Monotrophic diet explained

A monotrophic diet (also known as the mono diet or single-food diet)^[1] is a type of diet that involves eating only one food 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.

Examples

There are examples throughout history of eccentrics living on monotrophic diets. For example, George Sitwell ate only roasted chicken.^[2] Howard Hughes would sometimes spend weeks eating nothing but canned soup and at other times only steak sandwiches.^[3]

Monotrophic diets

Beef

A stricter type of carnivore diet known as the lion diet or all meat diet that has been promoted by Jordan Peterson involves only consuming beef with salt and water.^{[4] [5] [6]}

EggsPiero di Cosimo, an Italian painter ate only boiled eggs.^[7] Antonio Magliabechi's diet was commonly three hard-boiled eggs.^{[8] [9]}

In 2008, it was reported that Charles Saatchi lost four stone (56 pounds) from an egg-only diet for nine months.^{[10] [11] [12]} However, the claim that he ate only eggs for this period of time was disputed.^[11]

MilkIn the 1920s, the milk diet fad was popularized by physical culturist Bernarr Macfadden.^[13] He advertised the diet as a remedy for diverse ailments such as eczema, hay fever and impotence.^[13] Macfadden's milk only regime was excessive and recommended 28 cups of milk a day.^[14]

PotatoesIn 2010, Chris Voigt executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission ate twenty potatoes a day for two months.^{[15] [16] [17]} He accepted that the diet is not sustainable in the long term but said his experiment had revealed how "truly healthy" potatoes are.^[18]

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.^{[19] [20]}

Health concerns

Long-term negative effects of a single-food diet may include anaemia, osteoporosis, malnutrition, nutrient toxicities, muscle catabolism and more serious health conditions. Possible side effects are constipation, diarrhea, fatigue and exacerbated mood issues.^[21] Some experts have noted that pursuing any kind of mono diet may be a sign of an eating disorder developing.^[22]

See also

• Diet (nutrition)
• List of diets

Notes and References

1. Book: Guthrie HA . 1986 . Introductory Nutrition . Mosby . 446 . 0-8016-2038-4.
2. Book: Shaw K . 2009 . Curing Hiccups with Small Fires: A Delightful Miscellany of Great British Eccentrics . . 193 . 978-0-752-22703-0.
3. Book: https://archive.org/details/B-001-001-416/page/n237 . The Bizarre Billionaire . Facts & Fallacies . . 1988 . 234 . 0-89577-273-6.
4. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/sep/10/my-carnivore-diet-jordan-peterson-beef "My carnivore diet: what I learned from eating only beef, salt and water"
5. Web site: The beefed-up diet 'changing lives' but health experts not so sure. Sutton. Malcolm. 2019-12-05. ABC News - Australia. en-AU. 2020-02-02.
6. News: The Jordan Peterson All-Meat Diet. James Hamblin. The Atlantic. 2020-02-02. 1072-7825.
7. Blow, Douglas. (2009). In Your Face: Professional Improprieties and the Art of Being Conspicuous in Sixteenth-Century Italy. Stanford University Press. p. 97. "The Tuscan painter Piero di Cosimo (1461–1521), for instance, ate only boiled eggs, cooking them by the bucketload and then consuming them one by one as he worked."
8. [Jeremiah Whitaker Newman|Newman, Jeremiah Whitaker]
9. Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. (1880). The Reader's Handbook of Allusions, References, Plots and Stories: With Two Appendices. Lippincott. p. 592
10. Jamieson, Alastair. (2008). "Charles Saatchi ends nine-eggs-a-day diet, says wife Nigella Lawson". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
11. Brooks, Richard; Woods, Richard. (2008). "Cracked! The Saatchi diet". The Times. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
12. https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2008/0930/414771-lawsonn/ Nigella reveals husband's 'mad' egg diet
13. 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.
14. Smith, Jen Rose. (2019). "America's Weirdest Historical Fad Diets". HuffPost. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
15. Collier, Roger. (2010). This spud’s for you: a two-month, tuber-only diet. Canadian Medical Association Journal 182 (17): E781–E782.
16. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11864290 "Is a potato-only diet good for you?"
17. Collins, Nick. (2010). "Man eats nothing but potatoes for two months". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
18. Allen, Nick. (2010). "American loses over a stone on 'potato diet'". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
19. Susan Rinkunas . Eating Only One Food to Lose Weight Is a Terrible Idea . 19 August 2016 . The Cut . New York Media LLC.
20. Pawlowski, A. (2016). "Penn Jillette started weight loss with a mono diet — here's why you shouldn't". Today. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
21. Web site: 5 of the most extreme diets (and what they could do to your body) . . 4 January 2020 .
22. News: Howley. Elaine. 29 January 2021. Mono, or Monotrophic, Diet Review: Pros and Cons. U.S. News & World Report.