs.
In 2008, it was reported that
Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest a ...
lost four stone (56 pounds) from an egg-only diet for nine months.
[Brooks, Richard; Woods, Richard. (2008)]
"Cracked! The Saatchi diet"
''The Times''. Retrieved December 30, 2019. However, the claim that he ate only eggs for this period of time was disputed.
;Milk
In the 1920s, the milk diet fad was popularized by physical culturist
Bernarr Macfadden.
[Toon, Elizabeth; Golden, Janet. (2002). ''"Live Clean, Think Clean, and Don't Go to Burlesque Shows’: Charles Atlas as Health Advisor"''. ''Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences'' 57 (1): 39–60.] He advertised the diet as a remedy for diverse ailments such as
eczema,
hay fever
Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...
and
impotence.
Macfadden's milk only regime was excessive and recommended 28 cups of milk a day.
;Potatoes
In 2010, Chris Voigt executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission ate twenty potatoes a day for two months. He accepted that the diet is not sustainable in the long term but said his experiment had revealed how "truly healthy" potatoes are.
In 2016, comedian and magician
Penn Jillette began his weight loss regimen with a mono diet, eating only potatoes for two weeks, then adding in other healthy foods to change his eating habits.
Health concerns
Long-term negative effects of a single-food diet may include
anaemia,
osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...
,
malnutrition, nutrient toxicities, muscle
catabolism
Catabolism () is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units that are either oxidized to release energy or used in other anabolic reactions. Catabolism breaks down large molecules (such as polysaccharides, lipids, ...
and more serious health conditions. Possible side effects are
constipation,
diarrhea,
fatigue
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
and exacerbated
mood issues. Some experts have noted that pursuing any kind of mono diet may be a sign of an
eating disorder
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating d ...
developing.
See also
*
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism.
The word diet often implies the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons (with the two often being related). Although humans are o ...
*
List of diets
References
{{Fad diets
Fad diets